Hi Guys,
need advice on both bikes in regards reliability and off-road capabilities.
I got offers already on them and the price difference is subtle. Can you help out? Please remember kawaski is fuel injection as well not carbureted.
What I read from specs honda has a little bit more power and kawaski has adjustable suspension. I am not that mechanically savvy to mess with the suspension so not sure if that is a benefit. This bike I choose will be used mostly off-road. Never had kawasaki that's why reliability is something I am worry about.
thanks

 

There is no question which is better off road, the Kawasaki carburetor or EFI. It has better adjustable suspension with more travel. It is lighter and has established improvement possibilities. With EFI it eliminates the only real complaint any US motorcycle magazine has had against it. The difference in shocks alone makes the KLX worth $500 usd with its threaded spring adjustment and both compression and rebound damping. Then there is the fork with at least rebound damping that I know of.

The only thing the Honda truly has over the Kawasaki is the lower price, but that evaporates if you find you need better suspension. The Kawasaki has a proven chassis for off road since it is based on the KLX300.

I like Hondas, always have, but when push comes to shove I ended up owning three Kawasakis. The KLX650 had a stronger engine than the XR, although the susupension isn't quite as good, a Zephyr 550 because Honda didn't have anything like it, and finally/most recently a KLX250 because it has so much to offer as I want to play. I've done the carb stuff and gotten incredible starting and warm up, the Marcelino cam mod to boost power - which also works with EFI - and eventually will likely go big bore. Honda has great quality, but so does Kawasaki, Honda didn't have anything to compare.

Buy the Kawasaki. I would tell you different if I felt the Honda was better, but for your needs it isn't.

By the way the Marcelino mod can be done at the time of a valve adjustment with minimal effort, since the cams come out for the adjustment. All they really do is relocate the cam sprockets and reset them to suit when putting them back in.

 

thanks a lot for advice. So reliability is on par with honda? are there any known problems for this model engine etc? I know for instance crf250l hasn't resolved cam chain tensioner issues.

How about power is it enough for fun in the dirt? can I go steep uphill with this 20 or so HP?

 

Nor has Kawasaki. Both have tensioners that may fail. I know, I make manual replacements for both. Around $60 including shipping knowing that the Canadian and US bikes are carbureted I think you're in some other country.

They are both within maybe 1 hp of each other and the Honda weighs more, so I'd have to think the Kaw can do as well as the Honda, plus it has a more off road riding position according to the media. I think the Marcelino mod makes it more powerful than the Honda by simply retiming the cams. Look in the dual sport models KLX250 forum stickys at the start of the list to read about it. Marcelino did it on an EFI bike in Europe.

I bought my carbureted model to play off road and other than a bad time in some deep sand involving staying on two wheels, it has proven to be fun so far. Really flickable, light and much more enjoyable than my 650 in spite of obviously being less powerful. So far I've done the carb mods and the Marcelino retiming and like what it has done. Still running stock pipe.

I'm no hill climber, never have been. I'm more of a trail rider. I raced some harescrambles (cross country short course) on a 125 MX in my twenties. I'm more about tight challenging trails and terrain than trying to crest hills. I don't like seeing my bike sliding and tumbling to the bottom if I don't make it - or worse yet, me tumbling with it!

 

Honda prices are way much cheaper than Kawasaki and that's the actual reason behind it's sales.