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/128217
PROJECT BikE By STEVE COX PHOTOS BY B~AKE CONNER ~ -. Ithough the 2003 Kawasaki KX250 didn't ~score a podium spot in our 2003 250cc MX Shootout, it occurred to me while riding he bike at Cahuilta Creek MX Park that the chassis felt the strongest of the bunch - it was 'py no means unstable, yet it cornered like a cllamp. You just had to lay it into the corner • confidently, knowing it wouldn't do anything .funny. The only issue I had with the KX250 was that it seemed to have a bit of a hiccup in the power between the low-end and the ample mid to top. In other words, it was hard to ride all the way through the powerband - I had to keep it up in the revs at all times to ride it fast, and that's hard to do at many of the tighter So-Cal tracks. With this in mind, I decided we needed to do something to unleasli same more clean, usable low-end power so the bike could be ridden all the way through the rev range. It's usually a lot easier to ma a strong-handling bike fast than it is to make ast bi ndle well. Enter Performance Factory. Performance Factory is a hop-up shop starteq" by former factory tuner Scotty Hanes in Texas. You might think that there are no hop-up shops outside of Southern California if you read most motocross magazines, but the truth is, the magazines are mostly located here in So-Cal so the fact that they utilize the So-Cal shops is ~ 42 . JUNE 4, 2003' a U a •• n 2003 Performance Factory Kawasaki KX250 more a matter of famil[arjty and convenien~e.· than anything else: The fu~ny thin~ is, the work that Performance Factory did on the KX!"", ..r_"" (which we'll get into later) actually cost signifl" cantly less than it would've at some of SoCal's more famous MX shops· even ~n you .. include the cost of shippinjJ.. e...enjJfn;; and ': suspension into the price! Plus, I can't imagine the So-Cal shops doing a better j9,b. When I contacted Hanes about the potential project and told him the issue I had with the bike's power delivery, he came up with a list of things that he thought would help. He recommended that I obtain a Mota Tassinari V-Force Reed Cage, a new 14-tooth front sprocket (up from the stock 13) along with a 54-tooth rear sprocket - apparently, this leaves the bike with a similar gear ratio to stock but gives it the ability to deliver the newfound horsepower smoother and with more control - a Wiseco ProUte piston kit, and an FMF Factory Fatty Pipe (which comes complete with a power-valve spacer) with matching Ti 2 Titanium Silencer. I got to wed<. This project is designed to show what it takes to tum the middleweight KX into a seriously competitive MX monster, not just showcase a couple of interesting knick-knacks. Once I apprehended all said parts, I removed the quarter-liter powerplant and suspension units (yes, Performance Factory does suspension, too) and sent them and the afterl)1arket parts on to the Lone Star State. In the couple of weeks that the parts were . -. TheKX_ ~. ........ Ju but willi tile acldecl..- aMI updated .....1WIon. It'. . . . . toget_ . . . .' oHtac:/H - wtIMut the bona ..ntng ........