t pretty much goes without saying that
the 2004 Kawasaki 10<250 is a good
bike , but it isn't what it could have
been . Last year, everyone raved about
how well the bike handled but felt that
the power output didn't match up against
some of the other bikes in its class. So for
200 5, Kawasak i, for all inte nts and purposes, redesigned the motor - but it didn't sto p there . Kawasaki also made some
significant changes to the bike 's chassis
and suspension .
As for the mo tor, t he power-valve syste m is all new. Many riders complained last
year of a nat spot in the bike 's powerband
right around 600 0 to 7000 rpm , and
Kawasaki came to the conclusion tha t this
was because of the power valve and how
th e sub valves and the main valve opened
simultaneously.
For 2005 , the valves now operate independently of each other; the main valve
now wa its until t he sub-port valves have
don e their thing before it starts to o pen.
The end res ult, Kawasaki claims, is a more
linear powerband without the aforementioned nat spot.
To increase overall power, the cylinder
is now pos itioned at a more forward angle,
which allows for a longer e xhaust port.
There have been plenty of oth er changes ,
too. The engine cases are all new, mainlyto
acce pt a new water-pump assembly, and
stre ngth ening modifications were made to
the transmissio n and clutch. The Keihin
carburetor, of course, gets all-new jetti ng
specs, as well.
Although Kawasaki co uld've left the
1O<250's chassis and suspension alone and
gotten away with it, the company instead
made a few noteworthy changes to both.
Kawasaki felt that the 10
