I'm seeing a lot of different riding styles here.

We have the guys that ride the KLX250 like it was an MX bike.

We have the guys that ride the KLX250 like it was a pure dirt bike.

We have one guy that rides the KLX250 like is was a pure street bike and doesn't get it dirty.

We have some that ride the KLX250 as a commuter bike.

We have some that ride the KLX250 like a dualsport bike.

How do you ride yours?


Personally, I'm relatively new to off road riding. I've been street riding for many years and then I went out and bought a KLR650. Started riding off road and found a completely new passion to my riding - the ability to go and find what is "down that road" ! After riding it for some time, I felt that a smaller bike was in order as most of the off road in my area can put you in some deep sugar sand. I found a KLR250 and brought it home. Excellent bike, did what I wanted it to and I was happy with it. However, my artificial hip and the kickstarter were non-compatible. Kawasaki introduced the KLX250S and I have had mine for almost a year now and am loving the bike.

Now, my idea of riding off road is exploratory in nature. I find I can get places on the KLX250 that you would never get to with a 4 wheeled vechicle. It will just go wherever you want to go on it. To me, riding in nature is something that I truly enjoy. I don't like to ride fast, as I miss a lot of what I'm riding for, to see nature as it should exist - undisturbed.

For my style of riding, the KLX250S is just about perfect the way I have mine currently set up:

13 tooth countershaft sprocket
128 main jet
#40 pilot jet
NT1C needle with clip on 2nd from top
7/64ths hole in slide
Pilot screw out 2 1/8 turns
KDX 220 snorkle
Renthal handlebars
Moose Barkbusters
Acerbis gas tank
Acerbis Supermoto front fender

To me, the bike is fun to ride, easy to pick up in the deep, soft sand and goes just about anywhere I point it. In the Spring I was up in western North Carolina riding around mostly gravel forest roads. We went up to the top of many of the mountains and found some great lookout spots. We rode up a lot of rock to get there. The bike got me up and down with not a problem. As I said, I'm very happy with it.


So, how do you use your KLX250S and how is it setup?

 

I think that I would fall in to the guy that rides the bike as it is meant to be driven, Dual Sport all the way. I have a 15-mile ride in to work and the same on the way home all street. However, there are many places on my route back and fourth that are mostly sand and hard packed sand. Military training areas and drop zones. So when I feel froggy, and I do most of the time take the long way home. I explore these places with great enthusiasm and vigor. So mike bike is mostly clean from the handlebars to the bottom of the gas tank, and then dirty from the seat to the tires. I take a hose to it maybe once a week to get the big chunks off. I love this bike because if I see a trail that I want to go on or just a field that needs to be crossed for some reason, I just point the front tire in that direction and I’m off,,, With a huge grin on my face and the sound of the Muzzy behind me. What a Ride…

 

Pure dirt, but I own a couple street bikes for my asphalt follies.

 

Dual sport commuter ranch vehicle.

During the warmer months, I will take it to work, which is a massive 1.5 miles away. Its too hard to start when its cold, so Im hoping a rejet when I slip on this new exhaust will fix that. Getting even 60 mpg is better than the 14.5 my Hemi pulls in town. Ill also run around about 10 miles of town driving to visit people. I am however leery of how long I stay, as the deer are thicker than hair on a dogs back. I'd really hate to smack a big mule deer on my scooter...

My father and I (and mother recently) will go explore some trails in the mountains that we snowmobile in the winter. Its really neat, and helpful to see the trails with snow, and without... its amazing that you can travel a road 100x with snow pack, and barely recognize it in the summer.

Since the horses have gone out to pasture (haw) the dirt bikes have taken over on the ranch. For irrigating, moving cows, running supplies/messages to people ( Although, we finally got cell service in the area so running messages isnt such a big deal anymore.) They are extremely handy, having the street legal capability means we can bypass gates/cows/ etc and not *have* to stick to the fields like atvs and ultility vehicles do. They are also very fast, nimble, and can pretty much follow a cow through whatever brush, trees, and rocky trail they take to escape and evade.

I also built a track, I guess its a bit more hare scramblish than anything else, that I ride. I've now been able to go in second gear all the way around the track, I hold back a lot during the straight stretches to be truely fast... but I prefer to hone skills the corners... anyone can hold it flat out on the straight aways

I use my KLX to have fun.

 

I bought mine first and foremost for trail and general off-road and secondarily for the occasional work commute. I didn't want a purely off-road bike because I don't want to have to hassle with trailering the bike just to take an off-road spin after work. So it had to be street legal so I could ride the road to get to the trails. The KLX250S was the closest bike out there for what I wanted at the time, considering its price. I considered a Husky TE250 but at around twice the price and lack of nearby dealer support, the KLX won out.

My bike is currently in a bit of a transition right now, but within a week or so, it will be:

* 330cc big bore
* Keihin FCR 35mm pumper carb
* KDX200 high flow snorkel + stock dual snorkel airbox mod
* UNI air filter
* crankcase vent filter mod
* Muzzy full system exhaust
* IMS 3.2 gallon tank + custom radiator fans
* Renthal bars
* MSR Hawkins handguards
* ASV shorty clutch and pro perch
* IMS stainless off-road footpegs
* MSR skid plate
* Trailtech Vapor
* folding mirrors
* gel & memory foam seat insert mods
* rear fender cleanup mods
* Kenda Trak Master II (K760) front and rear tires

 

5% on the street and 95% on trails. Isn't that what we're suppose to do with it?????

 

I love the bike in town, I can park in any bicycle rack. I run the **** out of it on the freeway 8-9K rpm for hours at a time to get to the FS and single track areas. Some days I explore every trail I can, other days it's wide open on the FS roads. Not one for MX, 'cause I need to ride back home at the end of the day, crashing and pain are not my friends. Like Deej...well maybe not so much, my bike is cleaned and inspected before each day of abuse. 6500 miles down, 1000mi/6 weeks to go before the one year anniversary and warranty goes bye bye. I 'm exited about the 7500 mile valve check... I've run it very hard and I hope they have been holding up. If not, I want them replaced under warrenty.

...I think I'm a DUALSPORTER. 60 Sreet/40 Trail

 

I dualsport on mine once in awhile. Mostly I commute to school and around town. I love waking up in the morning and putting my helmet on and not having to worry about parking at school, or just getting some milk at the store. I also love to find wierd lines in traffic and around town. Like yesterday I was sick of waiting for a stop light so I took to a abonded parking lot, the lot turned to dirt, I climbed a small hill and jumped a curb and BAM, I was back in traffic without the stop light! Haha. I call it urban dirt biking! People always compliment me around town and that is cool. I've even had young girls yelling at me "hey we love your bike".

 

I bought my KLX because

1. I wanted a commuter to go to work and back and riding around town. I've been riding for 30 odd years and would rather ride than drive.

2. I wanted a trail bike, I love getting out in the scrub and just cruise about looking round my beautiful country.

3. I can't afford running 2 bikes.

4. Here in NSW Australia, for anything over 299cc the registration and insurance it gets a lot more expensive.

I ride around 95% road and 5% dirt, to that end I purchased the rims and tyres from a D-Tracker and am having a ball riding it round some of the lovely windy roads around here. A road bike won't do what I want and I have had enough road bikes to know I'd rather a trail bike anyway.

Cheers

 

Dual Purpose all the way.

I ride to the trails, ride dirt, then ride home on the superslab.