Thanks to some bureaucratic California paperwork and a look Kawasaki’s All-Japan MX Championship factory machine, the answer appears to be yes.
Credit where credit is due, our Motorcycle.com brother, Dennis Chung tipped us off to a California Air Resources Board (CARB) filing by Kawasaki Heavy Industries for its 2016 motocross motorcycles, and while the filing process is nothing new, it does give us an early clue that the KX450F will be new or significantly revised for 2015.
Kawasaki’s carb filing is for a KX450 model designated as KX450HG, with the engine family designated as the KX450H. Kawasaki models from 2012 through 2015 have used the letter F to denote engine family, with the 2015 model designated as the KX450FF. According to MO and DirtBikes.com Editorial Director Sean Alexander, a man with extensive experience in the inner workings of Kawasaki, that suggests that the 2016 KX450 has undergone revisions to its chassis as well as to its engine.
Kawasaki’s KHI website also has this photo of the machine with which it is contesting the 2015 All-Japan Motocross Championships with factory rider Hiroaki Arai. The All-Japan series is typically the place where manufacturers race prototype models that are slated for production the following model year. Comparing the photo to that of the current production KX450F reveals a few noticeable differences.
The most obvious visual clue is that the factory machine features different bodywork, most noticeably the side number plates, which are cut back farther than on the production machine. We also spotted a different look to the engine cases on the factory bike, particularly in the area of the oil filter housing. Also note that the radiator hose routing into the KX’s DOHC four-valve cylinder head is straighter than on the 2015 production KX, and the kickstarter design is very different, with the factory machine featuring a much straighter shaft than the current production bike.
Sure, these are subtle differences, but with the KX450F dominating 450cc motocross shootouts up until Yamaha jumped to the head of the class with a new YZ450F in 2015, there’s no doubt that the company will want to regain its crown. Even so, Kawasaki probably doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel to do that. While the current KX450F may not make as much sheer power as its blue rival, a broad and user-friendly powerband has been one of the attributes that has kept the big green thumper perennially at or near the top of the 450cc mountain. We won’t be surprised if the 2016 KX450F offers more peak power and torque with that same character in a revised aluminum chassis suspended by Showa suspension components, including the latest version of the Showa SFF-Air TAC (Triple Air Chamber) fork. Only time will tell.
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