Hi guys, brand new to the forum, but been having a great time checking out everybody's rides, and soaking up the knowledge.

Anyway, now for my question: I live in NYC, and am pretty much set on getting a KLX250(still unsure whether to go S or SF) for getting to work, which requires I make the short trip from downtown to just over the George Washington Bridge in NJ. Anyway, I grew up dirtbiking in NH, so I'm not really afraid of the weather, etc, but I'm wondering how well this bike will do when it gets cold. If it's absolutely frigid, I won't ride, but around, say, 20-30 degrees F, do you think there would be issues with starting, etc?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

Some, but not all, have a cold start issue. There's a number of solutions posted around here, but the best IMO is to drill out the STARTER/ENRICHMENT (choke) jet to 0.018", which is just a little larger than the stock unit (which is a press-in jet and not easily removable for replacement, therefore the ream job).

I ride in a colder part of the country, and the bike started easy at 25F after drilling out this jet.

The other method that seems to work well for most is to turn off the petcock after your ride and run out the fuel from the carb bowl. Before drilling the enrichment jet, I used this method with success.

 

After I piped and jetted my bike fires right up cold,or if it has been sitting,I did not drill or mess with nothing else...will see in winter but I think no problem...

 

Get a fuel injected bike for cold weather riding. It's the only way to go.

 

Thanks guys - much appreciated.

 

There is nothing special about this bike that would make it a bad choice for cold weather. The electrical system is even beefy enough to support some warming gear like grips or a vest. Whether warm or cold weather you wil want to clean up the ultra lean stock jetting and while you're in there, the 0.018" drill job is a piece-o-cake.

For sure get the S model. It is easy to put road tires on an S-model but not easy to try and fit knobbies to your SF. Think of resale value. Think of versatility. Yeah, you want the S.

 

Zero probs with mine in the cold. I've been on plenty of ice and snow rides with it. In fact it's much stronger feeling on the cold dry winter days

 

I have had the SF and now the S.Go with the S for the reasons Highbeam has stated.

 

With some jetting it'll work. I'm lazy and haven't done anything to my bike yet. It's 60 degrees and it's starting to have alittle more trouble than it should. Something has to be up, why not.

 

I ride my SF all winter long in temperatures approaching -20C (0F) and I can’t think of a better bike to do it with. As has been mentioned, drill out the enricher jet, put on some aggressive tires, heated grips & bark-busters, and there’s nothing you can’t ride in!

I am confident that either the S or the SF would work well, although I prefer the slightly lower seat height of the SF when I hit icy ruts.