On Test: Kawasaki KX250F
By Martin Craven on 20th Jul 16
When asked by Kawasaki if Id like to go to Santa Barbara in southern California to test the very latest Kawasaki KX250F at Zaca Station it took around half a second for my mouth to somehow blurt out, Errrr, go on then!
I know that the sport of motocross was invented in Europe, and I know that the World Champions are (mainly) European, and I also know the Motocross des Nations winning team is European.
But the good old US of A, and predominantly California, is actually where it's at – so you don't turn a blind eye to this gig in a hurry.
Zaca Station, on arrival, was looking in prime condition. Real loamy soil, watered to perfection.
And as if being at one of America's finest practice tracks, complete with factory mechanics on hand and a brand-new Kawasaki KX250F with my name written all over it wasn't good enough, we only had the king himself – Jeremy McGrath – shredding laps with us.
I have to confess to having had a slight man-crush on the 1990s Superstar – and what a nice guy he was too.
Setting eyes on the new for 2017 Kwacker for the first time, straight away you can see it's been on a big old diet. It's slim and sleek to a point where you think how can they get any smaller.
It is literally the same weight as my old Raleigh Grifter back in the day. Somebody has been working very hard back in the factory knocking kilos off here, there and everywhere and in the process making a super-looking bike.
Stock Kawasakis have always sounded nice and the 2017 KX250F is no exception, it is super crisp and echoey, instantly sending good vibes to the rider.
The holy grail of pretty much any kind of race bike is to be as powerful, light and fast as possible – and after just ten minutes on the latest green machine all systems were go.
With a lighter engine and chassis and new ergonomics the latest 250F is getting rid of the ‘long and lazy' feel of previous models and now has a quicker and more nimble feel.
Kawasaki wanted to make changes with a lighter, freer and quicker revving engine – and boy have they delivered.
The power is crisp, exciting and winds up to the rev limiter quickly, to the point where I found myself hitting it sooner than I expected, especially with the more aggressive White coupler. The stock Green coupler had good bottom end and great mid and pretty good top end and over rev.
The difference was so noticeable on track where the big step-up at Zaca Station had to be hit wide open and with the White coupler fitted I was able to hook up to fourth gear to ease me over the step-up.
It was just a more exciting ride with it on full power, the result was in no detriment to the bottom-end power either and the White was definitely my favourite coupler – for this track at least.
In the past Kawasaki have had a reputation for being a rear-wheel steering bike and while I won't go as far as to say the 2017 KX250F is a front-steering model, I would say that it is now more neutral and with a few adjustments could be both front and rear steering.
It is now so much quicker to change direction in corners than on the 2016 model.
The lighter weight and new slimmer seat and tank configuration make the Kwacker easier to lean into a turn and keep it tucked into a rut and in the process it doesn't lose any of its stability in a straight line.
Kawasaki is still using the proven Showa SSF Type 2 fork, with one leg having a spring and the other handling all the damping – albeit with complete revised valve settings. This was good for me because it comes stock with a stiffer spring, enabling me to adjust the clickers for my style and by going four clicks stiffer I found a perfect ride, and kept it that way all day.
On the back the spring is physically lighter and has a lighter spring weight, which is designed to match the new chassis changes.
In reality, on the track I would if anything go up one on the spring rate but other than that the settings were spot on.
I couldn't believe how smooth the ride was without giving up performance.
TECH TALK
EVERYONE knows the Kawasaki KX250F – it's got an aluminium twin-spar frame, a five speed, 250cc four-stroke DOHC motor, Uni-Trak suspension at the back and a set of Showa forks up front – and its GREEN.
Correct. You win. But that's not quite the full story, is it?
For sure, there's no mistaking the quarter-litre Green Meanie but for 2017 the KX250F is virtually an all-new bike.
That instantly recognisable alloy frame is now smaller, slimmer and considerably lighter while at the same time being stronger in all the right places.
Likewise the engine room has been on a diet and has been re-designed with an off-set, forward inclined cylinder, a downdraft inlet tract and state of the art efi with injectors both upstream and downstream of the Keihin throttle body.
It is packed with electronic trickery, including the ‘Launch Control', now in its third year and you even get three easy-change F1 style efi couplers that gives you a choice three maps. There's a whole engine full of re-worked detail design including a new piston and clutch.
The exhaust front pipe is also new with a carefully designed shorter length. All this detail engine work results in a more powerful, more responsive engine with increased power through the range and over-rev to die for.
Suspension is courtesy of the latest Showa SFF with the spring in one leg and multi adjustable damping in the other. At the rear, the swinging arm and linkage have been re-designed for even sweeter handling as well as having been put on a diet.
All this burning of the midnight oil by Kawasaki engineers results in a new super-light KX250F claimed weight of 104.5 kg.
All of which isn't worth diddly of course if it doesn't perform on the track...
CONCLUSION
After a day riding at Zaca Station it is safe to say that the changes to the 2017 KX250F were a massive move in the right direction.
All the updates to the engine make it a quicker, more free revving and exciting bike, while the chassis changes and lighter weight make the 250F a more responsive and easier bike to ride.
Pound for pound, kilo for kilo, it doesn't get much better than this.
