Kawasaki has made much of the fact that its KVF650 is the most powerful ‘working’ ATV currently available in the UK. With its 650cc V-twin punching out over 40hp, this is certainly a meaty machine. But is it all muscle and no guts? James de Havilland tweaks the KVF’s tail
Playing down the outright power of its recently introduced ATV flag, Kawasaki prefers to point out that the KVF650-A is a genuine working bike, designed and built for tough tasks and optimised to lug loads. The 650-A even has a manually engaged, fully locking front differential. The trouble is the most lasting 650 riding impression is the beefy bike’s awesome speed. Think ‘scalded’ and ‘kittie’.
Despite this working bike tag, the KVF650-A also has a ‘sports’ machine chassis and running gear – MacPherson strut front suspension and mono-shock rear end. On the KVF650, this translates into 179mm and 184mm of wheel travel front and rear, with the rear mono-shock also featuring adjustable pre-load and a dual-rate spring.
For years, Kawasaki traded upon the virtues of its wishbone front and Quad Link rear chassis, all of which were binned for struts and monoshocks on the company’s first auto, the KVF400. For the diehard fans of now defunct models like the manual transmission KLF400, this wholesale ATV change would appear to confirm the Kawasaki move to performance over more working practicality.
