I understand its a 250 ds bike but c'mon. Maybe Im spoiled by my yzf-450 and my kxf-250 but I really expected alot more from this bike. My kxf 250 runs circles around this klx from 0-70mph and has better handling, etc. I expected the klx to have a similar power range as the kxf but its more like its ugly stepchild. I am keeping my klx for commuting to work about 10mi each way and will just chalk it up for expiereince...by the way guys dont get offended because im not worshiping my bike, I just feel some light needs shed on the downsides of this bike to keep people properly informed and keep them from making the same mistake I did. Its a ok bike, but not really good at any one thing, its heavy, underpowered, decently suspended, still caburated in a fuel injected world, gets decent mileage and is middle of the road priced , its by no means great at anything.

 

"but not really good at any one thing, its heavy, underpowered, decently suspended, still caburated in a fuel injected world, gets decent mileage and is middle of the road priced , its by no means great at anything."

Thats what DS bike is all about ive come to realize. i felt similair to you too when i first bought the bike, its grown on me though, and it a blast to commute on, 60 MPG jetted and piped, and thats not being "nice" to it either.

 

Yeah I agree its fun on rural winding roads or in the city, or maybe a few miles of slow trail riding but not good at all for the off road riding I do, mostly being poker runs, fast paced scrambles, or fast desert riding. I raced 80cc expert for back in the early 80's took some time off then came back and raced 250 int. for a several more years and now its just all for fun. This is where I think my ridding surpasses my bike and where the disappointment comes from. Hopefully I will grow to like it as you did. Thanks.

 

Don't take this the wrong way as I'm not trying to be a smart *** but this forum is loaded with people that have said what you think about this bike maybe you should have researched alittle more before your purchase. The only thing this has in common with your 250f is the # and its green. 2 different bikes with two totally different objectives.

 

I have no trouble keeping up with my mate on his KTM 525 exc through the woods and tight trails.... Mind you when I jump on his bike and he jumps on mine, I leave him for miles - then all I hear about for the rest of the day is how crap the KLX 250 is and how under powered it is.....

If you've been riding 500's for a good deal of time you take for granted just how much power they make, I'm not trying to turn this into a "it's not the bike - it's the rider thread" because I would LOVE to have this KLX 250 punch out the same power that a husaberg 550 makes - but it ISN'T going to happen!!

It's a 250! It's is extremely affordable and it will keep going LONG after all the race spec enduro weapons out there have been through their 10 nth top end rebuild.

I love it when we ride up on a track with my mates on their 450's & 550's and hear them say, gee that looks difficult - don't think I'll be able to get up their...... I just punch it hard and hold on like hell, usually take a deep breathe and tear it apart, best fun of my life.

But yeah I wish I could afford a Husaberg 550 like my mates. But I would still keep the KLX 250, it will never get sold - it is just such a good combination bike, it hands down beats ANYTHING else for on the road drivability.

 

Dont get me wrong, Im not blaming anyone for me buying the klx, I should have found one to ride before buying it, it would've saved me 5g's. Its all good.

 

Yeah, good points made by all. I think Blue Dream packages the reasoning pretty well.

A large percentage of those who aren't satisfied with the KLX seems to come from people who are using MX as their frame of reference. This little bike is truly a 'jack of all trades, master of none.'

In the power department, I've seen stateside dyno figures -with setups similar to yours- get about 21hp. Nothing to rave about for sure, but I'm guessing you are running knobbies, so I'm betting your dyno figure would increase by about 2hp if you were to find some smoother rubber for the rear tire..just for testing puposes. I'm saying that based upon the figures we see on D-tracker dyno runs here in Japan (17" street rubber) as well some dyno figures from one of our forum members. It's hard to get a good hookup with the KLX because of the knobbies.

I hear ya on the power though. I had a blast while my bike was still in 250cc form, but now that I'm running the 300 jug, I would have a hard time going back.

 

While I agree with what most have said on this thread, does anyone else see the irony in this above post after reading the poster's signature?

 

While someone else has said about what I am about to say, I can't hold off because I, the self proclaimed bigmouth of this forum can't leave well enough alone. It is your fault that you bought a bike that has no power, is heavy, marginally suspended, and bulletproof. You should've rode one as you admit. If you thought this bike was going to run like your MX bike, well, you're quite naive and thus should be stuck with this bike. The bike has never claimed to be an MX bike; it will NEVER run like any MX bike. I don't care if you big-bore it, cam it, full Muzzy or BigGun it (which are the most power producing exhausts out there, documented on this site), lighten the flywheel, etc. It just ain't happening. The bike weighs close to 300lbs. With those mentioned mods, the bike only makes 28 horsepower with a street tire which too, is documented on this site from a dyno. The bike is admittedly underpowered, but people know this when they buy them. I knew it when I bought my first '06. I BG'd it and geared it along with jetting and airbox changes. I did the same to my new '09 'cept I did a full Muzzy this time. Both run very well and do everything I ask of them. Can you take your KXF on the road legally? I don't think so. If you do the search, I'm the one who HAS bashed the KLX for everything you just have, but I bought another one. The bike can do it all, not everything perfectly, but can do IT all if you really want to attempt it on the bike. With around $700 or so, the bike can make around 23 documented rwhp and make all but the pros happy. If you wanted a street legal racebike, you should've bought a Husky TE250, which too btw, is as choked up as the KLX but will produce 30 horsepower very easily. But that bike, like your MX bikes and any KTM or Husky, will not last nearly as long as the KLX. The KLX is virtually maintenance free for it's lifetime meaning you adjust your valves and change the oil and you've got a 100,000 or so mile engine. Ok, I'm done. Back to mariokart on the wii.

 

You seem really dejected by the performance of the bike, try not to get too down about it. Set your self some seemingly impossible tasks to try and ride with this bike - that hill climb that is just crazy or that jump that is just too mental, what ever it is - just find something that you think is out of reach of the KLX then work at finding how to ride the bike so that you can destroy those tasks. The bike is capable of more than many think ---> MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GOOD TIRES!!!!!!! Forget all the other mods, GOOD tires are the FIRST thing to spend money on, you could have the biggest weapon KLX 250 in town but if your running slicks you aren't going anywhere.

At the end of the day your not going to be jumping the grand canyon, so unless your a X-Games athlete I bet you this bike can surprise you.

Then again if you can afford it and are prepared for the additional maintenance of the enduro weapon bike (again this is really just saying if you can afford it.... Because we all know maintenance is not FREE - especially with the bikes I'm about to mention), then move up to a CRF450 / WRF450 / KTM 525 / HUSABERG 550 (HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!) / KLX 450 (You might feel a little put off by the KLX brand, but it is nothing like it's little cousin) then go for it.

But I guess the problem is resale, your gonna need a bundle of cash now that you've rolled that baby off the show room floor.

Hmmmmmn, but at the end of the day you already have a YZF 450 and a KXF 250 and now a KLX 250 so I guess you need to figure out what you want from this bike?

If their is anything to compare the KLX 250 vs KXF 250 to it is the CRF150F vs CRF150RB - another example of a manufacturer making 2 bikes that are from a distant nearly identical but are CLEARLY different..... Although it doesn't seem to pop up in the honda forum's like it does here..... Maybe it's the upside down forks on the KLX 250 that trick people, because you don't here much of the DRZ 250 vs RMZ 250, I should of bought an RMZ thing happening either.....