KLX250 advice needed

Aug 25, 2012
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Noobie seeking help and advice. I just got a brand new KLX250 a few days ago and itching to go off road (having never done it before). Inevitably, I will be taking lots of tumbles so looking for advice on how to accessorize to protect key and expensive parts.

Hand guards
Understand that it's not quite a simple matter to fit hand guards as there is a steel bar that needs to be drilled out? Does that mean it would be easier to fit those hand guards than only connects to the handlebars and not the bar ends? Are these good enough to prevent the levers from breaking in the event of a fall?

Skid plate
Is this necessary to protect the soft underbelly or overkill?

Crash bars
Is there even such a thing for the KLX?

Radiator guard - same as crash bars

Risers
I am 5'11" so I'm thinking that having risers would make standing up on the pegs a bit easier.

Anything else I should put on my bike? I have not done off road before so the tumbles are going to be fast and furious. Body wise, I'm geared up with protection from top to bottom but nothing on the bike yet so would very much appreciate advise on what to put and where to buy. Does Dirt Shop in Bangkok stock most of the stuff needed?
 
Dec 27, 2007
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Whereabouts in Bangkok do you live? I'm in Wangthonglang (kinda between Lat Phrao and Ramkamhaeng) and try to get out to Bo Din in Min Buri once or twice during the week and further on the weekends. I'm new to dirtbikes too and have learned a ton from the Kawasaki riding courses. I take what I learn there and go practice at Bo Din whenever I have time. I hate gyms so the KLX is my workout routine these days, and it's an awesome workout!

Now, to answer your questions-

Hand guards- these are, IMO, less about protecting your levers, and more about protecting your hands. I have hit trees and rocks hard enough that I'm sure I would have broken my hand had I not had the hand guards there to protect them.
acerbis-500x500.jpg


The stock handlebar on the KLX is made of very soft steel and is easily bent. Also, as you noted, it has threaded ends which makes installing most standard hand guards a bit tricky.

As you mention wanting taller bars you could buy a handlebar riser, or you could simply buy some quality aftermarket bars that have the amount of rise you are looking for.

Dirtshop on Onnut seems to have the widest variety of aftermarket handlebars in Bangkok. They carry a variety of bars from both Protaper and Renthal. Most are in the ~2000-3000 baht range. What I'd do is figure out how much rise you want, then go in and compare bars.

Once you have aftermarket bars it's a piece of cake to install some quality handguards. Dirtshop carries a lot of handguards too, but they are rather overpriced imo. Dirtshop is funny this way- some of the gear they carry is very competitively priced and some is ridiculously overpriced, so best to shop around a bit. Reckon if you ordered Acerbis from abroad and paid shipping and tax that you still might come in at less than Dirtshop's prices.

Skid plate recommended if you will be riding on rocky trails. I saw a skilled rider on a $hit-hot CRF450 punch a hole through his magnesium engine case at Baan Ricky a while back because he didn't have a skid plate. Game Over, ruined weekend for him :( If you are just going to be riding dirt roads, sand and mud, then a skid plate is really not needed. But if you are going to participate in Kawasaki enduro events you will be riding through and over some big rocks!
image%20%287%29-500x500.jpeg


Crash bungs... they exist for the D-Tracker, but I would not recommend installing them on a KLX as I think they could cause more harm in a crash than good... Here's a pic of the most common crash bungs which you often see on D-trackers, but rarely on KLX:
image%20%289%29-500x500.jpeg

The thing about crash bungs is- they are designed to absorb impact and slide on pavement. But if you wipe out on dirt I'd be more worried that they'd dig in and cause the bike to roll and tumble, which is the exact opposite of what you want. The other thing is, the KLX250 is a damn tough bike- you can crash the hell out of them and they are very very hard to break.

It's always a good idea to carry extra levers and pedals, but beyond that, there's really not a whole lot that you can break in your "average" crash. (Though, as mentioned earlier, it's pretty easy to bend the stock handlebar.)

I installed a luggage rack on my KLX for touring and have found that it's very handy for when you need to muscle the rear of the bike around. Absent the rack there's really nowhere you can get a good grip on the rear of a KLX.
kawasaki_d-tracker_250_rack-500x500.jpg
 
Dec 27, 2007
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Oh, one thing I forgot to mention, that's rather important and wasn't on your list- get yourself a pad for the handlebar, something like this:
procus-500x500.jpg

Sooner or later you will go over the handlebars or have them hit you in the chest, chin or face. A pad like the one pictured above will definitely soften the blow!

:happy3:
 
Aug 25, 2012
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Thanks for the excellent advice Tony. I live on Thanon Lat Krabang, just up the road from Dirt shop and not far from Bo Din. I'm hoping to be able to join you on one of your excursions but I'm a bit (well, more than a bit) concerned that your skill level is so much higher up there that I will only be holding you back as I've never done off road before.

Will check out both risers and handlebars in Dirt shop as well as the other mods you mentioned when I'm back to Bkk this weekend (went there last weekend but they were closed for stock take). Do you know if they also sell the skid plate? I don't expect to do a lot of hard riding but believe in not being penny wise and pound foolish.

I discovered some unpaved roads near Suvarnabhumi airport which i will go to to practice a bit of riding standing up and a bit of skidding around before i tackle Bo Din 5555
 
May 30, 2012
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Tonybkk has it pretty much covered, make sure that you have protective clothing on too when riding off-road... Whilst out riding with Tony yesterday I nearly had quite a big accident that If I wasn't wearing armour may have been quite serious.

The weights in the stock bars can be removed by taking an angle grinder or dremel to the 3 tiny welds to fit hand guards but as Tony said they are soft and much stronger bars are cheap.

Depending on how remote you are going to be riding the KLX off-road also think about carrying a slightly better tool kit than what comes as standard along with some spare inner tubes and tire levers.

if you are going to be using the KLX primarily off-road think about changing the front sprocket to a 13 instead of the standard 14 and also carry out the super easy de-restrict mod.

Cheers
 
Aug 25, 2012
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Satonic;293881 wrote: Tonybkk has it pretty much covered, make sure that you have protective clothing on too when riding off-road... Whilst out riding with Tony yesterday I nearly had quite a big accident that If I wasn't wearing armour may have been quite serious.

The weights in the stock bars can be removed by taking an angle grinder or dremel to the 3 tiny welds to fit hand guards but as Tony said they are soft and much stronger bars are cheap.

Depending on how remote you are going to be riding the KLX off-road also think about carrying a slightly better tool kit than what comes as standard along with some spare inner tubes and tire levers.

if you are going to be using the KLX primarily off-road think about changing the front sprocket to a 13 instead of the standard 14 and also carry out the super easy de-restrict mod.

Cheers
De-restrict mod..... very interesting. Do you happen to have a link on hand? If not, I'll get my A into G and google it.
 
Dec 27, 2007
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yychow0812;293886 wrote: De-restrict mod..... very interesting. Do you happen to have a link on hand? If not, I'll get my A into G and google it.
It's a 60 second job to remove the rev-restriction on the KLX250:
[h=1]super-simple way to derestrict Kawa 250 single[/h]First picture: locate the plug close to the clutch lever.

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Pull out the plug and bridge it - bingo!

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A wire of appr 1.5mm strength should do the trick.

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That's the idea! Job done! And it's easy to reverse without anybody ever knowing it, so no worries about voiding the warranty.
Now tape it/secure the cable to the handlebar and make sure the wire stays in.