klx300r

[oneton]

Gooday
A while ago I checked the price of the Thai built Kwak KLX300. It was priced at 230,000 baht on the Kwak Thai website (240,000 at a dealer in Chonburi). This (at the time) fell about half way between the UK and US price. Seemed pretty fair. Has anyone out there owned / ridden this machine? I would appreciate your comments, performance, reliability etc.

Best Regards
Tony W

 

[BignTall]

Going from memory here and a U.S. bias. The KLX 300 is a dirt only model, kickstart only (at least in the states they are). I swapped bikes with a riding buddy and tried his KLX 300 in the southern California deserts. I think it is more at home here on tighter jungle trails of Thailand than it was in the wide open desert where it felt too softly sprung, full of headshake through the whoops and a little wheezy. However for the types of trails (slower speeds, no whoops, tighter trails)I've ridden in Thailand it should be perfect.

A quality foam filter, and replacing the stock exhaust on this model along with a rejet woke my friends bike up a lot. We noticed the Thai sourced bolts were cheesy compared to other mfg's. They had issues with false neutrals in the gear box on pre 2000 models. If yours is after 2000 no worries. If it is pre 2000 let me know and I'll forward you some info how to fix it. If you would like a lot more snap off the throttle get rid of the CVK carb and install a pumper carb.

Oneton are you riding this primarily off road? In Thailand they import a lot of KLX (D-Trackers) 250's that are almost the same bike and little more street friendly with E-start. You can pick up those used all day for about 75,000 bht.

Good luck.

 

[oneton]

Hi B&T
Thanks for the info. The bike I mention is new, and has been on show in a few showrooms for a couple of years at least. I will be using it offroad. I use a CB400SF on road. The D-tracker looks interesting but all the pictures I saw online were motard. I guess you could find some bigger wheels and tyres etc. Magic button is always a bonus. I agree there is a huge difference between bikes suitable for Thai trails and open desert. Last bike I used here was an XR650 (Chonburi). MTB trails and overheating. Try to kick the SOB (original carb) in this situation!! Best bike I used here so far was a TTR250. Bullet proof engine. Even uses a steel mesh oil filter so just the oil change is fine. Anyway I am rambling on. I havn't owned a dirt bike for 5 years since an unfortunate airborn accident! I am trying to get up to speed on what is available now. Once again TY.

Tony W
(Chonburi - dreaming about a move to CM!)