I jumped ship from Kawasaki in 93 because of the saggy foot pegs and a bunch of other things. I came back by accident in 04 when I blew up my 02 YZ250 and needed a bike to start the race season on. My wife went to the ISDE in 03 and she rode a 03 KX250 (she also worked at a Kawi dealer). I bought her a second one so she had a practice bike to ride while her race bike was crated and shipped off to Brazil, it was gone for 7 months! When hers came back I started riding her other one and found it to be on par build wise to my CRs and YZs. Better in many ways. The myth about Honda being built better and lasting longer no longer holds true. The later model KXs, 03 and up, hold up just as well. My wife is still riding her old 03, she has a 07 but likes the 03 better. A RM build would be interesting though!