MXA TEAM TESTED: LUXON MX ANTI-TWIST KX250/450 BAR MOUNTS

WHAT IS IT? Most stock, rubber-mounted handlebars twist in a minor tip-over. To straighten them out, you have to unbolt everything, slap the bars back and forth until they align into the correct position, and re-tighten them. The Luxon MX Anti-Twist bar mounts for the KX250 and KX450 use the latest engineering technology to resist twisting.

WHAT’S IT COST? $144.95 (KX450/KX250), $109.95 to $179.95 (for other brands). 

CONTACT? www.luxonmx.com or (858) 586-1100. 

WHAT STANDS OUT? Here’s a list of things that stand out with the Luxon MX bar mounts for the KX250 and KX450.

(1) Concept. Kawasaki has weak bar mounts. There are two factors that contribute to them twisting so often: separate bar mounts and wimpy rubber cones.

(2) Separate bar mounts. To strengthen the KX mounts and reduce handlebar-twisting, Luxon MX utilizes a solid, one-piece, lower bar mount; however, previous one-piece lower bar mounts have been known to not only twist but bend. Luxon’s solution was to increase strength in the one-piece lower bar mount.

(3) Rubber cones. Kawasaki’s bar mounts are damped by marshmallow-like rubber OEM cones. When you crash, the mushy rubber cones deform and twist the bar mounts. It looks like you bent your bars, but in reality, you squashed the rubber cones. Some riders fix the twisting issue by swapping the stock KX rubber cones for solid aluminum ones. These reduce twisting greatly, but sacrifice the reduction in vibration that the rubber cones provide. Luxon MX originally created ultra-strong mounts that never failed, but they found that these only created more expensive problems for the consumer when other parts broke instead of the bar mounts twisting. In the end, Luxon MX decided to use the stock Kawasaki rubber cones in bar mounts that will bend in a foreseeable crash, but can take a much larger blow before they twist. 

(4) Adjustability. On Kawasaki motocross models, the bars can be moved forward or backward in the clamps. The Luxon mounts feature the same reversibility as the stock mounts to allow the two bar mount holes to become four handlebar positions by rotating the eccentric bar mounts fore or aft. Additionally, Luxon’s mounts come with drilled titanium spacers to give riders the option to raise their handlebars by 5mm or 10mm. If you like the stock handlebar height, place the Ti spacers under the top triple clamp to take up the extra space on the mounting posts. 

(5) Warranty. Luxon MX offers a crash-replacement program that gives riders who have damaged their Luxon MX components a discount on their replacement parts. In return for the discount, Luxon requires a detailed description of the crash so the engineers can learn more about why and how the product failed. You can get an even bigger discount by providing video footage of the crash for their engineers to analyze.

(6) Options. The Luxon MX bar mounts are available for Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda, KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas and Suzuki motorcycles.

WHAT’S THE SQUAWK? We expected the Luxon MX bar mounts to come with higher-durometer rubber cones instead of using the stock worn-out ones.  

MXA RATING: If you like straight handlebars and don’t want  to spend precious time working on your front  end in the pits, you’ll appreciate the Luxon MX bar mounts. They don’t eliminate handlebar  twist, but they increase the handlebars’ resistence to twisting.