I love my 07, but If I had to do it again, I'd buy a plated KLX300. Being able to ride there on the KLX makes it the bike I ride most in the woods.

Just something to keep in mind. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

Interesting aside note. I own an 01 LC4E... and it is precisely the reason why I DID buy a KLX. Mind you I'm no motocross guy, might play on some jumps now and again but for the most part I'm a fun 'spirited' recreational guy.

My LC4 is like riding a Clydesdale work horse at a gallop in a pony pen around here. On the street its' great but our trails are all small, tight single, tracks with low branches. I liked going offroad on it compared to my friends KLR650... but with anything smaller it was a serious workout. That and oil changes that took over an hour and cost me over $70 a pop just grated on me after a while.

I wanted something smaller, lighter, more flickable and more fun to just hop on and scoot around town or go trail exploring. Having the KLX for that has completely reinvigorated my riding and my first oil change took 15 minutes... one handed on the cell phone... It makes me happy

 

Forum rules mandate posting pics of said bike.

A fellow 01 lc4 owner...I luv it .....do you have to "burp" yours too for the pia oil change, or is that just an adv thing?

Obligatory pic.




With luggage

 

I wish! but here regulation changed in 2005 or 2006. All plated offroad bike became illegal on streets, even with flashers and mirrors kit...

I have to stick with dual-purpose bike because I can't afford 2 motorcycle :P

 

I keep getting surprised by this bike. I got it to replace a KLR650 for big off road trips out west, and I knew it would be superior in all the off road venues I've ridden out west for decades. But man...once the mods were done to this bike, I've even been riding it out where we hold our state enduro circuit race. That place is rough, rocky, tight, and just overall gnarly. It has the reputation of being our state's toughest enduro. Even at my age, I feel certain I could finish just about any of our enduros on this bike, even though it wouldn't be competitive overall in any standings...I don't think. Once you do a little work to one of these bikes...especially the '06-'07...you basically have a KLX300 with electric start and no street legal hassles. I like the '06-'07 because you can use just about all the KLX300 stuff from both aftermarket or OEM sources to mod the bike. All my Race Tech stuff for the suspension was directly for the 300, and it seems to be a perfect match.

Yeah, I think the KLX is rather lacking as delivered, but it has huge potential when modded. On a similar note, even the newer WR250R dual purpose doesn't have a stellar suspension as delivered. Dirt Rider mag did a big makeover on one of them a few months ago, and the WR's stock suspenders sounded much like the stock KLX250 units. It also took a Race Tech swap to get the potential out of the WR too. The engine of the WR as delivered does have better performance, but it doesn't take much to make big improvements on the KLX.

 

So, basically, the trick is to get a 06-07 KLX and stuff a bunch of mods that I think they are quite major:

• New engine / big bore kit
• new carb jetting
• new exhaust system
• new suspensions springs and/or Race tech valving

And I'm not talking about other accessories like: hand guards, wider foot pegs, bigger tank, new handlebar...

Is the stock KLX, all version considerer, is that dull to ride ? I mean, am I missing something if I don't modify my future KLX?

 

You may get some different opinions on this, and some of it may depend on what you're used to riding. Even compared to the last couple of XR250's I had, a bone stock KLX250 is a dog IMO. That is quickly remedied with either a full exhaust or even just a less restrictive slip-on, airbox mods, and jetting/carb tweaking. That wakes the bike up to where in my book, it runs as good as Honda's off road XR250 with a SuperTrapp exhaust. You do a big bore kit or even just an OEM 300 kit, and it kills the XR250.

The KLX is a street legal 250. It comes choked up worse than a victim of the Boston Strangler. In that state it feels totally anemic to me. Having to meet emissions and sound regs causes Kawasaki to to plug it up tremendously. The motor is a great design and has the potential of that design just waiting to be uncorked. If you're going to consider leaving the KLX as is, and you don't have a prior experience with a more powerful or uncorked bike, don't ride anyone else's KLX that's been uncorked. You'll probably be disappointed.

On the suspension, frankly I don't understand why even most of the very expensive off road race bikes require some revalving to really perform up to expectations. After spending $7000 or more, you'd think that the suspension on bikes like that should be almost perfect. They're often not. So the suspension can often come down to the past experience or requirements of the owner. There are few if any dual sport bikes that have a really dialed in suspension.

But frankly it's the motor in stock trim that just sucks IMO. And it's the easier of any of the KLX warts to fix. Simple mods like already mentioned change the character of this bike. Then later on if you go to a bigger bore setup, that's just icing on the cake.

 

Read the stickies thread for faq & you can read about the jetting modification that just about everyone has done to remedy the lack of performance of the stock klx250s '09 and earlier.

Some of the performance increases are minimal, but when added together the gains are worth it.

Read other members signature line for the mods they have done. There is a reason for the mods you will notice...

 

Yes, if you have any skills those mods are mandatory....it will still be a pig thou....but the pig will be able to hum for hours at highway speed.

fyi For my skill set the klx is fine off-road....I cannot use the true capabilities of my friends smoker ktm's.....but either can they imho

 

You wouldn't have to do all this stuff up front.

I would recommend as mandatory:

• Full exhaust
• aftermarket Air filter (and open up air box)
• Jet kit
• Skid plate
• Hand guards
• aftermarket handlebars
• full knobby tires
• Plastic fuel tank

As your off-road skills increase you can work on the suspension, and then do a big bore kit... or you might be ready for a bigger bike by then.