Image: Jeff Crow.

NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki team manager Troy Carroll has confirmed Adam Monea and Jake Moss will remain aboard the 2014 KYB air fork in the final two rounds of the Monster Energy MX Nationals.

Kawasaki’s KX450F has featured the KYB air fork for the past two years, however it will switch to Showa’s brand new production SFF-AIR TAC fork as of the 2015 model.

Despite Team Motul Suzuki’s Matt Moss dominating Raymond Terrace using the Showa SFF-AIR TAC fork that will also come standard on the RM-Z450 next year, Monea and Jake Moss will wait until supercross before making the transition when Kawasaki introduces the 2015 KX450F to its factory team.

“We have a great setting on the KYB air fork we’ve been using on the current bike, so we will wait for supercross when we launch the 2015 model with the new Showa air fork,” Carroll said. “We’ve already been testing and have had some great success so far with it.

“There’s no point in us uprooting what the boys are doing now outdoors, so for us to go and change it, we don’t want to confuse the riders or put a heap of testing on them at this point. We will wait until supercross.”

Suzuki’s Matt Moss has taken a vital amount of confidence from the early introduction of the SFF-AIR fork, with the Jay Foreman-led team pre-ordering a production set and fitting them to his 2014 RM-Z for the final three nationals. Initial results have seen Moss stretch out a 40-point advantage in the standings.

“Now we have the 2015 forks – the triple air forks – and I’m just loving it!” Matt Moss said after his Raymond Terrace win. “The bike feels so much better. It really makes it easier to get out there and feel really comfortable and confident that you can go fast.”

The 2015 model Kawasaki and Suzuki 450s will come standard with the Showa SFF-AIR TAC fork, while Honda will retain the KYB air fork and Yamaha continues to use the conventional spring KYBs. KTM has its traditional WP forks, as Husqvarna transfers to the WP 4CS system.