Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

the clutch isn' t needed at all. There 's enough low-end power to pull th e KX through th e turns, and enough midrange to keep it roo sting down the straigh ts. . . The clu tch has good feel (but is a lillie grabby) and a light p ull. Shi fting, however, wasn't so smooth. We missed a lo t of sh ifts on the KX, desp ite the gear shifter being easy to reach. Not only is th e Ka wasa ki's motor pow erful, bu t so are the brakes, Both the fro n t and rear brakes are extremely strong, bu t a tad on the touchy side. It tak es a lillie time gelling used lO th e rear brake, becaus e it was easy lO lock u p th e rea r infested with accele ration bumps on th e KX isn't as smooth as th e 1988 Suzu ki RM250 , but good enough to keep fro m having to back off the throttle. Cornering the KX is smooth a nd controllable, but not very quick. It 's much happier out in the berms, p o wer in g through the loa m , or fo llowing the hard -packed groove. Jum ping th e KX requires delicate throttle con trol, at leas t until you get used lO th e quick and powerful throttle respo nse. But in fligh t, the Kawasaki doesn't play an y ga mes a nd is fair ly easy to throw arou nd. The front end has the tendancy to climb a lilli e bit. The Kawasaki doe sn 't have that nimble feeling; it's not th e type to be £licked around. The wider layout mak es the KX easier to grasp with your legs, wh ich especia lly co mes in handy through the turns, bu t o ur bi ggest gr ipe wi th th e KX i s th e seat. It 's waytoo soft. Since the sea t is so soft, th e rider has th e tendency to sink into the seat's foam , making it a little di fficull to move aro und on the bike. Plus, th e pl astic seat ba se can be fel l. Ouch ! The handlebars have a co mfortable bend and aren 't too wide. The grips lasted for one ride before we switched to aftermarket grips. The stock ones wear out quickly and aren 't very comfortable in the first place. For taller riders, th e handlebar clamps can be mounted backw ards to move th e bars farther forward. The bigger gas tan k is versatile a nd is n' t ob trusive, but th e ra dia to r ' sh ro uds stick out too far. We snapped o rr both sides on our firs t two rides o n th e bike - one from a fall, and o ne from getting hung up on a bush 00 00 whi le tra il riding. Everybody who rod e th e KX on the 0') Cycle News s ta ff feels that the ....... Kawasaki is an extremely competitive motorcycle because of its potent midrange power, excell ent brakes, sta ble suspension a nd overa ll solid feeling. . It was also easy to work on .th e bike and we had no problems with its reliability; no thing broke; and th e KX never fou led a spark p lug, which seems lO be a problem with ma ny MXers these da ys. This is a mo torcycle we' d hav e no prob lems living with. • Kawasaki KX250-F1 Suspension is much improved thanks to the new KYB cartridge fork, which replaces last year's TCV desiqn, Some. cosmetic changes include a green-painted frame and unpainted (silver) engine cases. . wheel on dry gro und. The front di sc is a lillie noi sy. Under hard braking, our KX made a combination squeaking/grinding sound, but it didn 't seem to be damaging. The Kawa saki 's sus pensio n is mil es better th an last year's KX, and that ca n be traced down to th e new cartridge KYB fo rk . Last year's Travel Control Valve KYB fork !pve a harsh ride and just was n 't sensiti ve enough o ver th e smaller, sharp edged bumps, a nd landing o ver bi g jumps mad e yo u want to cringe a nd hold on tight. That is no longer th e case. The new fork is so much beuer : than beforeit gives th e Ka wasak i a whol e new feeling. The bike no longer has a busy feelin g at high spee ds o ver semi-rough ground. It tracks strai ght a nd feels m uch more stable. L ucki ly, th e rear Un i-T rak sus pension has no problems keeping up with the front. It now a bsor bs th e small stuff better than ever, and still has eno ugh muscle to handle th e gnarly wh oops and jumps without bo ttoming out hard. Poweri n g o u t of turns th at are Retail price • • ••• ••••• $2999 Engine type • •• •• Liquid-cooled, reed-valve. two-stroke. single Bore x stroke • • • 67.4x70.0mm Displacement • •• • • • • • • 249cc Compression ratio •• • •• 10.1:1 Carburetor •• •• • • 39mm Keih in Horsepower ....•.• •••. N / A Torque • • • • •• •• ••••• • • N /A Starting system •• • Primary kick Ignition • •••••• •••• . ••• COl Lubrication ••. • •• • • • • Premix Primary drive •• •• •straight-cut gear Final drive . •• • • • • • # 5 20 chain Frame •..••• High.tensile steel. sem i-double cradle Rake ••• ••• • • • ••.. ' .' . • 28 0 Trail ...• •.•• • • • •• • • • 5 .1-in Front suspension ••• •• cartridge KYB te lescopic fork Fork tube diameter •• ; • •43mm Front wheel travel • • • • 11 .8-in. Rear suspension •••• KYB single shock Uni -Trak Rear wheel travel • . • • • 13.0-in . Front brake • • • • • • ••• •. • Disc Rear brake . • •. • • •.• ••• Disc Front tire •••••••• 80 /100-21 Dunlop K490 Rear tire •. •• •• • • 110/100-18 Dunlop K595 Claimed dry weight • • • 21 .7Ibs. Wheelbase •••••.•..• 59.1 in. Seat height • •.• ••• • • 36.8 in. Ground clearance •••• • 13.0 in. Fuel capacity • •..•••• 2.6 gal. .Colors • ••• • • • ••••• • • Green The seat and tank layout is wider compared to last year's ultra-thin design . The seat is too soft. 25

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