I really like this bike, but a few things have irritated me the last two years, keeping the bike from being in the museum of all-time favorites of the some 60 bikes I've owned so far.

The last two design problems on my list that I'm able to do something about have been addressed on my KLX250S turned 330: restricted steering degrees at full lock.

This bike uses USD forks which have benefits. Personally, I prefer non USD forks. One of the reasons is less bulk up top and more potential for degrees of steering to full lock. While this does not matter for the typical dual sport riding, when getting in the tight and tough stuff, or for higher skills riding on nasty terrain, restricted steering degrees is a problem.

I measured degrees of angular displacement at a poor +/-31 degrees. It should be +/- 40 degrees or more. But you can only get a few degrees more without the upper triple clamp nailing the gas tank. So I pulled the front end apart and removed ~1/4" from each side of the forged steel lower to where the upper tripple clamp stops ~1/4" from the gas tank. Though a minor change, the effect is very helpful for precision riding.
Now I can do much tighter-radius turns without being forced to back up and go at it again.

The other mod that really helped precision riding was to remove 2 of the 6 clutch springs to get rid of hard lever pull and clutch drag when the lever is pulled in. I need one-finger clutch control to do more advanced techniques.
I wrote about this in another thread and got nowhere in convincing even one person (as far as I know) to try this 5-minute. That's fine. Someone, somewhere may try it, some day....

The two mods together make precise low-speed work much less clumsy and like riding a refridgerator, which is how bigger bikes tend to feel like to observed trials riders. Less tendency toward stall in a tight turn and with the tricycle fall-ver routine.

I am now able to stand up, slowly turn full lock into a vertical concrete step of, say 24" high, then double blip throttle with clutch slips to pop on top without touching the skid plate. Also, lots of high horsepower stuff with NO clutch slipping despite this is a healthy-running bike.

Sometimes the little things sum up to a lot.

 

Sounds like you do some pretty technical riding with your KLX. I for one would like to see you riding your KLX like a trials bike. Would be neat to see.
I don't know much about trials riding, but wouldn't it be better to use a much lighter 2 stroke bike for that type of riding?

 

Uhhhhh I was told there would be no math....I'm screwed. LOL

 

Thats what I was thinking, The KLX aint no trials bike, too heavy & the weights up to high..

I ride a GasGas JTX250 trials machine, 250cc two stroke, & I have the 09' KLX250s their is no comparison between them, they are two totally different riding styles!..

Dont get me wrong, would love to see what a KLX looks like being trialled!.

Ed.

 

Seems every time I post, there is misundestanding of intent. I think I'm doing a poor job of communicating. What I was after in the mods was getting rid of some of the clumsy aspects of the KLX. The stiff and dragging clutch (on my bike at least), and the horrid lack of steering angle which gives it that top-heavy, can't turn enough, stall bike, and comically flop over thing.

There's no doubt you can't do a lot on a 'refridgerator'-sized bike compared to a nice Sherco, Gas-Gas Pro, Beta, HRC Montesa, Scorpa, etc. But trials techniques applied to dualsport is a big plus. They are not two completely seperate things. Trial techniques will make you a MUCH better and less crash prone dualsport rider. It'll greatly improve any other kind of motorcycle and rider!

I was not doing only trials stuff. It was a dualsport ride, after all. There were other hot-shot riders doing the vertical steps, making it up and over a few times. But almost every time they took a chunk out of the concrete because they did not know how to get a skid plate up and over. They'd wheelie over the step and WHAM! They also were trying large utitlity poles laying down. Same problem. Stuck on the skid plate. They didn't know the double-blip technique, for example.

I'm going to go ahead an schedule that trials technique course on my ranch I've been musing over for years. I've had several local folks say that if I schedule it they will come. Should be fun!

 

Yup. Read my other reply.

BTW, I was doing that stuff on a bike geared over stock, with a 15t front sprocket. Despite the handicap of having my road gearing, I could still out-do the rest of the group on the low-speed stuff. It was the the trials clutch techniques (and a clutch that worked awesome 1 finger) that made that possible.

So, the issue is application of technique to do more despite handicaps of weight, height, gearing, etc, not what would have been better machine. Riding a non street legal trials bike all over downtown and suburban Oklahoma City would have made me vulnerable to the full wrath of the law, confiscation of bike being one of them!

 

I see your point. Having advanced riding skills will benefit a persons ride on any type of bike. I have had advanced training on big road bikes and those skills continue to help my riding even on the KLX.

I saw a video (I think the one of your group riding in the city) and I can see why you modified your clutch the way you have.

It would be fun to try some of the obstacles you were riding on/ over.

 

Thank you! You get what I'm saying!

I saw that same video last night. Unfortunately it missed the vast majority of the crazier stuff going on. Maybe it was because when you take video it seems the good stuff is missed most of the time. A Murphey's law sort of thing.

I was in the camera-less other group, and only occassional mingled with the camera group. There was a woman rider there on the Husqvanrna SM bike taking stills with a mongo-lens camera. She approached me at one point and stuck the lens in my face and snapped off a shot, saying, "Wow you're good." I failed to ask her name and ask for some shots. I'm almost always behind the camera, not in front of it, so pix or vid of me doing stuff is rare.

If I start doing technique classes I'm going to have to remedy that to be able to post vids and stills to promote the class.

 

I'd take a class like that. Too bad I'm no where near where your from. Guess I'll have to practice on my own.

 

Yo Einfahrt, can you take a pic of what you did, the klx has a crappy tight turn radius....I'm really interested.....I'm just not sure what to grind off. And I'm no pro biker, but I like to have fun, dancing in tight stuff....post a couple pics of what you did, I'd appreciate it.

Owen