hi, the dealer near me is selling a left over brand new 2007 klx250s for $4250 everything but taxes.

iv read all sorts of posts about high way questions of the speeds this bike can do. now the high ways here in the new england area here are well coverd in trees, so i dont think there are any strong winds from any direction to worry about or cross winds. but i would like to know if the bike can handle daily riding to work and back with a total of about 5 miles of high way riding a day at about 75mph, the rest is all back roads at 30-50mph, total comute to work and back a day is 22 miles. im 6' and about 180 pounds.

2. iv also read about hard starts with this bike, what year suffered the most from this?

also just wondering, how fast have u been able to get this bike up to? iv read one post some where of a guy saying he could do over 90mph, if thats true, then this bike is perfect, but if its struggling to hit 70mph, then i think ill look at something els to buy.

i just love that it looks just like a motorcross bike and is full off raod looking, but if its only good to like 55mph, then i dont see it worth the money.

id like to hear from the people who ride this bike mostly on streets and stuff. iv read lots of posts about how this bike is awesome off raod and in the trails, wich is great. but i want to hear about some of the road capebilities of this bike.

thanks,



Brain.

 

Welcome to the forum Brian,

I paid $4354 +tx for mine, that was $100 over cost + the dealers 5% holdback.

I have had my bike up to 75mph per the spedo & it could have gone abitmore.I don't know if thatwas accurate, I have heard that the spedo is a bit off though.
BTW,I am also from New England (CT)

"I would like to know if the bike can handle daily riding to work and back with a total of about 5 miles of high way riding a day at about 75mph, the rest is all back roads at 30-50mph, total comute to work and back a day is 22 miles. im 6' and about 180 pounds."

No prob, im 240#+ And it pulls me along without problem

Starting can be challanging if you don't run it for a few days without turning off the fuel before putting her away.

The bike rides ok on the road ( haven't had it offroad yet)& I can say I love this bike. It always draws looks & compliments.

Go ahead, pull the trigger!

BTW, my bike is still stock except for the skid plate I mounted this weekend. The carb parts are on their way & my 2Brothers slip on is in the box waiting.

edit: forgot about the 13T sproket!

 

I'll bite....I'm the one who had their KLX over 90 mph. It was screaming and very unstable but it'll do it. Is it made for that type of riding? Well, no. But it will do 70mph all day long, especially with a 13-tooth front sprocket. This will push the rpms up a bit, but it won't damage it at all. In stock gearing form, 6th gear is hard to get much use out of because the power just won't pull it very good. This is why we install the 13-tooth front sprocket. It's all of $15 and a few turns of a wrench. If you do these speeds you speak of, keep the best of oil in your bike which is also a touchy subject. Just make sure it passes the standards set in your manual.

As far as hard starts go, it's evident in both models that has been in the USA- '06 and '07. Everyone has their own theory of what it does and what they do to improve it. As far as buying something else, what? The only other option is a DRZ400 if you want to keep the dirt bike look and cheaper cost. It doesn't have a 6th gear and having owned one of them too (DRZ400SM), I can tell you it's not a good highway commuter bike because it screams at 60 and you're always shifting into an imaginary 6th gear that doesn't exist. I suppose you could gear it down for street use. But imho, only the SM is buyable as the other two with the old conventional forks are fugly. The KLX is an excellent commuter bike, it's kind of down on power in stock trim but after a while you'll want to add an exhaust system which really wakes it up, jet the carb and open the airbox. But really, the 13-tooth front sprocket is all you need right off the bat to change the whole bike and how it delivers it's power.

edit: Just making something clear- I don't dislike the DRZ all of a sudden, I just think (and always have) thatthe SM is the best looking model. I would never buy the other two unless I could swap out the forks which can be done if you have the dough and time. I think the DRZSM is about the most perfect commuter bike out right now for in town as it's torque and handling are near perfection not to mention it's brakes and price. The KLX is a good commuter as well since it is lighter than the S and SM DRZ, but it's lack of power could be an issue in emergency acceleration situations. Pipe it, gear it, jet it, open it up and that goes away.

 

+1 IG

 

+1+1 IG

 

G'day mate! I use my KLX to comute through the week and to go prospecting on the weekends. EverythingI need it to do it does. If it gets a little windy I lean forward and pretend I'm on a road bike LOL, this does draw some strange looks but I couldnt care less, it gets me to where I need to go faster. I want to put a bigger sprocket on the back and I'm looking into it. My bike is all stock apart from the snorkel off the air box and it runs great. Yes sometimes shes hard to start after two or more days but thats what a choke is for. All in all I'm stocked with the bike.
Cheers!

 

Your post seems to indicate that you like the looks, but you will rarely, if ever use it for off-road riding.

If I was looking for something that was "more road worthy", I would consider:

Kawasaki KLR650 or Versys
Suzuki DR650SE or V-Strom
Honda XR650L
BMW F650GS (or the F800GS twin due out in September)

All of these are "back road" worthy, and will have the stability and power needed forthe highway portion of your commute. I believe you will get about 50mpg out of these 650s (a little better on the fuel injected V-Strom, Versys, or BMW). My KLX did about 70mpg in stock form, but since the mods it's closer to 50mpg now.

If you intend to run some single-track trails, by all means get the KLX250S. If you're looking for a comfortable, stable, powerful commuter that just happens to look like a dirt bike, you need to look larger.

If your dealer allows it (mine didn't), try it before you buy it.

 

The KLX250 is a good comute bike, but it won't hit 75mph everytime. Unless you do some mods and free up the engine, it won't go much faster than 65mph in stock form. I've had it up to 75mph in stock, but I was drafting. I never really had an issue with hard starting. Just when it hits 32*F.

My suggestion is that you might want to look at a bigger bike. Maybe something like a KLR650 or Versys.

 

+1 on what everyone else has said above.The little KLX seems to be most content in stock gearing and with mods at the 50-65 mph range...sure it will blaze past that (at least mine will) but i never saw any reason too.I've only been on the interstate 2 times with it to go 2 miles each way to cross into Jersey but other than that i just avoid it.The bike is a killer backroad fun bike and i alsways find myself turning my 12 mile commute to work into a 25 mile commute on some twisty back roads.It responds very well to mods IMO and has alot of stuff you can do to it....it's light and fun.very dirt worthy. For big road riding i would seriously consider one of the other bikes mentioned above if you aren't going to offroad it and just do the commute....not sure on the price yet but the F800 from beemer is a great up and coming and so is the Kawi versys...there are alot of really good bikes out there and i doubt you would be disatisfied with any of them.best bang for the buck i would say is the KLX especially for a starter DS bike...

 

sorry its taken a while to post back,

vlodpg
ur in CT? im in the wilton/norwalk area. do you ride the 95 or the marrit park way much? we have some great twisty back roads here, and all the roads around my town are all 25mph to 45 mph.

warski
gues i can ask the dealer if i can test ride the bike. will see.
back roads to work and back is no longer then the high ways, i could always enjoy some back road riding with this bike. another big reason for this bike is the 70mpg it can get. much better then my trucks 14mpg on diesel wich is way expensive. come to think of it, i really only do about 65 to 75 in my truck anyways, so the bike should be good.

i supose i should just get a look at the bike. im sure that ill be happy with it. just trying to hear what i can from you guys who own one is all.

R there any good videos of this bike in action? or of a camera's veiw of the speedo and bike excelleration?