I'm looking at a 2007 KLX250S next week for my son. The bike is about 200 miles away, the owner has sent several photos, looks great. It looks to be well taken care of. The bike is a one owner and has 5300 miles on it.
Are there any common issues with the KLX250S bikes that I should look for?
What things should I check out when looking at the bike.
I haven't been around motorcycles for 20+ years.

 

Make sure the engine is dead cold when you arrive. It should then start easily with the choke on. Idle correctly (1300rpms) when the choke is released within 30 seconds. Perform perfectly while warming up. Perform perfectly when under load (4th gear, 3.5-4k rpm, snap and hold WOT to over 9k rpm.. )

If it won't do all the above - You'll need to become very knowledgeable about the KLX and attempt repairs yourself OR roll it into the Kawa shop and start writing checks.. BTW, once you spend a few months gaining knowledge and tinkering with it, you could find that the only fix is to spend a lot of money on expensive parts.

 

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully it will perform as you have listed.
I was told the KLX250s was bullet proof? This was the one reason that got me looking at them? I was looking at Honda 250CRF's but read a lot about them being high maintenance and saw a LOT that were for sale that were rebuilt or needing rebuilding? I have had several Kawasaki street bike's when I was younger and now own 3 Kawasaki 4 wheelers that have Never given me any trouble. This is why I lien toward Kawasaki's. I have read a LOT about the KLX's on the internet all with good reviews and to be honest, I didn't see any bad?

 

If you hear any clicking or noise when holding steady throttle at around 4000-6000 rpm it will likely be on the right side of the engine. It is the cam chain tensioner gone bad. You can talk them down $100 for that issue, the part I make is $36 plus shipping, but you put in time installing it so why do it for nothing. It is the quickest easiest fix for the problem, another OEM part may fail again.

The stock bike won't fire up really quickly, takes some cranking to get fired up from what I experienced. We'll see what others say about their stock bikes. They have really lean jetting. Takes a few minutes to warm up adequately. All of this can be cured with good jetting and respond extremely well to rejetting. Two main lines of jetting available, Dyno Jet kit and KLX300 carb parts from Kawasaki. About equal cost, do the research to see which you want to do. Good jetted 250 starts up far quicker and warms up to ride away in about 30 seconds, off choke in a few thousand feet. More power gained and acceleration is better. Not huge, again it's a 250, but better than the lean set up by a noticeable amount.

I think those are the two main issues with KLX250s. As KLXter said, once warmed up the bike should run out cleanly and pick up revs relatively quickly once over 4000 rpm. Remember, it is a 250, not a 650. If you've ridden street bikes or bigger bikes you may find a 250 doesn't have impressive power. What it lacks there it makes up for in weight, handling, and just plain fun. I have an 09 and my brother has an 06 or 07... I need to ask him again. Compared to a big single or street bike they feel like I'm riding a mountain bike, love it.

Don't ignore the basics.

Look at chain and sprockets. The profile of the U of the tooth should be symmetric, no sharp points, no hooked teeth. Pull the chain back at the 3:00 o'clock position, if you see over 1/3 light under the chain between it and the sprocket, you're looking at $150 in chain and sprockets. Plus installation again, whether you do it or a shop does it.

Tires run $100-200 a set depending on what you buy. Labor can be up to $100 for mount and balance.

Bent and broken bits can cost too.

If you are close to a dealership you could take the bike in and let the service manager listen to and take a walk around the bike. Most are truthful with what they see.

By the way, pictures lie. I worked in a dealership and one time took pictures of an old Suzuki 550 triple, a crusty old bugger. The pictures made it look like a show bike, sitting in the sun in front of a white garage door, gleaming as if it was new. I had to tell the guy who called about it, that the pictures were deceptive, but it was fairly decent. He travelled about 175 miles to see it and bought it.

Go with the attitude you may be driving 200 miles to eat dinner. Don't be afraid to walk if the bike isn't what was represented and the pricing is bad. There's always another somewhere.


I'm thinking the CRFs you might have seen are the CRF250X or R, both off roaders. Both are race level state of tune and do have higher maintenance as such. The CRF250L dual sport is a good ride. I think the KLX offers more to a rider with better adjustable suspension. To duplicate it on the CRF would cost several hundred dollars. Plus, in spite of the claims about EFI the two bikes stock are about the same horsepower, jet the carb on the KLX and it has more power as well as starting as easy as EFI. Then there are more older KLXs available used since the Honda dual sport has only been out for about 2-1/2 years now.

It's a good starter bike or ride for a very mild rider unless you pour in a fair amount of money. The KLX is better off road, lighter, and jetted is more powerful without a bunch of money in it. It is a bike that can grow with a more aggressive rider. The Honda will need $500 worth of rear shock and a few hundred in the forks for more aggressive rider. Good ride for a lot of riders, but not me or people like me.

 

Thank you for the great reply.
The bike I am looking at has a set of street tires on it and comes with a set of off road tires. He said the bike has an aftermarket header and after market muffler on it and a set of "bark-buster" hand guards on it. I HOPE it looks as good as it does in the pictures.
Thanks

 

I think KLster was a little harsh.... A stock bike is hard to start, always has been and always will be. They will run rough until warmed up. If they don't there is nothing wrong with it usually, they are just set up lean. So if it is hard to start, but runs ok after warmed up I would not be too concerned.
There are some tricks to get it to start easier, and they are not that expensive.
I would check the chain & run it through the gears. Make sure they all run without knocks or clunks, and the clutch doesn't slip.
If you decide to buy it, find out if he ever lubed... the headset bearings, the rear linkage & swingarm, oiled the air filter, adjusted the valves. If he hasn't & you plan on keeping the bike a while, that is the first maintanence I would do.

 

The bike will, no doubt, be carrying a non-stock carb setup. This is what is expected with an aftermarket header and silencer. If the carb setup has been done correctly, I still believe it should start very quickly with choke (well tuned pilot system), idle without choke within 30 sec ( remember it's summer time fellas..), and carb cleanly at wide open throttle (once warm) from 3.5-4k past 9K rpm..

If the carb has not been set up well, it may not do anything quite right..

 

Good comment, some people will stick on the parts without doing any of the needed modifications. Sounds like this one might have the work done though, and the comments KLXter made should be close to true. It should start and run well, otherwise the carb changes come into question.

If mainly street ridden the bike should be really good. The bike my brother got was somewhat like that, not even a scuff under the frame or on the peg ends.

 

What would be a fair price range on a 2007 KLX250S with 5000 miles on it that is in good shape and has a FMF exhaust and header?
Owner also has all the stock parts and manuals.

 

I paid $2000 for a slightly scuffed up 15,000 mile 09 that needed chain/sprockets, a good buy. Ran out fine. So with around $150 in chain/sprockets and figure about $100 worth of labor, paid or not, You figure it was $2250 over all. It also had an undersize rear brake rotor that took about $50-70 to "fix" by trading off for an early model carrier.

My brother got a virtually perfect 06 or 07, I forget, with around 3000 miles, only mark on it being a scratch on a sticker that likely was from something falling against or on it in the garage. He paid $2650, which was still very good. The bike was like new and ran that way too.

Both were pretty good buys in my opinion. If the bike is really clean, no work needed, and you're under $3000 you may be happy. Keep in mind if it is something you're buying for yourself to enjoy for the long haul or it is a stepping stone. If it's good << key point... and you like it, you decide if you're happy with the price arrived at. Are you planning on keeping it for a long time or going to larger displacement or performance later? If so you want to invest as little as possible. If you plan to keep it, that changes things. I'll pay a bit more for what I absolutely want and will keep.

For example, I paid top dollar for my Ford Ranger because it had what I wanted, looked decent, and body was perfect, although it has a 10 foot paint job... looks good from ten feet, scratches in it, it's used. Everything else I saw had rust or was 4wd. I paid more than I really wanted and what it was booked at, but it was the best and I am not sorry I did so now two years 25,000 miles later. No rust, runs great, lowered to car level and looking/handling decent. It was worth the extra money I paid.

Did the same with the KLX650, but it had 1710 miles and near perfect, no off road. Now it is 48,000 miles and 17 years later... any extra I paid is well amortized.

My 250 is the only one that was a really good buy, but I paid what was asked, knowing that, not trying to haggle it down. No games, get what I want.

I was a salesperson for a long time and hated haggling for the last nickel, so I don't do that.

Use silence as your "haggling". Sometimes after asking the price then asking what it really takes, a really long silence can get a price drop. Don't show enthusiasm about the bike either. Indifference, check book in back pocket or hand, and minimal conversation until the sale is made or not.