To call these machines authentic is almost an understatement such is the level of care and devotion that has gone in their creation. Fifty years after the first lime green KX was available in 1973, the Anniversary Editions are both resplendent in a reimagining of the 1990 KX250 colour and graphic treatment.
 
Echoing the pop culture of the era, the fluorescent pink and dramatic purple of the much-loved retro KX logo is complemented by a 50th Anniversary logo adjacent to the front number board, white in place of black fork protectors and rear caliper guard plus 1990’s style Uni-Track graphics on the swinging arm plus – to top it all – a vivid and impossible to ignore – blue seat cover.
 
Make no mistake, this is a meticulous recreation of a much-loved era of motocross graphics and the facts speak for themselves. As example, the K and X were recreated from the original hand drawn 1990 designs using materials from the Kawasaki archive. The “splash” design of the background was originally created by dripping ink onto paper and this look and feel has been re-plotted using modern digital techniques. Likewise, the blue dye used for the seat was painstakingly matched to a carefully persevered example of original 1990 material.
 
Other points of interest include upper and lower triple clamps and wheel rims in their natural finish of silver over the black currently used, a return to white number boards and the denomination 250 and 450 executed in a classic 1990’s font.   
 
For five decades KX riders have been enjoying the unique thrills that only a Kawasaki off-road competition machine can deliver. Forward focussed yet with an affectionate nod to the past, the KX450 50th Anniversary Edition colour scheme will enjoy a dramatic and surprise debut in the hands of multiple MXGP winner and Kawasaki Racing Team rider, Romain Febvre, at the final round of the 2023 MXGP season at Matterley Basin in the south of the UK. Here’s to the next fifty years of KX !