2001 Kawasaki Lakota Sport
| New Lakota Sport Changes Color and Sheds Pounds “The tighter the trail the more |
 |
Does removing 21lbs. of racks make an ATV “sporty”? Losing weight always helps an ATV feel more sporty, especially if the ATV in question was a little overweight to begin with. But is it just the loss of the racks and the twin headlights that make the Lakota a sport model? Can you have a sport model with racks? Can you have a sport model with an auto-clutch? A few years ago the answer would have been no and no! However the product lines and categories have blurred. We now have automatic clutch sport models and even automatic transmission models that feel sporty. So, the question gets asked again, is the Lakota Sport actually now a sport model? I would classify it as a medium sport model. It does not possess the sheer speed of a true hi-performance model. But actually, how often do you really need all that speed? Where I’m from in the northeast, most trails consist of woods and rocks, with a little mud thrown in. Here the Lakota Sport earns its name. The tighter the trail the more fun the “Sport” becomes.
With its short wheelbase, even with the +1in. swingarm over the Mojave, it is a blast to run through the woods just having fun. Most of the time I spend in 2nd gear just cruising through the woods. And the more time I was in the woods with the “Sport”, the more I grew to like it. Its power is adequate for trail use and acceleration from corner to corner is quite snappy, although once you get tapped out in 5th, the powerband flattens out way too quickly. At 51.3- GPS mph, the top speed is more than adequate. Starting is instantaneous with the electric starter and it’s a good thing too, because you will never get the motor running when cold by using the supplied backup recoil starter. Once running (especially in cold weather) you can not touch the throttle or it will die until it has run for a couple of minutes. Once warmed up it carburetes cleanly. Shifting of the 5-speed gearbox is smooth and precise, although it helps to have a size 10 or better boot that would place the shift lever above your foot instead of your tip-toes. Reverse is engaged by shifting down to neutral and turning the dash mounted reverse interlock knob and shifting down. Controls fall under hand and are easy to use, and the thumb throttle is even comfortable. The handlebar reach during a full lock turn is a bit excessive, requiring a long reach for the outboard hand. The seat is quite comfortable for an all day ride. The smallish fuel tank (2.2 gal.) could be a little larger but the small carb doesn’t drink it down very fast.
|
|
;)
Initially the “Sport” rode quite stiffly. As delivered, the suspension was set on the 2nd click, front and rear, after dropping both down, the ride improved, although the rear seems to have quite high rebound damping that is non-adjustable. This rears its ugly head as the pace is picked up over stutter bumps and as speed increases, the short chassis starts to rock fore and aft because the suspension is no longer following the terrain.
The front brakes are firm and quite powerful, overwhelming the slippery OEM Goodyear Wrangler Sport tires. I found the rear brakes, as actuated by the foot pedal, to be mostly useless on a fast trail that required repeated applications. It’s not that the rear disc brake isn’t powerful nor controllable, because it is. It’s just that if you have to make an extreme effort to apply it, it does no good. Kawasaki milled a slot into the clevis of the rear brake’s master cylinder piston rod so the first 1.5in. of pedal travel is free-play. After that the brakes can be applied but by this time you are bending your ankle to apply pressure to the pedal that is now 2 full inches below the level of the footpeg! If you think this is uncomfortable and not within the range of a human ankle, you are right! So, I ended up ignoring the rear pedal and used the lesser powered left hand lever to mechanically actuate the caliper’s piston.