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
The Kawasaki 250cc F-II Enduro The Kawasaki F-ll enduro will puzzle you if you've ridden its motocross count erpart. The KX-250's different bore-stroke configuration (69 .5 x 64 .9 ) may be part of the reason for the motocrosser's greater low end throttle response which seems so 32 n o t i ce abl y lacking in the F· I1 , especially when you've ridden th em both. T he first time t hat we ro de th e 250cc F· I I w as during a Christmas vacatio n up in the Rocky Moun ta ins. A fter one brie f ride we went to th e lo cal Kawasak i de aler (Capitol Kaw asa ki in Santa Fe, New Mex ico ) and asked for in fo rma tion on jetti ng. T hey recommended th a t we replace the stoc k 11 2.5 main jet wit h a 97.5 . It still felt rich , so we tried lowering th e needl e bu t still d id n't get th e low-end throttle res ponse that we were looking fo r. Next we trie d a 92.5 main jet. No pe. A 95 wit h the needl e b ack to th e o riginal middle p osit io n gave the best response but it still wasn't very good. All th e jet-changing was easy be cause t he Mikuni carb has the externally-accessible type of main je t that can be changed without removing or disassembling the carb o Back down at sea-level we fo und th a t the low-e nd lack wasn't bro ught on by the altitude. It just wasn 't th ere. It was missed when pla n kin g up hill s o r try ing to get the fro nt wheel up over o bstacles at low speed. At higher speed things weren 't as bad if you got your weigh t ba ck an d kept the gas o n. The forks helped too. lt was a lso difficult to lo w speed brodie type maneuvers or to get away briskly in deep sand. The lack o f low-end is particul arly noticeable if you've rid den Kawasaki's l75cc F-7. The smaller rotary valve power plant had mu ch better throttle res ponse an d pow er spread. But it was felt to be too wid e in it s 250cc version (F -S) an d aba ndoned in favor of the F-I1's piston -port powerplan t. If this configuration is to be maintained , a reed valve might b e useful. On the othe r h and, the KX ·2 50 doesn't have a ree d and its low -end is terr if ic - w hic h is hard to explain if you consider th e fac t that it has mare top-end, a b igger car b , and hairier porting. Changin g th e exhaust pipe is supposed to help, but the stock one is so nice and quie t. Some of the engine's lo w sp eed problems may come from .the sligh tly tall first gear, which probably wouldn 't have felt so tall if the low-end had be en there, they didn 't work too well together though. Shifting was easy and definite and neutral is between first and second instead of all the way at the b ottom like those of the Kawasaki street bikes. Riding around New Mexico also wore out th e rear shocks after a few days when they started bottoming out. Un til then w e had felt pre tty good abo u t th e handling wh ich was precise in turns an d con fidenc e inspiring in the b umpy st uff. T he forks work w ell and have en o ugh travel for most situations. The tri als un iversal ti res are standard far e o n J apanese end uro bikes and are a n acc eptabl e dirt-st reet co m pro mise b ut excel in n either area. Th ey wo rk surprisingl y well o n the st reet un less it's wet o r greasy an d o nly lack for trac tion off -ro ad when you 're d ealin g wit h sa nd , mud, or so met hing else deep and so ft. T hey work p re tty well in snow, but we can't recommend them fo r ice. Handling in general was like a h e avie r , m or e sof tly s p rung, n o t-so -neatly -su spended versio n of th e KX-250. Damping wasn't as spot-on , but it was close. Yo u co uld get into a . corner a bit hot an d the n t hrow it down and slide wit h co nfidence. It's fairly precise and stable at all speeds. You had t o keep the revs up in sand. Travel on the street reveal ed that the bike was fast en o ugh to thoroughly ' break th e new 55 MPH speed laws . It will d o about SO. The tir es cause a lit tle wobble in rain grooves, but it never gets danger ou s. Brakin g is b etter than most of the dual purpose b ikes and was sens iti ve en ough fo r good con trol in the dirt. We go t about 40 MPG wh ile usin g it on t he street. The lighting was fair. T he headligh t was b righ t bu t had a pen cil-t ype beam; it didn' t sp rea d o ut. T he headli ght is j uiced off th e magne to bu t the res t of the electrics, wi th th e excep tio n of th e ignition, get th eir elec tro ns from the battery . T he t urn signals were n ice because t hey ne ver b rok e in th e fo ur o r five times tha t we go t ram b un ct ious with the bike. The rear o nes seeme d to have a flexib le eno ugh moun ting to give so m e whe n the bike lands o n the m, and the fro nt ones are tu cked under the handlebars. The m uffler is ni ce and quiet and will After a bit of rid ing the rear shocks began to bottom. Otherwise it handled pretty we ll. The wheels are the trick 0 .1.0. kind. They pack sn ow but not so much mud. Note missing tool box lid. We d id this to it several times but we never b roke anyt hing...even on the ice. do most riders more good than they will ever real ize or app rec iate. The tool box lid is kind of a bogus arran gemen t. Ours fell o ff and the to ol kit foll owed it . Fortunately we didn ' t need any tools. Although th e majority of riders w on 't miss it , there are so me who are going to wish that th e F-I I had a good skid pla te. T h e cases are pretty exposed at the ed ges. We felt pre tt y go od ab o ut most of th e other details. You...might wan t to thro waway t he tach sin ce the bike won't p ull re d line wit hou t a whole b unc h of ab use anyway . T hey probabl y just put it on for pe ople wh o like gizmos and to help ro ad -testers get th eir RPM readings right. If yo u don't mind a little w eigh t, th e oil inje ction system will save some fus s and extend engin e life . The 1974 version has rubber bu mpers in t he hu b to pro tect the cha in an d make power d elivery a bi t smoother. T he seat locks with th e ignition key. Starting was usuall y a three or four kick deal un less you screwed up . The horn was a udible to most mot o rists with their windows down and their radios off. We liked the grip s and th e levers, but didn't like the funn y tai l-fin that some sty list ta lke d the m into putting behind th e seat. The seat its elf was co mfo rt able for a long time. We wish for a bit be tter throttle response at low -end an d stronger shocks. The F-ll is an accep tab le street and toodle-in -th e-bushes motorcycle, but it needs those improvemen ts to be a very good on e. It has the chassis and the KX-250 shows tha t the o ther things are available. • Endurable Specifications: Engine . . . p iston port, two stroke single Displacement Bore x stroke . _ Carb _ Ignition Starting Shift Pattern 246 .8cc 68 x 68mm 30mm Mikun i _ Magneto kick up fo r up, 1-N-2 -3-4-5 Fuel capacity 3 .74 ga l. Height .4 5.2 in. Len gth 8 4 .6 in. _about 275 lb . We ight Miles rec orded during t est 129 T ire size, rear Ti re size . fro nt. Suggested retail 4.00 x 2 1 3 .00 x 2 1 $899 plus tax. etc.