The Complete KLX250/KLX300 Long Term Review Thread

A buddy of mine here in Eugene just arranged a deal yesterday, he's getting a brand new XT250 for 4500 that he's picking up on Wednesday so luckily I will have somebody to ride with. I let him take a little stroll on the KLX and he immediately had flashbacks to when he was growing up and wanted to get a bike. He liked the KLX but at 5'7" he wanted something just a little bit shorter and when checking out the different bikes he liked the feel of sitting on the XT the best. I'll surely look into tires but the first bit of $ I spend will probably be a skid plate, hand guards, and new mirrors. Originally I was planning on helping it breathe better but I haven't rode in so long I highly doubt I need more power already! Figure put a few bucks into protecting it and my hands a bit since it will mainly be used for off-road and I'm sure I'll misjudge things and dump it a LOT at first

Those mirrors, just looking at em I already know I'll break em. I can see those breaking from a little snag without even dumping it. I'll either get some small ones just to be legal or some folding ones, not too sure yet. We'll definitely have to see where the locals go Rob, I have some great logging roads here in Springfield I have been eyeballing but haven't actually been on em. I deliver mail in a rural area in Springfield so I know where all the logging roads are out there, plus I know all the locals and they won't mind at all, probably even offer me lunch:kbasa

Hello all, I read this thread and a few others regularly. I am deciding on which small ds i want to find to feed my forest road habit that my wee strom doesnt satisfy.

The KLX250 is high on my radar and I went to try out a used one today. It was dirty and kinda rough, but I like em that way. It hadnt been srarted in a while and the owner had to get out a charger to jump it off. I rode it around his neighborhood and it seemed ok.

I have been inside the innyrds of many bikes but I never rode one that did what this one did and I wonder if yall think its an easy fix.

Remember it hadnt been started in weeks or months. When you turn the throttle to rev it a bit, the rpm didnt fall right back to idle immediately. It kinda stayed there a second, then very gradually came back to idle over several seconds. I asked the owner if it had always done that and he said it had. He is the second owner. He said others told him it was probably sticky cables. So, i reached down to the carb and revved it up there. It did the same thing. Plus, the throttle tube snaps back like you think it should.

So, maybe dirty carb/slide/needle? A valve check issue? I am just not sure of the possibilities of what would cause the revved engine to not fall right back to idle.

The bike was rougher than the price he is asking, but again, rough looking is ok if mechanics are good. The battery iss and this issue give me some bargaining leverage, I think. But if yall can help me understand what might be required to bring it around I would be more comfortable with an offer.

Thanks for your help!

Oh, the bike is an 06 with about 2500 miles.

My best guess is it's too fat off idle/midrange.. not enough to "flood" it, i.e. cause it to sputter, but enough to keep the RPMs up. I had the same issue when I put the pumper carb on my KLX, but dropping the pilot a size might have been what fixed it. I was doing multiple changes at once. I finally sold off the pumper and put the stocker back on because I didn't care for how snappy it was. Sometimes snappy is NOT a good thing, like on slow technical trails. :)

Rob

Thanks, Rob. More of the story I remembered. CO (current owner) said that PO (yall know what that is ) had mangled the stock muffler and had some honking big jets in there, but that he (CO) bought a stock, unmangled muffler and returned the jets to stock, as well. So, at least 2 people have been inside the carb, and at least 1 probably shouldnt have.

I have jetted things too lean and too rich before, but never had this result. it literally acts like it has slow motion glue on something inside.

when CO told me that it had always done this, I discounted the jetting, but I will rethink it. You know how folks with things for sale sometimes kinda wanna get past an uncomfortable issue quickly.....

I went for a ride today. Well, I attempted to. The goal was to ride up the Hunter Lake Trail here in Reno. I've done this trail many times on ATVs but never on a bike.

Long story short, I went 15 miles in three hours. Dumped the bike at lea 5-6 times. Tons of rocks and loose dirt. A total PITA and it was hot.

On one of the dumps, it must have plowed into the ground just right because it peeled my shifter back like a banana. Fawk. I used a rock and a box wrench to bang it back into a useful position. At that point I made my way back to the pavement, but still dumped it at least two more times.

Once home, I removed the shifter and sed a hammer, a vice, vice grips, and a long piece of metal pipe to return it to something resembling it's original shape.

Can you believe Kawi wants $50 for a new one??? Tusk has a replacement for $17 at Rocy Mountain ATV but they're on back order til mid August.

Rob


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that sucks you dumped it so many times, that's some serious dedication. Also sucks you have to wait til mid-august to fix it but at least you were able to bend it to a semi-normal/functional position til then

I got one of these when i FUBAR'ed my shifter. I have been happy with it so far.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DRIVEN-Fold...Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a72e0d871&vxp=mtr

On the topic of tires: the Pirelli XCMH front is an excellent match for the trackmaster rear tire.

And if you need a shifter that's a tiny bit longer than OEM for bigger feet, the versions for the later model XR650L is a perfect fit. I use the MSR model for the XR on my KLX.

My biggest complaint with the Trakmaster has been wear. The rear is almost done with less than 1000 miles on it. Sure they're cheap, but changing tires is a pain in the ass no matter what.

I looked up the Pirelli you mentioned... the price isn't bad... about $140 for both tires. What about using them on both ends?

Rob

I wouldn't call it dedication other than being dedicated to get the hell out of there. :)

The shifter is back in place and totally usable. I'll order up the Tusks when they're in stock or if I can find them someplace else, and carry a spare from now on. I keep a spare for my DR650 but never did get one for the KLX.

Rob

Do the splines on the XR shifter match the KLX250S and how much longer is it?

Yes, perfect match. This is a known replacement shifter for many years, so don't worry about the fit. I can't remember the size of the stock shifter, but the MSR XR650L version is 6.25"-6.3" or so from the center of the spline shaft to the middle of the folding tip. It is steel, so it's not brittle or prone to snapping in a fall. It's malleable so you can bend it back into shape if needed.

I'll second the way too rich speculation. It may be a combination of pilot/main jet that shouldn't be together at all. Another possibility (if the owner is telling the truth about the stock jets being back in), is that the PO got crazy and opened up the wrong hole or did some other thing they weren't supposed to with the carb slide vaccum (cut the spring too short maybe?), so that it is staying open too long.
If nothing else, you can explain to the seller that the bike is most definitely NOT supposed to act that way, and there is indeed something in there that is not right and needs to be fixed. This may be able to get the bike into the right price range for its condition. When you let off the throttle, it should immediately return to idle. Jets are cheap, carb slide not so much.

From my experience, a so called "hanging idle" (engine fails to return immediately to idle when throttle is closed) is caused by a lean condition.

From what I've read, the rear XCMH wears faster than the Trackmaster II and I don't think it's DOT approved. FWIW, I'm not 100% happy with the TMII rear, as it does wear fast, and I think it slides sideways too easily compared to most "real" I.e. non DOT knobbies.

Anyone have any shrouds for an 06/07 that they want to sell??

So what are you guys thinking about the new Honda CRF250L? On paper, it looks like the KLX is better suited for off-road use... more front suspension travel, more adjustable rear shock, higher ground clearance, lower weight.

Even at $600 more to get a new one, the KLX still looks to be the best of the lower-priced duals? Maybe the Honda will force a KLX price drop?

I know that fuel injection has come a long way but I'd rather have a carb. Sure FI does great self-adjusting for altitude changes but if it messes up miles from anywhere then what? With a carb you've got a bit of chance to get back to civilization.

Thanks Honda for making the KLX look greater than ever!!

In my opinion the new Honda misses the mark significantly, but maybe that's because I have a dirt bias. What the CRF250L does for me is fit the cliche of overweight, underpowered, undersuspended, Japanese 'dual pupose' bike...now with extra cheesy bodywork. The only thing I do like about it is the lower maintenance engine design.