I am considering buying a 2007 KLX250S. I am a 5'6" female and live in Albuquerque, NM. This bike will be used 90% off road. The on road part is nice to get to the trails. I do all of my riding in desert terrain. I haven't tried the forest trails yet. There is enough dirt roads and trails here to keep any off roader happy for a long time. I have a Honda CRF230F but would like something with a little more power and better suspension. I also have a BMW GS 650. It's hard for me to handle off road. I wanted something that would be lighter than the 650 but yet, something I could handle in the dirt. Can this bike handle small woops and small jumps? How good is it for climbing hills? How is it in the sand?

Thanks,

Tina from Albuquerque.

 

Tina,

The KLX250S is geared for more for the street, with a 14/42 sprocket setup. You could certainly change the sprocket to match the 13/50 of your CRF230F, but you won't gain much in horsepower over the bike you already own. You will gain some versatility with the license plate on the back, but if you're looking for a true desert racer (at our altitude), this isn't it. The stock KLX struggles at the Albuquerque altitude, and mine refused to run above 8000ft. You'll need to toss the stock exhaust (with catalytic converter) and re-jet the carb. Expect to pay $500-$600 for parts to get some decent response from the KLX. The suspension was designed for a 150lb rider, is adjustable and quite adequate. I weigh 205, ride conservatively, but I bottom it out from time-to-time. The springs are not really strong enough for my size. I would also recommend a different rear tire if you plan on mostly riding the west mesa. It's light and nimble, and fun to ride, but it's no desert racer. If you're not in any hurry, send me an email, and when I return from Oregon in a couple of weeks, you can try mine before you decide to buy.

 

Just another review/opinion.

I live in Utah. Ride anywhere from 5000 to 10k elevation. Bone stock, the bike was ok for this, but it did need some waking up - not a lot of power. High elevation climbing on steep jeep roads pretty much sucked. On road ridingis fine.

There are basically "free" mods (increasedbreathing, see this forum for postings) that can certainly help thingsa bit. Swapping out the sprockets would be another move that might be beneficial. My bike ran fine stock in the altitudes mentioned above, although I have since played with opening up the airbox/stock exhaust, removing emissions stuff, and have rejetted the carb. Have yet to go back up to high elevation since the mods, but was riding last night at about 6500-7000 ft after dropping from the stock 14 to a 13 tooth front sprocket, and things felt pretty solid. Power felt good. I've thrown maybe $75 towards it in parts for these mods, although a true aftermarket exhaust is in my future probably around $400.

I have yet to really test the suspension on anything as far as jumping or serious off road is concerned, and don't have much experience from other bikesto compare against. I am 5' 8", 160 pounds. I did lower the bike just a little, so I'd feel more comfortable if things get sketchy and I need to put a foot down.

The fact that the bike is street legal is nice, add to it the 6 speed trans which can comfortably do 70+ mph on the highway and the bike becomes very versatile. I was able to maintain 75-80mph going up i-80 over a passsomewhere around8000ft elevation (post modifcations). However, if you are hardly going to ride on road, then this doesn't matter so much.

I doubt that there is more power than a crf230, I'd guess (without any personal knowledge) that it would probably be less powerful thanks to the street legalness of it -particularly in stock form. I would also expect the crf to have more of a motocross tuned/inspired suspension. But, again, I'm no expert.

My guess is that if your replacing a crf230 due to suspension and power, you may be looking for something in the crf450/klx300/klx450 world??? Those bikes may be a bit tall though, depending. I would think anything with about the same displacement is unlikely to provide really noticeable power differences.

Cheers

 

A Husky or KTM 250 would blow the KLX and CRF out of the water as far as suspension and power goes, but with that comes a little more in depth and more frequent maintenance. Someone on here compared the 230 to the KLX and I don't remember the outcome, I believe they did head to head drags and maybe an overall top speed run or something. Do a search containing CRF230 and it should come up with something.

 

Change the gearing and stock tire to trackmaster II or d606 and keep on the gas and it handles stuff I did'nt think I could get up and around. If you want a jumper and a bike that will buck you off this one is not it. If you want a good all around dualsport, this bike is the one. Just my two c's. It's a great bike.

 

Don't forget guys that the CRF230F is no CRF250 - nowhere close in fact...
It's basically a lowly little XR - nothing like the larger CRF's.
I think there have been a few head to head races with CRF230's and the KLX has beaten it easily. In both acceleration and top speed.

 

T- I'm 5"6" also. Riding in wide open desert terrain I would be comfortable. It depends if you are used to riding long travel dirt bikes or not. If you are crossing over from the street bikes where you are close to both feet being flat footed then it may take some adjustment. Once you get used to selective foot placement, sliding one bum cheek off the seat when stopping, etc.then its no problem.

Iwill be riding my KLX in tight jungle terrain in south east asia so have just picked up some 1 inch lowering links to experiment. I'll let you know whether the suspension quality tradeoff is worth it or not. TheKLX will handle most terrain reasonably. However blasting 3 foot sand whoops in 5th gear is not its forte, it lacks the stability of the modern 250 MX 4 strokes. My riding impressions indicate its more home in the tight technical trails than high speed whoops. However if you're not racing and instead trail riding it should be fine. I think the KLX is a good middle ground between your CRF230 and 250 MX bike.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

if u want alot more power than a 230i would go with a klx 300 or maybe a kdx 200. i rode my friends 230 and it was ok on acceleration compared to mine but my top speed is way faster. the 250 will feel better suspension wise and once u wake it up a little it will handle trails easy but i think a kdx 200 would be nice

 

Tina, The KLX 250 is a great trail bike. Especially for those of us that are vertically challenged.
It will go anywhere.
What it lacks in power it makes up for in rideability.
Sometimes I want a more power but on balance I am very happy with the KLX.
There are various ways to get more power out of it but it will never be a dirt "weapon"

It all depends on how good you are.
The world is littered with people who go and buy the latest and greatest and are no better off.

But if I was doing more road riding then this would not have been my choice.
And if I was a taller and heavier I would have bought a DRZ400.

Go for it. The KLX is a sweet bike if you accept it for what it is.
And the people on this forum are a great source of info and support. (mixed with a bit of humour)

 

Your existingF650GS is good for dirt roads and light trail use, but the KLX is basically a trail bike with DOT tires, and lights. The "free" mods make a big difference along with rejetting. Drop the gearing and toss on a set of more aggressive tires and your ready to roll. I rode the bike on a small MX track and had a blast. I wasn't landing doubles and was really just getting around at a good clip, but the bike handles it all just fine and I'm 190lbs.

Personally, I don't ride on trials much at all... and sometimes I wish I had a F650GS to go with my R1150R. THe KLX is a little maxed out with my fiancee on the back, and is only good for 30 minute stretches at a time without stopping.