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/127951
The new "s horty" Power Jet carburetor Is . narrower from front to back and st ili retains the "bat wings." Both the KX125 and 250 have new braces for the radiators. lo nger. Kawasaki claims tha t va lving still controls most of the bott oming, bu t t he rubber da mper is th ere to reduce "clanking" and sharp jolts to the rider's han ds and wrists. The low er fork legs have more ove rlap an d thus increa sed r ig idi ty. Th e ax le is cla mpe d with tw o bolt s (down fro m fo u r) o n ea ch si d e . The onl y threade d area is the ou ter edge, where a nut pulls th e axle to the side before . the clamps lock the axle in p lace. There is also less underhan g below the a xle. With the old-style clamp, it was possible for t he forks to tw ist sligh tly in ex tre me con d itions because th e ax le cou ld thread itself in and ou t between th e fork legs. Som e of th e int ernal fork p arts a re now a lumin u m ins tead o f stee l. A lot of atten tion was paid to d etail o n t he 19 99 KX25 0: T he rear brake pads now use a special ceramic coating t o insulat e them from heat, a nd the p ad ba ck in g pi a te is n o w th icke r to p reve nt warping u nder extre me condition s; th e footpegs are now hea t-trea ted fo r a dded st rength and inc reased w ea r -res is tance; fo r m-fi t te d plast ic covers the sw ingarm- pivot a rea to prot e ct t he fr am e and give th e ride r's boo ts m ore bite; th e gas ca p is now smalle r and has ro unded edges to bet ter protect rid er s wh o s it up o n th e tank; a w h ite p lastic tube in th e fille r neck pre v ents s plas hi ng an d o ffe rs s lig h tly m ore lig h t in th e tank when filli ng; a n ew cl utc h ca b le h a s th e adjuster nea r the eng ine and is rerouted for an easier pull; a nd new ha ndg ri ps ha ve no r ibs on th e p alm si de and use softer rubber. Pretty much all of the cha nges made to the KX250 were also made to the '99 Hlgh-and lowspeed damp ing adjusters are now featured on the rear s hock of the KX125 and 250. The KX125 gets U-shaped rims. KX125 , incl ud ing K-T RlC , and then some. The ' 98 KX125 h ad a co u p le of changes that we re all its own. Th e KX125 was in serious need of power, so Kawasaki rep orted the cyli nder a nd m a d e so me cha nges to t he KIPS ex ha us t p o w er va lve, w h ic h Kawasaki claims has a "freer flowing" su rface . . The re were also some changes mad e to the chassis, as well . The steering head has been mo ved backw ard 15m m a nd the swingarm is 10mm shorter, resulting in a 30m m-s horter wheelbase th an th e '98 mo d el. Also , the sea t foa m is now 25mm sho rter throu gh the midsection to red uce we igh t and improve airflow into the airbox . Stiffer foam compensates for the reduction in padding. O n e of th e biggest d ifferen ce s between the KX125 and the 250 is that th e 125 ge ts the tr ick Ll-s haped rims see n th is yea r on some of the fac to ry race bikes. The Ll-shaped rims ha ve no shou lders for mud to gra b on to. (Mu d can. collect on sq ua re-shaped rims a nd accumulate un wanted weig h t.) Ne ither the KX1 25 nor the 250 hav e gone up in pric e; as they will once again ca rry suggested ret ail p ri ces of $4799 (KX125) and $5649 (KX250). Kaw asaki will once aga in be offering the KX60, 80, 100 an d 500 mod els, but only the KX60 will see any cha nges . Mo st of th o se ch anges w e r e to incr ease eng ine durabili ty . The connecting rod is new and is attached to a beefier big-end bearing. The side was hers of the big-end bearing are also stro nge r, as is the pis ton pin boss, w hich received a coatin g of Alumite. Also, the base gasket is made out of thinner metal rat her than 0 pap er. 27