Is this the Junior Enduro bike Kawasaki should be building?
The young lads take the KLX140L and KX85 for a bash through the bush for a major shake down.
MX kids are lavished and have bikes with constant development, marketing and a vast choice of brands and capacities from 50cc to 150cc. They even get influencers like some Deegan kid, while enduro kids get three brands of 80’s trail bikes with an electric start, For a kid on a 5 acre bush block in outer Sydney who wants to ride fast, slow, hard and occasionally cruise around with a chicken under one arm there is no obvious bike choice.
My 11 year old son Marcello has just graduated from the KLX110 to the more modern disc brake shod KLX140. The 110 was a great bike to hone clutch and gear skills, to respect bush rock, sand, leaf litter and roots on angles. His rapid skill improvements have always been dulled by poor suspension and a heavy bike.
I was planning a KX suspension conversion for the 140. I spotted a 2019 model for sale already converted and snapped it up. To we added KX plastics and bars to the front end and stepping back for a first look, I wondered “why doesn’t Kawasaki make this as a model?” “It can still be ridden as a farm bike or full on enduro, it’s brilliant!”
All it needed was a sticker kit and a new name. All the cool kids wanted a KX so we went with KX140F. To be a true KX it should be a little lighter but I’m running this show. To cut weight would be expensive and the goal is a fun bike that can be ridden fast safely and muck around going slow for a decent price.
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- Marcello is the proud KLX140L owner
Marcello took to it well, hitting our 5 acres of tracks harder and faster and with more confidence and control. I put it down to the suspension. The bike is a little big for his height and weight but he managed the size well. We got super lucky with the standard suspension being perfect for enduro, very plush, an MX track may be a different story.
Within a few weeks he had it dialled in and he started attacking the gnarly stuff he’d never even considered before. The neighbours weren’t too happy with the FMF muffler because so we went back to stock. All through lockdown my kids were riding and building tracks and finding new ways to make riding difficult and fun.
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- Liam pilots the KX85
I told my mate Glenn about the recent 140 purchase. He organised to bring over his son Liam and his KX85. Liam is fairly new to riding but has had some serious training, 2-3 times a month under the keen eye of Mossy Senior and also with Fuzz Taylor. Liam was ready to blow out the lockdown cobwebs and Glenn was pretty sure the 85 would sort out any hill climb or silly little rock or root. I wasn’t convinced of the bikes ability to negotiate said obstacles at anything but warp speeds which is rarely ideal. I had always made the assumption that with basically no bottom end an 85cc was no enduro bike, although modern two strokes can have a lot of bottom end.
The day lockdown ended Glenn and Liam arrived. We weighed the bikes, at 95kg the 140 is still heavy next to a KX85 at 75kg. The kids got kitted up and all the neighbours woke up early. Marcello who was on his home turf, roared off and Liam who hadn’t had the same advantage was quite tentative with the trees looming in more than he was used to.
Over the next few weekends the boys had a blast playing follow the leader over the easier tracks and trying to be patient with the realities of being photographed for a magazine. “That was perfect, do it again!” “Great, one more”. “And another one”.
Liam didn’t appear to have any troubles navigating our network of tight trails and numerous pitfalls. Experience on this terrain was his greatest barrier not the bike. Liam is a thinker and decided on preserving his body rather than going all out.
Marcello introduced him to a few gnarly lines and obstacles and I got the impression Liam couldn’t wait to hit the MX track despite surprising himself with some new slow speed clutch slipping skills. Nervously I allowed Marcello to board the 85 rocket ship. He often rides a little too wild for my liking. I keep telling him he is one lap away from hospital.
At 45kilos, the bike was launching him off the tiniest rocks sideways and he handled it way too comfortably for my nerves. Maybe I was wrong and it is perfect for the trails. Was my thinking the problem, not the bike?
He was beaming with pride and smiling for days. Liam didn’t smile quite so much when getting off the 140 which was definitely under sprung for his 75kg. Being ready for a 125 and a good sport he put up with it while quietly analysing its strengths.
My observations are that the 140 just casually accelerates out of corners or up anything. The power is more predictable and acceleration can be earlier. The 85 either blasts or limps out of the same situations. The 140 is the boss in slow stuff and the 85 rules when it can be ridden in the power band.
Marcello has never ridden outside our property so Glenn roped us into trying out the Blacktown Junior Mini Bike club for the day. Liam was pretty excited to show Marcello around. Once the nerves settled, Marcello and the 140 appeared to be doing OK on a track full of berms and jumps, despite being undersprung and super underpowered off the starting line.
Liam towed Marcello around for a few laps then had a few good dices with some of the locals while a keen eyed Glenn fixed his jumping technique, feet, knees and body position.
It made a huge difference to his confidence.
The trials course was pretty straightforward as he and the bike were well drilled over tricky obstacles. Everyone was interested in having a close look at the strange new KX. Kawasaki even got a sale out of it when the Secretary ordered one for one of his kids. Marcello really loved it and was keen to return.
Comparing 140 to the 85
At the end of the session I sat them down, asked them about the bikes hoping to get a few good quotes. It’s pretty funny to hear the words and the way kids analyse.
How was the 85 in the bush?
Liam – “Around here it was quite easy. In first gear it was good because it so edgy that you can hit the throttle and hold it hard up the rocks. If you go in second you have to use the clutch a lot.”
Marcello – “It’s hard through slow stuff because you have to constantly slip the clutch, the 140 is better through the slow stuff. When I slow down on the 85 I can’t just roll off the throttle and idle through, I have to keep the power on or there’s nothing there”
“With the power, it’s pretty crazy, a lot better than the 140 in the straights. If I want to clear a little rock jump, I’ve just got to give it a little half throttle blip. When it’s not in powerband its still pretty fast, but not as good as the 140.”
Liam – “The 140 was so much easier. You had to barely flex the throttle and it would just go up the rocks without any hesitation. You could give it just a tiny bit of throttle and beam around a corner really quick”
“You can get the power quick if you’re in first gear on the 85, but you just need to be used to the clutch and know where it actually bites, but the 140 you don’t need to use the clutch at all.”
Marcello – “The 85 felt really light to me, I could bring the wheel up really easily, the 140 feels really bulky and chunky in the middle around the tank. The 85 was fun hitting rocks and roots because I could launch off them, where the 140 suspension, being a lot softer would absorb bumps.”
What about going quicker?
Liam – “You have to shift quicker on the 140. I can just stay in 2nd and go fast on the 85. I hit 3rd once in this session. On the 140, I needed 3rd or 4th to go fast.”
Describe the ultimate bike for enduro considering power and where it is produced in the rev range –
Liam – “A lot of bottom end, like, first and second has bottom end, then third is just all power, so basically combine these two bikes”
Marcello – “Yeah I agree”
Which bike would you choose for enduro?
Marcello – “Probably the 140, it’s more of an all-round bike, it can still go pretty fast and you can get through the hard stuff. The 85 wouldn’t go very well through the really hard stuff. Maybe I could get used to it, but slipping the clutch was frustrating.”