I picked up a 2005 KX250 on 10/12, and went to work right away to get ready for the trail. Since the bike is essentially all new this year, I thought I would post a first ride impressions thread. Here are the mods we added before the first ride:
- Moose hand guards
- O-ring chain
- BR8EVX plug (the original plug fouled immediately)
- Moose skid plate
- FMF Turbine Core
Following was our initial prep:
- Oil the air filter
- Set forks level with the top clamp (the Scott's mount is different in 2005, so didn't want any head shake)
- Set reboud at 10 and compression at 12 front and rear
- Set static sag at 1" (race sag is 4" with Ben in the saddle)
- Checked all nuts, bolts, etc.
Saturday Ride:
The first ride was in Idaho City at elevation changes from 3000-5000 feet. The bike ran great, and handled well. The steering angle has been reduced one degree, so I was concerned about stability. Not one problem. This year, the forks are all new, and are more like the Honda units. WOW, what a difference! The only change that was required was to increase the compression clicker (now on top of the fork) to 14. We put in about 60 miles in the trees, and the only complaint is the new gripper seat, but this is probably because of the higher percentage of sitting.
The motor pulls hard all the way through the RPM range, and with the stock 13/51 gearing, seems to want to pull the front wheel off the ground. Once you understand how to compensate for the tendancy to wheelie, all is well.
The motor lugs like a 500! On several long rutted, rocky hills, speed deteriorated, but the motor still pulled the bike up the hills without a stumble. Very impressive. The motor also had great off idle snap.
The ergonomics of this bike favor taller riders, but my 5'6", 180 pound 15 year old was able to get comfortable quickly. However, the bike has so much off idle snap, Ben was a little carefull on his first ride.
Rear shock seemed to be spot on with the settings in the garage. NO SWAP at all in the three foot whoops at speed. Also, no head shake, even without a stabalizer.
Sunday Ride
Sunday was a trip to the desert, with long fast sand washes, long deep sandy hills, high speed jumps, and lots of whoops. The first ride of the day was spent in the tight technical draws and sand washes. Again, wow, the bike has a great power band, with no noticable dead spot. In fact, we rode the draws faster than we have in the past, using walls to get around the corners at speed. The front end worked great on the corners, even with the forks dropped down level.
After the first ride, I decided to mess with the jetting, as there was black spooge running out of the muffler. I pulled the slide and dropped the needle one clip position. I cleaned up the muffler, and we went for another ride. Before the carb tuning, the bike was really fast, faster than any 250 I've ever owned. After the clip change, the bike is flat scarry. In fact, we drag raced up a long, deep, sandy hill, and too my surprise, Ben was able to keep the 250 right with me on the 500. In fact, he actually won a race to the top, but stayed in the weeds for the first 1/3 of the climb. No matter, when he jumped into the deep sand in front of me, both of us fifth gear pinned, I was not able to pull in front of him. Very impressive for a 250, as I was able to eat the 426 alive, but mostly because of the 426's tendancy to swap a little in the whoops at speed.
As we transitioned to the flat sections, and rode the whoops, the bike is 100% stable, even pinned to the stops through deep whoops and chop. It does seem to have a little rear kick at low speed, but this is acceptable to get stability at speed.
On the jumps, the new KX really shines, launching staight and true, without any tendancy to run front or rear heavy. With the 13/51 ratio, doubles are a third gear proposition. Surprisingly, the bike tracks straight when full power is applied in first gear, and stays straight even in soft sand.
In a nut shell, the new KX250 is a huge improvement, and I would imagine Bubba is grinnin'. I can imagine you might even see me keeping this one next year when Ben gets a 2006.
Rick
