Kawasaki had long produced the KX60 mini motocross model, something that made it a class leader or THE class, if you want. That happened for some good 13 years (1984-1997) and the bike doesn't feature many changes from that period.

But after the KTM assault on the class, Kawasaki had to come up with an answer and they had to do it quickly as the KTM 65SX started getting its fair share of the market.

The answer came together with the new millennium and it was named KX65. Practically an upgraded KX60, the new bike in the lineup featured a larger displacement engine, new chassis, linkage-type rear suspension and bigger front forks. The idea was to get it as close as possible to those large motocross bikes that kids craved on getting and now they didn't see it as a compromise solution.