It maybe a little late for this, but I was curious what other bikes people considered before buying their KLX. Based on the great advice of this forum I didn't look at anything else. I rode with a couple this weekend and the wife was on a 06 Husky TE250. Man, that's a nice bike...but I could never afford it. Then they told me what they paid OTD and now I'm a little jealous that I didn't look at one. mAybe I can talk my wife into getting one

 

Well, online I was checking out the KLX, the XT225, TW200, and dreaming of the TE250, however the closest Husky dealer is several hours away. I originally settled with the XT due to the seat height. When no dealers had any in my area I took the KLX as second best and there was only 1 in my area. Didn't even throw a leg over it, for fear of getting my foot caught and knocking it into the KLR next to it and setting off a domino effect in the showroom. Applied for the Good Times card and brought it home a few hours later.

After finding out how the TE fairs as a "true" dualsport, ie, playbike and weekly commuter I'm glad I couldn't find/afford one. I'm pretty certain I would have gotten bored with the XT, and the TW wouldn't have been able to maintain the road speed for my commute.


All in all, 6600 miles of smiles with the KLX.

 

Just for curiousity, where did they buy the TE, and what was the OTD price?

I looked at the Husky online, and decided it was too tall for me. I thought the KLX was too tall also, and intended to lower it. It turns out the KLX fits me just fine. I'm looking for a bike for my daughter. She's a little bit shorter than me. Maybe I'll take a look at the TE and give her the KLX...just a thought...I may take a look at the fuel injected Yamaha. I live at high altitude and she doesn't. I would really like fuel injection, and the KLX would be great for her...

 

none.... i went on looks.... and what i could afford.... the klx looked the most like a dirt bike that was street legal..... dont regret it at all. just wish it wasnt a lemon...

 

Could you elaborate?

I think they paid like 6k OTD in Boise. They said the dealer was awesome and threw in Acerbis handguards and acouple other things. Boise is a HUGE ds market, we have every major deal (KTM and Husky are walking distance from my house). People get great deals up here and it must be an easy plate state as I have seen cr's, wr's, and klx's with plates on the trails.

I bought my bike in NM while I was down their for work. I got a good deal and I love the bike, but if I buy another 250 or 400/450 I'm going to take a serious look at the husky's.

Tom - The new yammy is pretty, but if you're shopping in that price range I would look at the husky. What impressed me was how they didn't cut corners like SS breaklines, Brembo breaks, marzochi forks...

 

Was looking for a used XR250L.

I happend to see the KLX-S on the Kawi web page & my mouth hit the floor, they finally made what I wanted. A Japanese factory DS that does not weigh a million pounds, stand taller than a sky scraper, & is not an XT, DR, KLR, etc.

I consider the XR250L in this category too but I could find an 11 year old one if I was lucky, not to mention the improvements like the inverted fork, liquid cooling, & e-start in addition to being brand new like the KLX.

These are basically the only 2 Japanese dual sports that fit my road & dirt needs even to date. Don't tell IG but I would not mind a DRZ SM for street only use, but not in the dirt, even with dirt wheels. Its in the million poiunds & stand taller category right with the XR650L, KLX 650, etc. (& I had an XR650L BTW).

 

Me too, well as far as a brand new bike. I was considering a used WR450 at the time, but I wanted to go new. I did eventualy sell the KLX and get a street titled WR450 for a great price.

If I could afford one, I would have picked up a KTM 525 EXC...maybe someday.

 

I tried to find one of the rebadged DRZ400's Kawasaki had out for a year. The bike was for my wife to ride with me on the KTM 640A.

I didn't really want her to get a 250, but the bike is nice and that is what she wanted. Due to Kawasaki's commitment to women riders, my wife would not consider a different brand.

If the bike was just for me (and I ride it more than she does as of right now), I probably would have sold it by now and bought a KTM 450 EXC.

I'm hoping to be able to afford an aftermarket exhaust over the winter. If it wakes the bike up a bit, then I'll like it a lot more.

 

[/quote]
I think they paid like 6k OTD in Boise. They said the dealer was awesome and threw in Acerbis handguards and acouple other things. Boise is a HUGE ds market, we have every major deal (KTM and Husky are walking distance from my house). People get great deals up here and it must be an easy plate state as I have seen cr's, wr's, and klx's with plates on the trails.

[/quote]

That's good info to know, thanks! I have to go to the Portland area for work temporarily, Boise is certainly a doable day trip.

 

I looked at the XT225, DR200, TW200, XR200L, Sherpa 250 and DRZ400. I was lucky to find a good deal on a used low mileage KLX250 so I went with that. To me, it was the best of them all with the exception of the DRZ400, but that one is a different size/class of bike so its not an apples to apples comparison.