Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125844
T he machine itself la ke s very little of your c om-entra tio n or physical energy. allowing: a rider 10 refine his personal te c hniques (especially if they 're good tec hniques) , try different lines, or jus I p layridc a ro un d , tho ugh t hat's n o t what this Kawasaki is all abo ut. The CDI el e ctronic ignition i s stutter-free and. so far as we could te ll in a re lati vel y sh ort test , faultl es s. Met er in g th ro ugh the 3 4 mm Mikuni se emed equall y good. Ther e arc no Ila t spots o n th e p ow crband, it is virtuall y im possib le to lo ad up th e e ng ine and, of cou rse, th ere are no poin ts o r timin g to fool wi th . 'I'hro tt le response is A·I all th e time from a ny place in th e rev range. It see ms w h a I Kaw asaki has done is d es ign an engine fo r motocro ss. fro m scra tch. with very little ancest ry atrribu ta ble 10 the F· j I of y ore and then mak e it put out gohs of us eable pow er directly tuned to mot ocross requirements. Th e Japanese are past masters in p roducing reli able engine s, th ou gh fe w w i th such a wide-range trac table pow erband as this o ne. Now, Kawasa ki has pu t this en gin e in a fir st -rat e frame. T he geome try is rig ht, with a n excep tio nal amoun t of trail for a Japanese d irt b ike . T he res u lt is stra igh t l in e s ta bi lity over j umps . whoop-de -d o cs, and co b by bumps (like at t he b ase of uphill s a nd d own hill s on an MX tr a ck). S o me h o w, thi s sa me fra me-sus pe ns io n combinalion wo rks Iike a c h am p th ro ugh the corners. Yo u can ~o in and change your line once in the corner without ge llin /{ out of shape or losing any time. I I is possible to cut very precise com ers and pass in the turns w ith out . b ogging. H yo u ' re tw o gea rs o ff" you 're a dummy a n d th e eng ine won't save you from yo urself. The fr o n t en d d oesn 't want to sha ke but , j us t li ke o n th e works b ikes, il will sti ll pl o w a b it so yo u k eep the th rottle on and the rear e nd co mes around and eve ry th in g works o ut j ust fine . T he only fau lt in th e power-h an d ling o f th e m ac h in e is th e fro nt forks. T h ey are noticea b ly deficie n t. This is apparent main ly be cause nothing else on the KX 2 5 0 proved to be . T hey 're no t bad. Playing arou nd with d ifferent we igh t fo rk oils a nd springs will help a lo t b ut it was possible in testing to b otto m the m under extreme c onditio ns. They do not, however, twit ch o r kick back. The forks are OK , they are jusl no t as Rood as th e rest o f the bike. S hort springs, thick sh aft, a nd a ll, the Ka yaba sh o cks are in credibly go od. In credible, because o n th e works bikes, they didn't quite ge t it. T h e brakes w orked better the m ore we used them. Th ere are two inherent d esign de fic ien cie s in th e brakes tha t man ife st th emse lves wi th each : fro n t an d rear. T he lea d ing edge o f th e fro n t b rake internal le ad in g shoe n eeds to be reli eved quite a hit before it will w ork spot on. T h is datu m has go ne o ut 10 a ll deal er s carrying the Ka wasa ki MX er a n d shou ld b e part of d eal er p rep. The fro n I brake o n o ur tes t bike h ad n ot been fixe d and it h o wled loudly throughout the test wh enever und er heavy lo ad, like brakin g hard into a tigh t turn o r on downhills. The rear brake h as the spon gy feel we've en countered on most ca b le-o pe ra te d rear brakes. It wo rks well , is progres sive, bUI la c ks t he positive feel o f good rod-operated re ar stoppers. T he b rakes pass fo r MX , and are enclosed in ligh twei ght h u b s lace d to DI D allo y ri ms, so just file do wn the fron t shoe a nd u se the m h ard . T hey'll bed in . . The re ar brake pedal and, in fa ct, a ll c o n tro ls are very we ll thought out and fun cti on eq ually well . Cables a re a ll thi ck. The pegs grip well and shed m ud . The handlebars arc w ide, cro ss-b raced , an d o f very go o d shape. The grips on the end of the bars are stic ky wit h little ridges th aI h ave ga ps in them. T his should m ea n they're e as ier to hold o n to when wet, with more fric tio n surfaces. but w e didn't get them wet so d on' t know for sure. There are rubber snap-on c overs over th e levers to keep m u d and grit out o f th e piv ot points, an added refl ection o f Kawasaki's attentio n to det ailin g on this motocrosser. It might help if the sp okes were c en te r pull m ounted as th ey got a little loose. This was . however. on a new bike. There is a bi g, furry, o ile d foam air " cleaner se curely mo un ted inside a big. waterproof still air box. The gr u nge sifter is ac cessible through two side panels that co me off wi th two screws ea c h and then are re ta in ed by a ru b b e r 1001' fro m falli ng to t he gro und. A ll ver y neal and handy and easy to wo rk o n. The u nbreakab le white fen ders are bi g, de ep, a nd work extremely we ll. Wit h a mud nap. The seat IS long. narrow and we ll-shaped as is the Kawasa ki Racin g Green tank. The seat-tank relationship fai ls o n ly b ecause t he seat gets very soft right where it butts ag ai ns t the tank making it more of an effort to h o is l y our crotc h up o n th e ta n k for c o rne ring. 11 was no big thin g but it was notic eable. Yo u end up fallin g back on suc h details for c riticis m when the wh o le bike h as b een e xec u ted with such purpo se ful t h o ro ug hn ess. All these swell com pone n ts a ttac h ed t o th is go o d frame wh ich h olds this fin e e ng ine ad d up, in total. t o a bou t 2 10 lb s. d ry weight. And it feels th a t ligh t, wh ich m a k es it ev en eas ie r and more fun and mor e co mpetitive in racin g. O ne lester, w he n pressed fo r hi s incisive comme nts on the Kawa saki KX 2 5 0 . t ho ught for a m oment a n d said , "Gee, it 's ne a t all aro u nd ." 11 is, an d Kawasa ki also offers a 3 0 d ay parts w ar ra n ty on th is racer, making th em the o n ly com petit io n bi ke builder besides Hodaka t o d o so th ese d ay s. The 250 class has a new winner. in the hands of an y b o dy from N ovi ce 10 Pro. There is n o su ch thing as a dominator in th is class anymore , but the K X2 5 0 makes on e h ell o f a strong n ew con te n d er. 11 is race-ready . it is not ex pensive. and best o f a ll, it's b een done right. • Kawasaki Kalibrations Engine displaceme nt Bore x stro ke Carburetion Engine width Handlebars Wheelbase Ground clearance Ignit ion Rake/trail Tires/wheels Fue l capacity Dry weight Sug. retail price 246cc 69 .5 x 64.9mm 34mm Mikuni VM34SC 12 " 35.4 " 55 ·5S" 7 .7" CO electronic 59 degrees/ 5.S" Dunlo p 3.00 x21/ 4.60x 18 on 0 .1.0. rims 2+ gal. 210 lbs. $1 150 . 31