Is This the Ultimate Vet Weapon? | Ken Roczen’s KX450SR

 

We saw an Internet meme once that said, “They say that money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy dirt bikes and that makes me happy.” In late 2022, Ken Roczen was without a ride for the 2023 Supercross season and it looked as if he’d field a privateer machine until something popped up by way of a fill-in or last-minute opportunity. Word on the street was that KR had tested a Kawasaki KX450 and loved the feeling of the green machine, so he had a pair of them – one for racing and one for practice – built up by none other than Mitch Payton and Pro Circuit. In the 11th hour, though, Roczen tested with the Progressive Insurance/Yoshimura/Suzuki team and was so impressed with the RM-Z450, that he signed on to race both Monster Energy Supercross and World Supercross with the team.

That left not one, but two super-trick Kawasaki KX450s sitting in the Pro Circuit race shop, with no one to race them. Pro Circuit posted them on its Instagram account for upwards of $30,000 each. While many dreamt and drooled, only two parties were bold enough to step up and make the purchase. While one was a private collector whom we’ve met but who wants no attention, the other was our friend Todd Ford from Custom Upfits, a popular van and trailer builder in NorCal. Several weeks ago, Ford offered us the opportunity to test the KR KX450 so we had Pat Foster put it through its paces. Once PFo was done, though, that’s when Ford threw his leg over his new toy for the first time. We thought it would be cool to have him ride our 2023 KX450SR test bike before he got aboard the fire-breathing green machine…