Long term KLX250S review

[IDRIDR]

Originally Posted by RockabillySlapMatt

Yeah I know, I did that, I just rode with a passenger also that day, I figured the bolt may have worked itself loose or tight or whatever, I did readjust to little clatter when cold, just didn't know if my grinding noise could be another issue. Thank you :)

Did this grinding happen ONLY when your passenger was on? If so, your chain may be rubbing along the upper roller. Happens to me also, especially before re-springing when going over bumps, throtteling hard, etc.

[RockabillySlapMatt]

No even without the passanger now, and it's only between 1st and 2nd gear. I get to the shift point, pull in clutch, up shift, give some gas and let out clutch, at the very last minute instance of clutch engagement it grinds.

[cjbiker]

Originally Posted by RockabillySlapMatt

No even without the passanger now, and it's only between 1st and 2nd gear. I get to the shift point, pull in clutch, up shift, give some gas and let out clutch, at the very last minute instance of clutch engagement it grinds.

How worn are your chain and sprockets? It could be the chain skipping.

[RockabillySlapMatt]

Not worn, recently replaced. Now I'm having another weird issue. I replaced cam chain tensioner, and I know the sound of the rattle when its cold, but today it sounded more like a loose tappet, I don't think the previous owner did the valves at 7500, bikes at 9065, probably best to do that. I will post the results if that helped at all.

[Zecatfish]

The oldest boy is wanting to replace his totaled DT125.
He found a KLX250 with 1k miles on it for $3500, thinks the year is 2010.
He is graduating this year and wants to take a trip this summer too.
He wants to go riding, visit the Grand Canyon, its a 1500 mile ride from here.
So I know it needs a larger tank.
Next can it run 65 mph without killing it?
I know there is better choices but the used option are next to none around here.
Since this thread is 500 pages long is there any serious issues we need to know of?
Would you trust it like a Yamaha WR250 for such a trip?
I did try to read through the first 15 or so pages and could not find any real information on these questions......

[Lutz]

Originally Posted by Zecatfish

The oldest boy is wanting to replace his totaled DT125.
He found a KLX250 with 1k miles on it for $3500, thinks the year is 2010.
He is graduating this year and wants to take a trip this summer too.
He wants to go riding, visit the Grand Canyon, its a 1500 mile ride from here.
So I know it needs a larger tank.
Next can it run 65 mph without killing it?
I know there is better choices but the used option are next to none around here.
Since this thread is 500 pages long is there any serious issues we need to know of?
Would you trust it like a Yamaha WR250 for such a trip?
I did try to read through the first 15 or so pages and could not find any real information on these questions......

1500 miles is nothing, 65mph is easy, and neither will hurt the bike; however, you'll want roughly stock gearing to save from revving too high on the freeway, which will wear out the engine sooner. I've got over 12,000 miles on my '09, most of which are commuting in the 55-70 mph range with 14/42 gearing.

I wouldn't hesitate to take such a trip based on the reliability of the KLX...hell, I put on 1500 miles in less than 3 weeks of just commuting (minimum of 105 miles a day). Comfort is another issue, but that is highly subjective.

You're right about the tank, the best I ever got with the stock tank was 116 miles to bone dry. With the 3.7 gallon Acerbis, I've been as far as 180 miles with some fuel left in the tank. The Acerbis is not a direct bolt on for the '09-up bikes, but it fits with some minor tweaks. IMS makes a direct fit 3.2 gallon tank.

The only thing I'm aware of on these bikes that commonly causes unexpected breakdowns is broken shift stars in the '09, '10, and maybe '11 models. The '09, at least some '10, and maybe some '11 bikes came with a shift star that breaks easily. There's a sticky thread about it over a kawasakiforums.com. It's about $25 or $30 in parts to repair if it happens, the replacement part doesn't break, and should be done before it breaks in my opinion. There is a risk of the piece that breaks off getting into the transmission and causing greater damage, and though it's not a fairly easy repair, you wouldn't want to tackle it during a trip. It's worth verifying that it hasn't already been done before buying the parts though - that has bitten some people.

[Zecatfish]

Originally Posted by Lutz

1500 miles is nothing, 65mph is easy, and neither will hurt the bike; however, you'll want roughly stock gearing to save from revving too high on the freeway, which will wear out the engine sooner. I've got over 12,000 miles on my '09, most of which are commuting in the 55-70 mph range with 14/42 gearing.

I wouldn't hesitate to take such a trip based on the reliability of the KLX...hell, I put on 1500 miles in less than 3 weeks of just commuting (minimum of 105 miles a day). Comfort is another issue, but that is highly subjective.

You're right about the tank, the best I ever got with the stock tank was 116 miles to bone dry. With the 3.7 gallon Acerbis, I've been as far as 180 miles with some fuel left in the tank. The Acerbis is not a direct bolt on for the '09-up bikes, but it fits with some minor tweaks. IMS makes a direct fit 3.2 gallon tank.

The only thing I'm aware of on these bikes that commonly causes unexpected breakdowns is broken shift stars in the '09, '10, and maybe '11 models. The '09, at least some '10, and maybe some '11 bikes came with a shift star that breaks easily. There's a sticky thread about it over a kawasakiforums.com. It's about $25 or $30 in parts to repair if it happens, the replacement part doesn't break, and should be done before it breaks in my opinion. There is a risk of the piece that breaks off getting into the transmission and causing greater damage, and though it's not a fairly easy repair, you wouldn't want to tackle it during a trip. It's worth verifying that it hasn't already been done before buying the parts though - that has bitten some people.

Well a little more.
Its an 09 model. though I don't think KAwasaki changed it much.
Got the price down some too.
Thanks for the reply.
Anyone else have good/bad to tell?

[RockabillySlapMatt]

Chain cam chain tensioner if on the road it sounds like marbles in a can around 4-6k rpm. Jetting is optional, I think it's a great fun bike. 65mph for 5 hours would be taxing I would assume, perhaps find a small universal windscreen?

[samthg]

Found the thread on page 4. Just gettin' back on page 1.

Running errands last week...

[jimtheherkdude]

Originally Posted by Zecatfish

Well a little more.
Its an 09 model. though I don't think KAwasaki changed it much.
Got the price down some too.
Thanks for the reply.
Anyone else have good/bad to tell?

Bought my '09 new spring of 2011. Its dead stock with 2,000 miles on the odometer now. So far I've only rode on pavement, but I go to/from work 12 miles one-way on the freeway in the summer, and its happy doing 70+ indicated on the GPS. Odometer is about 10% optimistic; approaching 100 miles on the odo, I'm refueling...definitely doesn't have long legs. Will not start when its cold outside unless I direct some heat towards the carburetor for a few minutes. I love the bike...I was a Matchless singles guy back in the day...

[IDRIDR]

Originally Posted by jimtheherkdude

Bought my '09 new spring of 2011. Its dead stock with 2,000 miles on the odometer now. So far I've only rode on pavement, but I go to/from work 12 miles one-way on the freeway in the summer, and its happy doing 70+ indicated on the GPS. Odometer is about 10% optimistic; approaching 100 miles on the odo, I'm refueling...definitely doesn't have long legs. Will not start when its cold outside unless I direct some heat towards the carburetor for a few minutes. I love the bike...I was a Matchless singles guy back in the day...

What do you mean by "cold." There's been quite a bit of discussion recently on cold starting techniques and modifications on another forum. One modification is to ream the enricher (choke) jet out to 0.018" which helps a lot of us (it did for my '06). Some like to run the carb bowl out of fuel when shutting down, then opening the petcock up to refill with fresher fuel before startup.

[Lutz]

Originally Posted by IDRIDR

What do you mean by "cold." There's been quite a bit of discussion recently on cold starting techniques and modifications on another forum. One modification is to ream the enricher (choke) jet out to 0.018" which helps a lot of us (it did for my '06). Some like to run the carb bowl out of fuel when shutting down, then opening the petcock up to refill with fresher fuel before startup.

And don't forget the method I use when it's being cold blooded, which is simply to shake the shit out of the bike when cranking it over (with the choke on, of course). I mean really shake the bike, side to side, hard and fast. I mean really shake it.

[vamtnman]

And then there's the trick of SLOWLY pulling the choke out while cranking the engine. Works pretty good for me.

[Earthscape]

For all you with hard starting issues - have you checked your float height? I think it's a rare thing for a KLX to come from Kawasaki with the float height set correctly, and this could easily cause issues, partly compensated for by some of the workarounds described. Don't assume that because no one has ever taken the carb out that it is set at the correct height.

[RockabillySlapMatt]

Originally Posted by Earthscape

For all you with hard starting issues - have you checked your float height? I think it's a rare thing for a KLX to come from Kawasaki with the float height set correctly, and this could easily cause issues, partly compensated for by some of the workarounds described. Don't assume that because no one has ever taken the carb out that it is set at the correct height.

How do you adjust the float on this bike? Is it in the service manual?