Kawasaki KLX250R

Great First bike! – I purchased this as my first bike, this was great overall for on and off road adventures, it was a bit under powered (17kW, 17Nm torque) (14 seconds to 100km/h) but it was more an offroad bike. It chewed my rear tyre a lot but it was a mud tyre so you expect this riding on the road all the time. Only had 1 dead battery the whole time I owned it. I… Read more

purchased this in October 2011 4 years old only other problem was replacing the nuts on the rear sprocket as they broke off.

But overall if you are looking to ride on and off road and something that doesn't have too much power and lower maintenance than this is the bike for you. Parts weren't expensive at all. No engine failing even though i revved it above the red line.

Good for leaner – I bout a second hand 1994 klx 250 stock. When I went for my first ride i was a bit disappointed with the performance( thou that mite be because I learned to ride bikes with my dad's Yamaha xt 500. With a race spec motor) thou was really happy with how easy it was to ride. So I got a 350 bor kit and an FMF powercore 4 slip on and re jet the carby.… Read more

Now will keep up with the 450s and is not so hard on your body as the 450. Easy to ride comfortable low seat hight good for bush and city riding Gets a bit tiring riding on freeways. Needs to be serviced every 2,000km

Good – It is taller then all other bikes this size and fits me well, I enjoy riding it on the road and it really looks nice. It seems light and comfortable for everyday use. I would recomend this bike to anyone who purchased it for the same reason i did that is Logging Roads ( Must be a licenced bike) and local road riding. but if you want to go hill… Read more

climbing and or stump jumping not do not buy this bike What attracted me to this bike was the cost I purchased a new 06 in march of this year for 3800.00 plus tax. I now have 800 miles on this bike mostly road miles and find it to be nimble and have plenty of speed to go anywhere. Please understand i am still in the break-in period but find that it lacks the guts to climb a hill in the woods unless i am in first gear. I feel that it has not throttle responce needed to realy play in the woods.

Good – well i was dissapointed but after fitting big bore & exhaust it was a great bike but definately not a racer more, sunday trail rider it would suit someone who just enjoys a good ride comfortable and easy to ride standard has no power is way to heavy and the gears are to close

Great Starter, loaded with potential – Three of my mates bout these when they were re-released at the end of 1993....I bought a 94 DR250S. The KLX was a better bike in the bush for my short stature (172cm). The bike is quite small so I felt more in control of it off road, although it wasn't as sure footed as the DR and tended to be thrown of course easilly (there was only 1kg… Read more

diffence in the bikes weight). The suspension was harsher than the DR, but the DR resisted bottoming better.

USD forks were a revolution for a trail bike (back then) and were better than the conventionals on the competition of the time, as the conventional fork would hang down past the axle point...which was thankfully phased out of most bikes by the end of the 90's (except stangely found there way onto the KDX200R which shares the same frame as the KLX, which ultimately put a chink in the KDX's armour).

The instruments were comprehensive, having a speedo / tacho and a host of other lights. Brakes were solid, switchgear was good, stock bars were crap, but the ADR gear was much better and more robust on the KLX as compared to the DR. Steel tank was a major disappointment, and I found all three KLX's difficult to start, and much preferred the manual decomp lever on the DR...which I rarely used. On the road was where I didn't like the KLX. The DR had rubber mounted footpegs which cut all vibration out, whereas I could feel the vibes through the KLX pegs. The KLX had bugger all bottom end, and was all about the midrange and topend. The DR had much better bottom end and would match it everywhere else.

Standard gearing is too tall, and 120k is flat out, with the bike around 4,000 rpm from redline. Add a few teeth to the rear sprocket to help it pull in top gear, or you will find yourself dropping gears in strong headwinds.

If you ride mostly in the bush, buy the KLX, but if you commute more, buy a DR. In any case, I recon they are a better bike than the XR.

If you buy one of these, put it on a diet (ditch ADR gear), get a 300 kit and a decent alloy exhaust system then wheelie into the sunset.

(if you want to get tricky, look at KDX plastics - they look better!) modern features like USD forks, liquid cooling, smallish feeling bike low end power, vibes, skatey front end