Thanks again Deej!, Im sure I can probably find all the questions I need in here but here it goes anyway.

I am a new rider...getting my bike license in a couple months. Looking at two bikes. New DR 650 or the new 2006 KLX 250. I really have my eye on the 250. Looks great for off road!! I have to do 20 minutes a day inner city drivin to work. Can you tell me what kind of bike this is for street riding? Can it keep up to traffic ok? Does it have enough pep if I need to open it up on the road? What speeds can you get out f it without redlining it? This bike will be used for 60% Street 40% off road. Can you give me a personal opinion on how the bikes responds on the street? Hard to find any riders out there that have one and would like a more personal opinion on how it works than the brochure I keep findin everywhere. thanks.

Nickal
New Brunswick
Canada

 

well, obviously the dr650 will definatly have more omph on the street, but, the klx has no problem keeping up with traffic and is far superior in the dirt. the klx can cruise at highway speeds easily. i find the cruising 60-70mph is no problem and not uncomfortable. the klx is designed to rev. it likes to be above 5000 rpms, where as the dr has more low end grunt. i think the klx will serve you well. and there are a few mods that will make your klx even more enjoyable and open her up a bit in the power and fun dept.

 

Nickal,

First of all, welcome to this forum. It is without doubt, The BEST KLX250S forum around, bar none!

Now, let's get to the crux of your question; depending on the kind of riding you want to do, the KLX250S CAN be an excellent bike.

You never mentioned the "Inner City" speed you will be trying to attain. If it's 35 to 45 mph, the KLX250S will definately surprise you. If it's 65 to 75 mph, the KLX250S will do that without tearing itself apart. You will find it an excellent choice for off-road.

I have multiple motorcycles sitting in my garage - I am quite fortunate. One is a KLX250S, another is a KLR650. Let me make the statement this way; the KLR650 is a great street bike that can easily be ridden off-road as long as the conditions are not too challenging. The KLX250S is a great dirt bike that can be ridden on the highway as long as the speeds are not too excessive for long periods of time.

From what many of the others around here have found, some basic mods - about $50 and 4 hours - will transform the KLX250S from an excellent motorcycle to an outstanding motorcycle. Some have also found that once those mods are done, a reduction in the final drive ratio (a 13 tooth front sprocket) will actually increase the top speed. I had my KLX250S up to 85 mph indicated the other day and there was still plenty to go.

Okay, since you asked for information, I am going to ask you to do me a favor. I see that you live in Canada. There is a training facility in Canada that is akin to MSF here in the states. I work for MSF as a RiderCoach and teach people how to safely ride motorcycles. Please, take a course to properly how to safely ride a motorcycle. You will benefit a great deal from that training.

Check it out at Motorcycle Safety Institute. Thank you!

 

Marty,


Thanks for the response. I believe this bike will be my choice. Im not all that mechanically inclined and would be hesitant to start tinkering with it right away as Im sure that voids the 1 year limited warranty that comes with the bike here right off the bat. Im not looking a real fast bike for the street but was concerned that it may not get me around the city safely in faster traffic. I would only need an average speed of about 60-80 kilometers an hour(I believe is 45-50mph), although many trails will need short commute highway drive of 110Km speed limit(I believe this is about 70 mph+). Sorry if the conversion is off ha ha, try converting Degres Fahrenheit to Celcius!! Anyway Marty, if I was just to make a sprocket change in the front as you suggested(and many others in this forum), would that help at all? Would there be a list of mods that would need to be done first before the sprocket change would make any difference? In regards to your question about motorcycle course. I am definetly going to taking the course. I am waiting to save money on down payment of bike. Course I belived almost doubled in price this year and is now $390.00. Seems steep for even us, but I here is well worth it. Hopefully I can time it so when I purchase the bike, I can take the course around the same time. The end part of the course(if your comfortable) is your drivers test for you license. Or you can just go for the test without the course. I believe its two level licenses depending on bike size.


If you wanted to look, here is the link of the course that is offered here. I believe its mainly the same group which offers it across Canada but could be wrong.

http://www.ridertraining.org/

 

Nickal,

Probably the same course as we teach here in the states. I'm sure that most of the procedures developed for motorcycle training are pretty much standard throughout the world. Teaching muscle memory is a feat left to the folks that know how to do it. Basically you will start out with learning the clutch, then starting and stopping, shifting and stopping, turning, weaving, countersteering, matching engine speed to road speed, braking, limited space manuvering, pressing to initiate lean, entry speed, cornering, stopping in turns, obstacles, lane changes and avoiding obstacles. It's a pretty interesting course. Heck, I learn something each time I teach it and I've taught well over 100 of them.

On the bike. Sounds like you're making a wise choice. The gearing issue is interesting to think about. All engines have a 'sweet spot' in them where they run better, make more power and use less fuel to do it. I think the KLX250S benefits from less gear as the engine is not working as hard to accelerate the bike up to about 110 km. (BTW, to convert farenheit to celcius, just multiply the temp my 1.8 and add 32 to the product - I'm a retired engineer!)

The mods that BMWHD, A16Tony, MaverickAus and a few others have developed are quite simple to install. Some basic tools and not much in the way of knowledge is required. If it helps, here's a link to a photo filled article I did on the upgrade over at klr650.net. http://www.klr650.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10755 It's really quite easy to do. I'll walk you through if if you would like. And the difference it makes in the bike is like night and day.

Sounds like you're going to get off to a great start in the wonderful sport of motorcycling. Thanks for sharing about taking the training. It's something I wish more riders would do. I am constantly hearing about injuries suffered in crashes that were avoidable or were caused by not knowing what to do. Most riders do not know how to ride. Just come down to Daytona for Biketoberfest or Bike Week and you will see what I mean!

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Nickal, this bike is a blast, and as long as you don't need to go on the highway all the time this bike will do exactly what you want. If you need to cruise at 80 MPH nonstop then that may be hard to accomplish, but 70 MPH will not be a problem, especially if you have lowered the gearing. This applies only if you have various grades of terrain where you will be riding at. When the road is flat I can get this bike up to 85 MPH no problem with stock gearing and the carb mods and I can keep that speed. But here in Georgia there are alot of long hills to climb and with the stock gearing the 6th gear is not powerful enough to keep up the MPH while going uphill, but 5th is. So I assume if I change my rear sprocket to a 45 then I will be doing alot less shifting going up hills.

Man I'm really looking forward to getting another bike just to cruise on the streets. Not to say I can't do this on the KLX right now, because I have done it and will continute to do it, this bike is a blast. But I want something a little more comforatable for the long rides and also something which my wife will be comforatable riding with me. I'm looking for a cruiser to fit this bill, I would like to have a Sports bike but I have heard even if you get one with no intentions on pushing it to the edge, you eventually will. Also, at red lights, I hate when mustangs pull up to you and start reving like hell, even on the KLX 250s, and I know that I would get alot more of that with a sports bike.

 

incabiker,

Please allow me to introduce you to another one of Kawasaki's fine products. Like the KLR650 that has been around since 1987, the Kawasaki Concours has been around, virtually unchanged since 1986. I have a 1986 A-1 model that I bought about 3 years ago with 20,000 miles on it. It is closing in on 50,000 miles and has been one of the most dependable motorcycles I have ever owned. I would not hesitate to jump on it tomorrow and ride across the United States.

The Concours has a cult following very similar to that of the KLR650 and soon to be KLX250S crowd. It is a unique bike, but a standard creation of Kawasaki. I say that, because like the KLX250S, the Concours is also a "made from" motorcycle. The engine comes from the ZX1000 of the early 80's. KHI took the engine and 'detuned' it to make only 100 rwhp. Then they put it in a frame that make the bike handle like a sports bike, but ride like a touring bike. It was the beginning of the sport-touring category back in 1986.

MSRP on the bike is $8499 and that includes a set of great lockable hard luggage, two up seating, a big fairing, a huge windshield and two tone paint. Most dealers will deal on the bike as they have a lot of room.

The bike is a low-tech one. Carbs to tune and repair yourself and just about everything can be worked on by the typical owner-tinkerer. There is a tremendous aftermarket support for the bike and it's just another "Showroom Classic" as deemed by Peter Egan of Cycle World.

Take one out for a ride some day. I think you'll be happy with it. Beside, Mustangs don't stand a chance!

 

Hey Nickal, Remember when I got into trouble posting a link on the 4 strokes site directing you over to this site? LOL again welcome.

deej