Kawasaki KFX 450R Project Quad Build - Part One
Front Suspension System & Steering - ::Continued::

Stock Kawasaki KFX 450R Front A-Arms, Suspension, & Brakes

With our stock lines drained and removed, it was time to start disassembling the front end components, which immediately jumped out as being different in the way they mount to the chassis. Although it may appear at a glance a standard front end, the front end has many differences over its competitors starting with how the lower arms mount to the frame. Mounting bolts run through one arm, chassis and again back through the other arm, which provides a stronger and more durable mounting than conventional a-arm mounting.

The stock KFX 450R brake lines are easily removed by removing a few bolts and brackets, which are attached to the frame & A-Arms	The KFX450R A-Arms are mounted totally different than any other stock A-Arm with the bolts going through the frame & connecting both A-Arms together on each side of the frame

There are a few areas on this machine that are totally modular due to the aluminum construction, such is the case on the small bracket that secures the stock front brake lines at their junction in the center of the frame. On most ATVs this mount is welded to the frame, however on the KFX 450R it is secured with 2 small bolts and it can be reattached or left off when using aftermarket brake lines. Removing the components was straight forward and work time for disassembly was right at the one hour mark. I am happy to report that there were no big surprises during disassembly. One small tip is that when removing the upper shock mount bolt, you will need to remove the headlights or atleast one 8mm bolt so that the headlight can be lifted slightly to allow the bolt to clear the headlight housing.

To remove the KFX 450R front shocks, the headlights need to be removed or the front fenders to make room for the upper shock bolt to be removed	With all the front suspension components are removed, the KFX450 bare aluminum box tube frame is revealed, which is unlike any other production Sport ATV

With the a-arms, shocks and brake lines removed, it was time to tackle the stock steering stem, which would be replaced with a +1 Houser Anti-Vibe unit. This was the first look at how much went into this machines design and just a sneak peek at the challenges the manufacture faced when working with the alloy frame. Standard stem designs utilize a bearing and retaining clip(Honda) or locking ring (Yamaha) where as the Kawasaki was a bit more involved. Two small allen bolts hold a mount in place and must be removed so the stem can be lifted from the chassis.

Once the stem is out, you can then access the larger retaining nut and retain the bearing and plate for use when reinstalling the aftermarket stem. With everything required for the replacement parts removed, we were ready to begin our machines transformation from its stock state to a more race ready stance.

Houser Racing's Slicast A-Arms come retail packaged, which not only helps protect the products during shipping, but it also keeps the parts secure and safe from being lost before installation, and the steering stem also was retail packaged	The Elka Suspension's Elite ATV Front Shocks were ordered for the project because they come with both High & Low Speed Compression adjustment along with rebound & pre-load adjustability, which is a great combination for dialing in the shocks