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/126632
The tra ction requires a n attentive rider. Difficu lty in ma king the tra nsitio n from sitti ng to standing is th e lia bility. Th e seat ed position is good an d so is th e standing position. but. especia ll y for taller riders . the transitio n is clumsy. Accel er ating ov er jumps or wh oops requ ire s th e rider to be standing, but comer exits happen q uic kly, making it difficult for nonPro riders to co pe . We also found tha t while th e suspe ns io n was plush under power, it so me times was uncertain in off-th ro tt le sit ua tions . Our Nov icelevel rider, even though he kn ew th e KX woul d do exactly as it was su pposed to if he gassed it, found situatio ns wh ere h e wa s h esitant to do what was necessary. O ur Intermediat elevel rid er felt th at h e co u ld become acc ustomed to th e bike an d win on it. He owns both a Honda a nd Suzuki 250. A top-level Pro immediately felt at home and began turning co m pe titi ve lap times wi th in a few laps. H e had praise for th e sus pension , handling and especiall y the engine. He did notice tha t th e rear end hopped a little u n der h ar d stutter- bump bra king. In ge ne ral, riders with Kawasaki expe rienc e, even if it was o n 125s, adap ted more quickl y and lik ed th e bike more. Despite its dem ands. nobody fell off the KX for the duratio n of the impression. While we were not ab le to practice starts wi th a ll four J apanese 250s at o nce, we did drag race a ll of th em during th e test. The KX was the fast est by differing ma rgins. Sand is the one surface th a t sha kes th e Ka wasaki ' s aplomb. A h eav y th rottl e a nd cl u tch hand a re necessary to mak e th e KX beh ave in th e sof t stu ff, T he en gine is a t h ome, bu t front-end wash ou t had to be wa tched. La rge sandy wh oops require effo rt fro m th e ride r beca use th e bik e has a short feeling a nd th e tire is still hook in g up in th e vall eys o f eac h wh oop . After our ini tia l su sp ension set-up, we took two turns of co m p ressio n damping o ut of th e front fork and upped th e rebound on th e shock to the number three setting. What we h ave here is a 249cc rn otocro sser th at req u ires more throttl e contro l than a powerf ul Open class bike. It steers well , tu rns well, jumps eas ily and la nds ligh tly, h owever, it requ ires yo ur best to do its best a nd it goes lik e th e proverbial bat ou t of H ades. Face the real ity of what it req uires. Do yo u h ave wh at it asks ? If yo u do , yo u wi ll love it. If yo u do n 't , look elsewhere for somethi ng slower tha t will let you go faster. To quote one test rider, "As soon as I ge t in shape, I' m buying one." • (To p left) The KX is easy to j ump . (A bove) The bike's fini sh w as good and du rable . (Below ) Cornering was excellent, but the m achine can ge t very busy in t he f ast stuff. (Bot t o m) The 249cc powerplant is a po ny producer with mucho gusto. The KX beat all t he other Japanese 250 c c MXers. 5 pacifications Engine Type Displacement Bore x stroke Oil capacity Compression ratio Starting system Ignition system Spark plug Transmission Carburetor 2 -stroke, liquid cooled single cylinder. 249cc. 70 X 64.9mm. (Transmission) .74 quarts. 8 .8:1 . Primary Kickstart. C.D. 1. NGK B8E6 . Constant-mesh, f ive-speed . Keihin PE38 . Frame Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tubular single down-tube. Front suspension/travel .· Telescopic fork /11.81 in .Rear suspension /travel Uni-Trak /12.01 in . Front tire 3.00 -21 . Rear t ire 5.10x18. Dimensions Wheelbase Seat height Minimum ground clearance Dry weight (claimed) Fuel capacity Suggested retail price , 57.68 in. N/ A. 13.78 in . 216 Ibs. 2 .1 U.S. gallons. $2,219 23