P52
2021 250cc FOUR-STROKE MOTOCROSS SHOOTOUT
SHOOTOUT
KAWASAKI
KX250
T
eam Green arrived with
an entirely new bike
this year, but the 2021
KX250 finds itself in the same
spot as the year before. It
actually tied in overall points
with the Husqvarna but a sec-
ond- and third-place vote for
the Kawasaki were enough
to break that stalemate. The
general consensus is the
latest version of the Kawi is
a much better package than
the previous and all our rid-
ers were impressed with the
improvements. Time to dive
into the details on the green
machine.
For starters, let's talk about
the all-new electric start!
Finally, the KX gets an elec-
tric starter, and a coned-disc
hydraulic Nissin clutch; the
same as its bigger KX450
counterpart. Both of these
add-ons make for a more us-
er-friendly package and bring
the KX250 up to par with the
rest of the tech-driven field.
This bike now also has the
same chassis as the KX450;
a favorite of our testers during
the 450 shootout. This style
of trickle-down technology
received kudos from our 250
testers as they felt familiar
and could easily adapt to the
bike regardless of height or
weight.
The KX's new motor also
earned accolades from our
group. The motor has a much
better bottom end than last
year's bike and offers a strong
pull before feeding into a
pipey top end. It pulls gears
longer than before, aiding in
easy rideability on the el-
evated testing courses. When
tuning the engine, our band of
testers opted for the more ag-
gressive white coupler. They
noted that this plug-in gave
the bike more excitement in
4
TH
Place
