I should have explained this in the video, but because I'm receiving so many comments asking why I converted from EFI to carb, here is a brief explanation. In the KFX450R, especially the early models, the fuel injection system was known to have issues with reliability, specifically with starting and off idle throttle response. There are many well tuned EFI systems that run AMAZING but it is not always the case. The carb conversion was something a lot of guys did and achieved better starting, better performance and reliability as well as ease of tuning. If you're interested in reading more into it, here is a forum thread with good info that convinced me to make the swap - www.kfx450hq.com/threads/green-monster-carb-swap-experiences.19363/
My procom ecu and a good valve adjustment seemed to fix my hard start issues. But I could see why you would choose to do a carb conversion. Looked like it ran real good. Awesome build!
Honestly one of your best rebuilds in my opinion. This thing went from a basket bike to a bat out of hell! Love the KFX450r and the content you’ve been putting out, keep it up man.
@@MichaelSabo I’d love to see you build the 400 making it a 440 and installing a 40mm fcr doing all the mods to make it faster and race it against the kfx
i hope u know tha whole time i watched this i was so excited over it, i grew up as a huge kawasaki fan, had a lil toy quad since i was 5, not sure what model it was as i’m jus getting back into it, but this made my day
Love the led bars i have a dual row one for night rides and its super bright. Also with it being on the bars when your turning the light follows. Not bad for a kfx mike 🤣🤣
When you port heads you want to smooth out the exhaust side but leave some ruffness to the intake side. You never want to polish intake runners smooth. This is so the gas droplets can bounce off the imperfections and atomize properly before hitting the valves. Especially important for carbed applications. What i was taught by old skool drag racers in my 1/4 mile head porting days.
I had FMF full header exhaust n titanium exhaust muffler. Excellent sounding n great on the track and everyday riding. My buddies riding behind me said they could feel my exhaust 10 feet behind me. Love FMF, never failed me. Won many trophies
Damn Mike, your KFX is slowly turning into Josh Creamer's Factory 2009 KFX! All you need is the Fox Floats, Kick starter conversion, and to paint your frame, wheels, and A-arms black. Glad you're continuing on the KFX, it's low key one of my favorite 4 stroke sport quads. They just have so much potential when you uncork them, and I wish more people recognized that.
Dude that's a huge compliment; thank you. I think it was Dirt wheels that said the Kawi had the most potential out of all of the 450s once modded. Kicker mod is in the near future!
This machine was RIDICULOUSLY fun to ride, especially in the dunes. I know most OEMs focused primarily on SXS which squashed sport ATVs, but I really wish Team Green would of kept this machine in their lineup, like Yamaha still has the 700 and YFZ450
Good to see some KFX 450'S still out there. Been a long time since I've been on mine. It's moded also. Little Sahara Utah is my home playground. I live in the SxS world now. 😄
Best video yet! The kfx450 has been my favorite outta owning or at least riding about every make and model quad you can throw a leg over.. That exhaust is sick! Been wanting one or maybe a Empire… I’ve got a all original Kfx450 that I’ve bought all the parts do do a carb conversion but haven’t pulled the trigger yet! I think this video may make me get it done!
funny to hear ya laughing when you get on the throttle like a kid!! been growing thru your videos great attention to detail, these are like movies. nice work
I’m pretty sure that when you port an engine your supposed to leave the intake ports slightly rough textured so that the fuel atomizes. And just smooth out the exhaust port real smooth
I’m brand new to your channel. This is the first video I’ve seen. Definitely won’t be the last! So much knowledge and badass parts and a super nice quad! Love it. New sub!
Only sport quad I’ve ever wanted that was four stroke sorry Honda’s lol like you guys to but team green always . She barks 🔥 and looks like she tracks up well in the lower gears high throttle
I am 14 and my first manual atv i rode was my dads 2005 kfx400 when i was 13 and they are fast i loved it short shift from first to second let her eat and second it would pull the front wheels and ride it out to third it was so much fun and i love the videos man keep up the hard worm
Love the kfx450 !!! My buddy races in vet 40 A class in nationals and has 2 kfx’s . He grew up racing and thinks the kfx handles the most like a 250r . The carb swap is popular among racers . You can also put a back up kick starter on it with the electric start . That’s how he’s got his set up . He’s got in top 5 in nationals and wins local mx and XC races . I rode one of his kawis at the Decker training facility when we went . That was fun
I remember Team Green's KFX's back in the day, they looked sweet. Especially the years where they had the black frames, made the green really pop. Why not stick with fuel injection, though? Just get a Power Commander.
I always loved the factory Kawis too; just something about the lime green. From what I read on KFX forums, the carb swap is pretty common especially amongst people who race. I think the EFI system can be improved too but I was convinced from other peoples results; I would have loved to dyno before and after to see actual results.
I just did this mod used this as a reference I have a stock piston but big cams and I used175 main 52 pilot and it runs great thanks for all your research to make this possible for me to do this great power adding mod my kfx is like a whole new beast on the bottom and lugging out of corners is so easy now thanks Mike seriously thank you
Awesome transformation! I can definitely relate to the nerves you must've been feeling in that basin. Reminds me of the sketchy test hit spots i used to go to in my drift car 🤣.
Mike this video just makes me wanna send you my kfx 700 so you can do a build series on it cuz I don’t have the time anymore. Would be bad when your done with it. Love the videos and can’t wait to see more
Mike you did a Awesome job on this Build it's everything I would want in a Dune Quad!! And I thought going Carb instead of EFI was a smart decision knowing that it could fault... because we know from the past it doesn't make for a good time breaking out in the middle of the Dunes. I love the Quad!!
Bike looks good brotha I'm a Honda 450 guy but sounds awsome and that carb swap you can tell made all the difference in the world. Have fun keeping that front wheel down in the sand........ cool video and very educational thanks. Ride safe.....
Yep Honda and Yamaha I like Yamaha for 2-stroke Honda for four stroke I got the trx 700x also got a 84 cm450 got an 85 ascot vt500 and an 82 silverwing 500 and an 88 goldwing 1500 working on getting a CR125 2 stroke dirt bike that'll be my first time on a Honda two-stroke
Hey Mike, nice upgrades! Love the sound and looks of it. So I would recommend a couple things before you head to Little Sahara: 1) install a voltage meter to watch your power. I installed one after I added some lights and it helped me keep an eye on how fast I was sucking power. 2) bring a spare voltage regulator. It's a pretty cheap part like $35 on Amazon. I would have gotten another day of night riding on a trip if I had it. You might be alright now that you eliminated the fuel pump, but the electronics in these bikes can be a show stopper as you know.
Great advice man! I ran the battery out just having the lights on for 15 minutes to adjust them lol; the battery is so small on this bike. I'd really like to do the kick start mod for reliability
Would love to see a ds650 build. A great, mostly forgotten about quad that can found cheap, and can surely make great power. (Found mine road side for 400bucks, got it running half hour later).
Not a huge fan of the KFX450 but this 1 is wicked, looks and sounds awesome. You did a great job with this ride, definitely changed my mind on them. Again great job with the build and of course another awesome video bro. Until next time, SAVE the SPORT QUADS 🤙🏻👍🏻
Thank you man; this is something I plan to offer in the near future; I want to make sure I have my skills honed before I start offering this to customers
The carb swap is cool and all but I’ve never had a faster carb 450 bike compared to a fuel injected 450. I think you might’ve had better success if you got the kfx ecu re mapped. Just a thought.
I think FI is great but for these early KFX450R from what I gathered, its wasn't a great system and its not all uncommon that people swap to carburetors and get more power and easier starts.
So what made you decide to swap over to carbureted? I have a buddy that has one and with the fuel customs intake, fuel programmer, KXF 450 dirt bike cams, porting, and high compression piston he is somewhere in the low to mid 60hp range. You are just the first person I’ve seen swap it over to carb. Not that it’s a bad thing, it seems to be pretty quick and it starts right up no problem.
I think the EFI could have been improved but on this particular platform, its pretty common that people convert to carb. I have read up that people still run EFI and get a lot of power out of it though. I think it was just a sub-optimal design in these years, not necessarily that EFI itself is bad.
I just picked one up for a grand. About to do the motor. Seized up. Whered u get those headlights? And yeah that thing deff rips way harder now!!! Pipe sounds legit too btw!!!
Mike, you’re supposed to say you made the plate like that on purpose for “ Customization” 99% of people would . You’re not afraid to admit your mistake and show us not all mistakes are bad ones. Appreciate your builds bud- just picked up 400ex she’s whooped on but will be a good project for the rest of the winter.
Love this machine. I Want to add a 450 to my stable to go with my raptor and renegade but dont want to get a yfz or a honda since they are the most popular. (I like to be different) lol. This kfx is really. A nice machine, id like to try out a canam da 450 also. Great video, i enjoyed the series.
I should have explained this in the video, but because I'm receiving so many comments asking why I converted from EFI to carb, here is a brief explanation.
In the KFX450R, especially the early models, the fuel injection system was known to have issues with reliability, specifically with starting and off idle throttle response. There are many well tuned EFI systems that run AMAZING but it is not always the case. The carb conversion was something a lot of guys did and achieved better starting, better performance and reliability as well as ease of tuning.
If you're interested in reading more into it, here is a forum thread with good info that convinced me to make the swap - www.kfx450hq.com/threads/green-monster-carb-swap-experiences.19363/
My procom ecu and a good valve adjustment seemed to fix my hard start issues. But I could see why you would choose to do a carb conversion. Looked like it ran real good. Awesome build!
Got a set of ac nerfs that you like that are like new for a 08 kfx450... lmk if your interested in them. Quad sounds nasty.
@@nicholascaudill6185 AC makes nice nerfs but I made custom big pegs for these and I love them. Thank you for the offer bro!
@@nicholascaudill6185 are they propeg with heal guard?
I'm working on putting a carb on my why do you have to use a procom cdi
Honestly one of your best rebuilds in my opinion. This thing went from a basket bike to a bat out of hell! Love the KFX450r and the content you’ve been putting out, keep it up man.
I appreciate that Ethan; thank you 🤘👊
@@MichaelSabo I’d love to see you build the 400 making it a 440 and installing a 40mm fcr doing all the mods to make it faster and race it against the kfx
That KFX450R is pure bad ass and I love how you provide the links to the tools and parts you use in your videos.
i hope u know tha whole time i watched this i was so excited over it, i grew up as a huge kawasaki fan, had a lil toy quad since i was 5, not sure what model it was as i’m jus getting back into it, but this made my day
Made my day hearing this man; if you ever see me out riding it, stop me and you can take her for a spin 👊
@@MichaelSabo thank you so much!! means a lot to me :(!
I love when he stands with the microphone and reviews his project😂😂
This dude is amazing love every one of these videos
Thank you for the love man 👊
@@MichaelSabo u the man
Love the led bars i have a dual row one for night rides and its super bright. Also with it being on the bars when your turning the light follows. Not bad for a kfx mike 🤣🤣
When you port heads you want to smooth out the exhaust side but leave some ruffness to the intake side. You never want to polish intake runners smooth. This is so the gas droplets can bounce off the imperfections and atomize properly before hitting the valves. Especially important for carbed applications. What i was taught by old skool drag racers in my 1/4 mile head porting days.
I had FMF full header exhaust n titanium exhaust muffler. Excellent sounding n great on the track and everyday riding. My buddies riding behind me said they could feel my exhaust 10 feet behind me. Love FMF, never failed me. Won many trophies
Damn Mike, your KFX is slowly turning into Josh Creamer's Factory 2009 KFX! All you need is the Fox Floats, Kick starter conversion, and to paint your frame, wheels, and A-arms black. Glad you're continuing on the KFX, it's low key one of my favorite 4 stroke sport quads. They just have so much potential when you uncork them, and I wish more people recognized that.
Dude that's a huge compliment; thank you. I think it was Dirt wheels that said the Kawi had the most potential out of all of the 450s once modded. Kicker mod is in the near future!
Shoot you should be in dirt wheels if it’s still around
@@greasemonkeygarage1896 yea dirt wheels is still a thing I have a monthly subscription and get a magazine in the mail every month it’s sick lol
This machine was RIDICULOUSLY fun to ride, especially in the dunes. I know most OEMs focused primarily on SXS which squashed sport ATVs, but I really wish Team Green would of kept this machine in their lineup, like Yamaha still has the 700 and YFZ450
Man that thing came a long way! Looks great and sounds even better!
Good to see some KFX 450'S still out there. Been a long time since I've been on mine. It's moded also. Little Sahara Utah is my home playground. I live in the SxS world now. 😄
Idk maybe it's just me but anything with a Steering wheel isn't riding!
Can't argue with you there man, SXS are mad fun too
i was a fan of your kfx 450 before but now im in love with it. you are the man, keep up the great vids
Thank you for that Carey 👊
Gotta love the looks of the KFX450R!!!
That is the coolest quad ever.
I've been waiting for this video that exhaust sounds fricken amazing Mike!
That is such a killer build man!! You did an amazing job as usual!
Thank you bro!
Definitely diggin this kfx build! Carb swap is awesome for us that have had nothing but trouble with FI
Best video yet! The kfx450 has been my favorite outta owning or at least riding about every make and model quad you can throw a leg over.. That exhaust is sick! Been wanting one or maybe a Empire… I’ve got a all original Kfx450 that I’ve bought all the parts do do a carb conversion but haven’t pulled the trigger yet! I think this video may make me get it done!
Wow dude that pipe is sick....stepped header? ...you can tell it's powerful...
funny to hear ya laughing when you get on the throttle like a kid!!
been growing thru your videos great attention to detail, these are like movies. nice work
Hell yeah brother!!!! Way to pay homage to the old polaris....
Hey Mike, I'm a new subscriber and love what you do with rescuing these old but great machines. I love doing this myself.
I’m pretty sure that when you port an engine your supposed to leave the intake ports slightly rough textured so that the fuel atomizes. And just smooth out the exhaust port real smooth
Only on the intake side exhaust can look like mirror
That is correct
I’m brand new to your channel. This is the first video I’ve seen. Definitely won’t be the last! So much knowledge and badass parts and a super nice quad! Love it. New sub!
Nice looking Kawi. Might put that light bar on my Honda 450
Only sport quad I’ve ever wanted that was four stroke sorry Honda’s lol like you guys to but team green always . She barks 🔥 and looks like she tracks up well in the lower gears high throttle
A fun quad is the Kawasaki kvf 700 twin. Fun rig👍
Keep coming back to this video every time I wanna rebuild my KFX.
Yeah man that bike came out pretty good great job on the lights man
KFX all day , great work
I am 14 and my first manual atv i rode was my dads 2005 kfx400 when i was 13 and they are fast i loved it short shift from first to second let her eat and second it would pull the front wheels and ride it out to third it was so much fun and i love the videos man keep up the hard worm
Sick Been waiting 🔥🤘🏼
Love the kfx450 !!! My buddy races in vet 40 A class in nationals and has 2 kfx’s . He grew up racing and thinks the kfx handles the most like a 250r . The carb swap is popular among racers . You can also put a back up kick starter on it with the electric start . That’s how he’s got his set up . He’s got in top 5 in nationals and wins local mx and XC races . I rode one of his kawis at the Decker training facility when we went . That was fun
Man that sounds sick! I have the kicker mod next on my list!
@@MichaelSabo its nice to have back up
Wow great job. Nice before and after
I remember Team Green's KFX's back in the day, they looked sweet. Especially the years where they had the black frames, made the green really pop. Why not stick with fuel injection, though? Just get a Power Commander.
I always loved the factory Kawis too; just something about the lime green. From what I read on KFX forums, the carb swap is pretty common especially amongst people who race. I think the EFI system can be improved too but I was convinced from other peoples results; I would have loved to dyno before and after to see actual results.
Some even did it on the ltr 450s too
the injector was holding them back, when i got to upper 50,s hp it was a issue.
I just did this mod used this as a reference I have a stock piston but big cams and I used175 main 52 pilot and it runs great thanks for all your research to make this possible for me to do this great power adding mod my kfx is like a whole new beast on the bottom and lugging out of corners is so easy now thanks Mike seriously thank you
Awesome transformation! I can definitely relate to the nerves you must've been feeling in that basin. Reminds me of the sketchy test hit spots i used to go to in my drift car 🤣.
Awesome go work can't wait till you go to the dunes 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤟🏼
She’s a ripper!!! Makes me miss my old kfx.
Beautiful bike! I have 09'monster edition. Love the kfx!
So sick! This makes me want a KFX 🤣
haha
I have a rear caliper for you 😊
@@MichaelSabo easter egg? Lol
Such a sweet quad now man! Love it! You’re really hitting you’re groove with the porting 👌🏼
Thank you Jon 🤘
Looking awesome Mike
Videos just keep getting better! Great job
Badass build bro!
Awesome vid and edits and filming and bike. I love the garage vids
Mike this video just makes me wanna send you my kfx 700 so you can do a build series on it cuz I don’t have the time anymore. Would be bad when your done with it. Love the videos and can’t wait to see more
I appreciate you having the confidence in me for that! I'd love to do a KFX700 at some point
How often or do your neighbors complain? haha Any karens in there
Wondering myself
Their probably more worried about if he’s vaccinated or not lol
@@skeetlybeet2584 lmfao right
LMFAO!!!!
@@MichaelSabo lmfaooooo
Very nice.. and at one time you told me you were thinking about selling it awhile back lol
Joooohnnnnnnyyyyy. Haha, at this point I don't think I will sell it for a long time
Mike you did a Awesome job on this Build it's everything I would want in a Dune Quad!! And I thought going Carb instead of EFI was a smart decision knowing that it could fault... because we know from the past it doesn't make for a good time breaking out in the middle of the Dunes. I love the Quad!!
Bike looks good brotha I'm a Honda 450 guy but sounds awsome and that carb swap you can tell made all the difference in the world. Have fun keeping that front wheel down in the sand........ cool video and very educational thanks. Ride safe.....
Yep Honda and Yamaha I like Yamaha for 2-stroke Honda for four stroke I got the trx 700x also got a 84 cm450 got an 85 ascot vt500 and an 82 silverwing 500 and an 88 goldwing 1500 working on getting a CR125 2 stroke dirt bike that'll be my first time on a Honda two-stroke
Hey Mike, nice upgrades! Love the sound and looks of it. So I would recommend a couple things before you head to Little Sahara: 1) install a voltage meter to watch your power. I installed one after I added some lights and it helped me keep an eye on how fast I was sucking power. 2) bring a spare voltage regulator. It's a pretty cheap part like $35 on Amazon. I would have gotten another day of night riding on a trip if I had it. You might be alright now that you eliminated the fuel pump, but the electronics in these bikes can be a show stopper as you know.
Great advice man! I ran the battery out just having the lights on for 15 minutes to adjust them lol; the battery is so small on this bike. I'd really like to do the kick start mod for reliability
You always deliver on the content mike keep it up nice quad my dude!
Would love to see a ds650 build. A great, mostly forgotten about quad that can found cheap, and can surely make great power. (Found mine road side for 400bucks, got it running half hour later).
I love how you branded the cylinder awesome
This Channel needs a Honda 700xx 🤟
YO! That would be sick.
Super nice look very clean and mean. Job well done brother.
Thank you Shawn!
Looks sick!! Love my KFX450r too! The aluminum frame is really confidence inspiring in the air.
Damn that sound really good !
good job man. nice ride
Michael always coming through with absolutely awesome builds....love the videos man please keep them coming 🙏👍
Cool modz she's gonna ripp in the sand lovin it Mike keep the videos coming..
Thank you Danny!
any update on the sand with this one..... love the look, sounds nice.
cool video Mike! love the mods
Looks sick with the paddles 🤤👍
Not a huge fan of the KFX450 but this 1 is wicked, looks and sounds awesome. You did a great job with this ride, definitely changed my mind on them. Again great job with the build and of course another awesome video bro. Until next time, SAVE the SPORT QUADS 🤙🏻👍🏻
Thank you Tony!
Have fun be safe out there. I’d love for you to tune and port my YFZ450 head one day. I wanna have a MS port job.
Thank you man; this is something I plan to offer in the near future; I want to make sure I have my skills honed before I start offering this to customers
I’m in love with the headlights ❤
I honestly prefer the fuel injection. The procom ecu is awesome. I can completely control my fuel maps and ignition. I do love my kfx for sure
I got the same light bars. Works great
Thanks for Making KFX450rs Great Again!
They never were great.
@@BobSmith-cb5xr fuck off Bob. What do you ride?
Hey, I have a KFX450r as well, and I was wondering where you were able to get new plastics for your machine! Love the videos!
These are actually OEM take offs from another quad that were in great shape; I got them from a subscriber!
That fit and finish on the exhaust though🙊 they even ground the inside of the header flange
This thing is sick! I'm not really a Kawasaki guy but this ones got my vote!👍
The carb swap is cool and all but I’ve never had a faster carb 450 bike compared to a fuel injected 450. I think you might’ve had better success if you got the kfx ecu re mapped. Just a thought.
carbs are way cheaper and easier to tune
I think FI is great but for these early KFX450R from what I gathered, its wasn't a great system and its not all uncommon that people swap to carburetors and get more power and easier starts.
100k coming soon mike 🤘🏻
Not gunna lie that’s a dream quad
Release the kraken!!!🔥🔥…Good job bro!
Thank you Andy 🤘
Great episode Mike! 👏
Night rides at Waynoka are awesome!
That turned out nice man.
So what made you decide to swap over to carbureted? I have a buddy that has one and with the fuel customs intake, fuel programmer, KXF 450 dirt bike cams, porting, and high compression piston he is somewhere in the low to mid 60hp range. You are just the first person I’ve seen swap it over to carb. Not that it’s a bad thing, it seems to be pretty quick and it starts right up no problem.
I think the EFI could have been improved but on this particular platform, its pretty common that people convert to carb. I have read up that people still run EFI and get a lot of power out of it though. I think it was just a sub-optimal design in these years, not necessarily that EFI itself is bad.
Fire glad u did these mods I told u they would spice her up that intake is 🥵
I just picked one up for a grand. About to do the motor. Seized up. Whered u get those headlights? And yeah that thing deff rips way harder now!!! Pipe sounds legit too btw!!!
Steal for a grand! The lights came from ebay - ebay.us/uVZidd
You have enough light to throw a party in the dunes with that light bar.. Sic AF
Looks and sounds awesome! Love them kawis! I’ve only been working on dirtbikes and “country” 4wheelers but I see something like this in my future.
🤟😎
Sabo built all day love your energy brother much love from upstate new York southern tier
Best looking quad in your fleet! Well, the 250R is my favorite but the KFX definitely is the runner up. All your builds are 🔝 notch. Well done Mike!
Soon as you said 6 months I knew exactly what it was I just got my exhaust too
Haha, worth the wait though
I know you posted this video a while ago but I’ve been to the little Sahara so many times and it’s so much fun I went over near years
That rossier exhaust is TRICK
Mike, you’re supposed to say you made the plate like that on purpose for “ Customization” 99% of people would . You’re not afraid to admit your mistake and show us not all mistakes are bad ones. Appreciate your builds bud- just picked up 400ex she’s whooped on but will be a good project for the rest of the winter.
Serious question, why don’t you ever go with fmf or yoshi pipes?
Good joob mike im yamaha at heart but u made me ❤ a kawasaki today
Haha, I'm happy to hear that
Awesome build
I'm going to the dunes to at the end of the month I'ma be riding either a KFX orange or just our rzr I can't wait!!
Love this machine. I Want to add a 450 to my stable to go with my raptor and renegade but dont want to get a yfz or a honda since they are the most popular. (I like to be different) lol. This kfx is really. A nice machine, id like to try out a canam da 450 also. Great video, i enjoyed the series.
I appreciate the content.
For me being a Honda person that’s a nice KFX450R man!!!!👍👌