LAST OF THE LINE

The KDX450 was the last of the big-single two-stroke kawasaki Enduro machines ,a line which made its debut in 1979 with the twins hock 80 x 78mm 392 cc kdx 400.

By1981 they had gained the single-shock Uni-t rak rear suspension and another 3 mm of bore (83x78) to makea 422cc and become the kdx420.

The final version the 450 arrived in 1982, offering yet more capacity from a longer stroke motor. despite the name it's not quite a full 450,the 83x82 bore and stroke gives it just shy of 444cc, not thatthe missing 6cc matters as it develops a claimed 45bhp and a freighttrain 39 ft/lb of torque to shove a dry weight of 118kg. although by the time you had brimmed the 12 litre fuel tank and shoved a coupleof litre sof other fluids in, the overall weight will have increased by another 10 kg.