I got to do a little exploring today.
I took the KLX in a place or two I shouldn't be. I was really impressed with the bikes climbing ability in first gear on tight woods single track type stuff.

 

I agree. This was the most pleasant surprise I encountered when I first took this bike on some real singletrack with loose, rocky climbs. I've had several XR250's over the years, and they were good climbers. I knew my KLX is heavier than any of those XR's...but...I was surprised how easily the bike climbed, how slow the bike could chug up just about any hill...and that was only with the normal exhaust, airbox, and jetting mods. Since installing a 300 cylinder, it's just that much better. At Moab this year, you always have those steep climbs with loose powder and rocks chewed up by all the jeeps. And to add to the issue, you have steps and ledges you have to pop over just when it appears you have lost all momemtum. But the KLX still seems to have power to crest that last ledge. Frankly it doesn't seem right, but apparently the KLX produces that kind of "useable" power we always hear the magazine testers rave about in their articles. I love this bike.

 

I was really impressed as well with it's climbing abilities. Took it out yesterday and climed some boulder fields that I wasn't sure it could do. It had a little trouble down hill, but thats proabably due to inexperiance.

 

i bought the bike knowing i wanted to riding single track, and in my mind, this maybe the best (jap) dual sport for it. ive riding some nuts almost goat trails, and the bike always willing to go threw it. ive stopped on some steep hills, rolled the throttle, let the clutch out smooth and just kept going like i was. i think the thing that helps this bike out a lot in that area is the wide power band, ive heard the wr is really high strung, so you would almost have to ride it like a 2 smoke.

 

punken, I've ridden a WR250R, and the motor felt great as far as torque and useable power at all rpm's...this one had a Power Commander unit installed, and it must have been programmed correctly.

It's funny on how a bike's absolute power isn't always the ideal when it comes to ascending a loose, rocky, ledgy hill. You have to have enough of course, but the right amount and type of power at the right time is more important, but I think we all know that. That's why I was always impressed with the climbing prowess of the lightly modded XR250's I've owned. They weren't power monsters by any means, but they had that type of power and delivery that kept you hooked up and kept you going without a lot of finesse and ballet. I've also owned open class two stroke enduro bikes in the past, and they would climb nearly anything by sheer brute power and momemtum. Where they got challenging was when you needed to make a notable change of direction during a loose climb. Feeding in that awesome power required some smooth clutch and throttle work. This stupid little KLX is extremely forgiving on a hard climb and just seems to keep chugging even when you have to go left or right during the climb.