PRP Racing’s Four Point Subframe

Remember this picture from our initial KFX test? Well, you didn’t see the end result where Nathan wound up rolling the KFX over. Little did we know this was the beginning of the end for the machine’s subframe. A while back we had the opportunity to test Kawasaki’s KFX400 sport machine. What impressed us most about the machine was its ability to excel in many types of riding conditions. The only complaint we had was the body roll in corners, an attribute mainly caused by the stock rounded profile tires. When it was time to go riding, the KFX400 was often the first choice by several of our test riders, so we decided to keep it around long-term.

After we completed our initial test session and the article was published, we pulled our KFX out of the garage to clean it up before taking it out on a trail ride. That’s when we discovered that test rider Nathan Delabar had tweaked our machine’s stock sub frame. During our initial test, Nathan had gently rolled the machine trying to pitch it sideways for the camera. The rollover was minor enough that we never even thought to look for damage; however we were now facing a rear fender with a cracked mounting tab, a bent mounting bracket, and a stock sub frame that was tweaked to the left by several degrees.

It was now time for us to make a decision. We could either straighten the stock sub frame, leaving it weaker than before, or replace it with something stronger. From a tip that we received from, “Superman” Ryan Barns, we put a call in to Dave Porter of PRP Racing to see what solutions he had for our tweaked Kawie.

PRP to the rescue
While it may have only been tweaked by a few degrees, the KFX weak stock subframe was on the way out. Check out the bent mounting bracket and the broken plastic tag off of the rear fenders.After talking with PRP about our dilemma, they agreed that trying to straighten the stock subframe would indeed weaken it. Instead they suggested we go with their replacement PRP Four Point Chromoly Subframe, which bolts up to the stock mounting brackets on the frame. PRP makes a four point and a six point subframe for the YFZ, which requires welding on two lower mounting brackets on the stock frame. However, since the KFX and the Z have mounting brackets low on the frame already, there is no need for a six point setup. We were assured their four point system would be plenty strong.

While PRP offers their products in a variety of powder coat colors, we ordered ours raw. We are planning on turning our KFX into a complete project build in the near future, so we wanted to have all of our powder work done in one location to ensure the colors matched perfectly.

Precision Powder Works
To handle our powder coating needs for the subframe we chose Precision Powder Works, located in Maysville, KY. Precision’s owner Phil Lamb is a serious ATV enthusiast himself, and is as anal about the way a machine looks as anyone, so we were confident that his work would turn out first-rate.

After carefully prepping our subframe, Phil applied a Wet Black powder and into the oven it went. Several days after we dropped it off, we got the call from Phil telling us that our subframe was finished and ready for pickup. Needless to say, we were impressed with his speedy turn around time and more importantly, the finish was flawless. Price for coating our unfinished subframe was a reasonable $65.

Installation was simple on the new PRP Four Point Subframe, except the upper tabs were a few millimeters too small. PRP offered to three-day us a new subframe, but we opted to just drill out the holes. Regardless, we were extremely impressed with PRP’s willingness to stand behind their product.

Installation
Driven by feelings of extreme guilt since he was the one that bent the stocker, Nathan Delabar volunteered to handle the subframe swap out. After removing the rear fenders, the rest of the necessary hardware and the stock subframe, it was time to install the new unit. Everything looked as though it was going to line up perfectly, until we tried to install the upper subframe bolts. We pulled the subframe off of the KFX main frame and attempted to slide the bolts through the upper holes on the subframe. Unfortunately, we were surprised to find that the upper holes were several millimeters too small to allow the bolts to pass through.

We immediately put in a call to PRP to see if they could shed any light on what was going on here. Dave Porter answered and informed us that we had a little lack of communication going since the Z / KFX hole dimensions differ from earlier models. Dave never tried to lay the blame on us for not specifying the year of our machine. He even stepped up and offered to three-day us a completely new subframe to remedy the problem.

We passed on his gracious offer however. Since we were going to completely dismantle the KFX for a future project, we thought we would save PRP through the expense and hassle of sending us a new unit. After opening the holes a few millimeters with a Drimmel tool, everything lined up perfectly and the rest of the installation was a snap.

 Rating the PRP Four Point Subframe
Besides the minor setback caused by the upper mounting tab holes, we were very impressed with the construction of PRP’s chromoly subframe. All of the welds were extremely clean and the subframe looked great on the Kawie. What’s more, PRP saved us bit of weight over the stock subframe. The only concern we have with the design of this part is the rear fender mounting brackets. The stock fender mounting tabs bolt to the stock subframe, making them replaceable should you bend one in a rollover. The PRP rear fender mounting tabs are wielded directly to the subframe, a design similar to that used by other aftermarket subframe manufacturers. While this design may be stronger and lighter than the stock bolt on brackets, bending a mounting tab will result in completely ruining a $389 part.

Still, the PRP Subframe comes in lighter and stronger than the weak mild steel unit it replaces and the PRP unit should hold up much better to hard landings and the occasional unforeseen rollover. What was most impressive to us was PRP’s customer service and willingness to stand behind what they sell; two qualities not always seen in the retail ATV industry.

PRP is a company we definitely feel comfortable doing business with and their subframe proves to be superior in almost every way to the stock unit it replaces.

PRP Racing
(315) 942-5291

Precision Powder Works
(859) 816-8540

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