2009 Kawasaki KX250F

Kawasaki gave the media its first chance to ride the all-new (and we do mean all-new) KX250F yesterday, and we came away quite impressed with the green machine. Although the bike doesn’t look radically different than the previous model, not much is carried over from the ’08 KX. And the difference is quite noticeable on the track, in this case, the new Rynoland track, designed and managed by motocross star Ryan Hughes, in Anza, California.

Kawasaki’s main goal was to make the new KX250F lighter and more nimble, and, of course, more powerful, but without compromising usability, and if first impressions really do mean anything, then we believe that Kawasaki certainly hit the mark in all areas, but what probably stood out most for us was in the handling department.

Just like the folks at Kawasaki said it would, the KX feels lighter, more maneuverable and just plain more refined and “tighter” than the previous KX, some of which has to do with the slimmer seat, and narrower frame and subframe, which are both all-new and significantly slimmer than before, not to mention lighter. The new frame is claimed to be 2.2 pounds lighter than the old frame and is 6mm narrower at the center of the bike, right where your knees conduct business. The swingarm is also reshaped and lighter.

If you like the KX250F’s suspension last year, we’re quite confident that you’ll like this year’s even better, though the track on this day wasn’t particularly rough. Still, the KX’s Showa suspension had no problems soaking up the small bumps and whoops that it did face over the course of the day. It did, however, get its fair share of hard landings from the track’s many larger double and tabletop jumps. Bottoming was a non-factor.

The motor – ah the motor. It feels a lot like last year’s motor but with just more power across the board. The ’09 KX seems to have picked up significantly more bottom end, while pulling a bit harder in the middle and much more so on top, where it also seems to deliver more over-rev. And the best part, the Kawasaki isn’t any harder to ride, in fact, it’s probably quite the opposite. Even though many portions of the track was soft and loose, the “little” KX hooked up well and very controllably, as evident by the front wheel always wanting to climb a few inches off the ground (just like it should), even on one particular uphill section. And in the tight sections – the Supercross part of the track – the KX pulled hard out of the turns, needing little help from the clutch. We even took the bike on a short off-road loop and were quite impressed how well the KX hooked up in the tight stuff, thanks to its excellent bottom-end and smooth-working clutch.

Our bike started easily all day, too, even in the afternoon heat. At idle or while putting through the pits, the KX is very quiet, but when you open ‘er up, the KX will attract attention. Yes, it’s still a little on the loud side, and seemed to sound a bit more raspy and “poppy” than it used too, but perhaps that had something to do with the somewhat high elevation of the track.

We also found the Kawasaki to shift very well, as we had no problems catching the next gear while under a load, unlike last year’s bike. This most likely had to do with Kawasaki switching to a new ratchet-drive shift mechanism in the transmission and integrating the clutch cable holder into the crankcase (less play).

Even though we have only a few laps on the new KX, we’re already quite impressed with it, and we have a feeling it will most likely be the bike to beat when it comes to our annual 250F comparison later in the year.

The Kawasaki is already on showroom floors and has a suggested retail price of $6499. And you actually have two models to choose from, as Kawasaki will also be offering a Special Monster Energy KX250F (left) with black plastic, green hubs and Monster Energy graphics on the radiator shrouds, but it will cost you a little more money. However, you will definitely stand out in a crowd.