I just picked up a 2007 KLX250s last night with 7880km on it last night. I was going over the bike tonight and noticed a couple things that I need to address before I can start driving this thing, so now I have a few questions.

I have ridden and worked on dirt bikes in the past. I actually ended up trading a dirt bike for this bike because I wasn't getting enough use out of it and wanted something for the street. That said, I like to do all my own work.. no matter how involved it may be. If I don't know how to do it, I want to learn

First issue is the one that I am most uncertain about. The PO had replaced the gear change lever on the bike and it appears that he may have stuck a screw driver in behind it to pry the old one off or something? Whatever happened, the seal got mangled and it is leaking. Can this be replaced without much hassle? Can I just remove the shift lever, pop the old seal out and replace it with a new one? Does anyone know what the part number for this seal is?

Second thing is the fork seals are both leaking badly so I will need to replace those. I noticed it yesterday but at that point it seemed to be "weeping" more than a major leak. I was wrong. They are both shot. I took a .002 feeler gauge and ran in around the lip of the dust seal and there seemed to be a lot of dirt that had accumulated. PO said the seals were just replaced, and they do look relatively new. I am hoping that there are no gouges that are tearing the seal.

Third thing... tires! PO had non DOT approved dirtbike tires on here. I want to switch them out for something I would be comfortable doing a lot of street riding with. I will probably be doing 75/25 street/trail riding. I was doing some reading and I am thinking about getting some Dunlop 606's or maybe Kenda K270's. Im attracted to the price of the Kenda's, but you get what you pay for alot of the time, right? Do you guys have any recommendations for me?

Fourth.. routine maintenance. I will need to change the oil. It is low right now because of that leaky seal. I hope the PO was aware of the oil level and it hasn't been low long enough to cause damage. Bike runs good and strong, starts in about a second and just all around seems very healthy so I am optimistic. Anyways, what do you guys run for oil? I got a jug of Kawasaki 10w40 with the bike. I usually run amsoil in my bikes/sleds/quads. Any other recommendations?

I am excited to get these things taken care of so I can get out and start riding! Anything else I should know about these bikes? I look forward to learning more about them.

-Steve

 

I did some looking for a part number for that seal. I came across a 92152-1075, but they describe it as a collar so I don't really know about that one. Another possibility that seems a little more promising is 92049-1559. The only thing I am worried about is whether or not this can be changed from the outside, or if it has to be changed from the inside?

 

If your over 145#, if your tearing the forks apart I would upgrade the front springs minimum.
If I was going to do a lot of road riding, with some offroad when the conditions are nice (no mud), I would be looking real hard at something like the Pirelli Scopions MT. I heard good things about this tire as a DS tire. Running on the road with full ***** is usually a little squirrelly.

 

You know, at 145# he may actually be closer to what the stock springs are rated for, depending of course on the kind of level of riding he'll do. It's the compression damping in our forks that is so sub par.

 

I am around 155, so not too far off. The one thing that I've noticed about the suspension is how soft it is. The only thing that I have to compare it to is moto cross bikes. I don't want to get into fork swaps or anything right now.. I would rather put money into other aspects of the bike first, but I wouldn't mind playing with the springs when I am in there. Are there any links to suspension modifications?

 

Myself and a couple of others have posts here on full suspension revalves on the KLX. I've done both the front and rear with Race Tech Gold Valve kits, and it has been awesome. The fork is the component that almost has to have a revalve if you really want it to work at an optimum level. The stock compression valving is horrible. I'd give you a link, but I'm not getting the search function to work at the moment here.

 

For the mix of riding you are planning to do, the Kenda K270 rear tire is an outstanding value, I have been amazed at how long it has lasted and actually, if you air it down (use rim locks), does surprisingly well in the dirt. I tried the K270 front but was not impressed with it on or off road (particularly in mud, sand and loose gravel).

So I'm currently running a D606 front (which was given to me free by a friend who sold his bike) and the K270 rear and I've been happy with this mix for both commuting, twisties, and dual sporting on gravel roads. When I was doing more off-road trail riding a few years ago I was running Kenda K760 Trakmaster tires, and they are fantastic off road, and do pretty well on road, but don't last too long on pavement.

 

Shinko 244's are good.

 

Hey Steve, you can't go wrong with either the 606 or the kenda 270, I've run both several times. the kenda went twice the mileage that the dunlop did, but the dunlop was a lot better on the trails. Welcome to the forums!!!

 

For the price, I think I will try out the kenda's.

Can anyone confirm the part numbers required for the shifter shaft seal? I would like to order the parts and get that leak looked after.