Have you owned any other bike that you modded less (from stock) and liked more? Has any other bike tempted you to tinker more than the KLX? Where does the spending end when it comes to overall satisfaction with this bike?
:-) :-(

 

I'm pretty new to the Dual sport scene, but the KLR's and DRZ's see a lot of love from their owners too, from what I can tell.

 

It all depends on the rider and what they want to get out of the bike. For me, I'm happy with just a slip-on, KDX snorkel and some other misc. farkle.

 

I just bought the dumb thing for my 15 yr old.. He's moved on to wrecking cars now.. I'm just pissed off about such lousy power coming from a DOHC, 4 valve, 250cc engine ( in stock form) and there being no data-backed remedy..

 

All motorcycles are money pits from what I've seen since riding and modding them since 1969. And I've loved just about every minute of it. Anyone who bemoans spending some money and time on their bikes just needs to take up knitting.

 

I just dropped 157 bucks on another parts order.
Chain and some front and a 43T rear for hooligan days around town on my SF.
I would venture that much more money is spent on the average HD then we will ever spend on our little bikes.

 

Actually any cruiser or touring bike is a far greater money pit. A few pieces of chrome exceed the cost of about any one modification of the KLX. Accessory lights alone can run hundreds, then there are all the chrome highlights and even light bars on the tourers. They can blow away a tricked out KLX by a couple thousand pretty fast.

 

Money pit? Not even close. I sold the complete FMF exhaust system it came with to recoup some of my investment and returned the bike entirely to stock (anybody want to buy a Dynojet jetting kit?).

I just don't understand why anyone would buy a 250cc bike and try to make it go faster. It's for putt-putting along trails, not screaming through canyons. For the money it would take to extract some meager hp gains from this engine you could buy a clapped-out old crotch rocket and REALLY fly when the mood hits.

BTW, I feel the same way about my Suzuki DL650 and Harley Electra Glide before that. Buy the right tool for the job at the outset rather than trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

How's that for mixed metaphors?

 

Interesting...the comparison of going fast on a clapped-out old crotch rocket and having an off road adventure on a slightly modded KLX strikes me as two different galaxies.

Speaking of a clapped-out crotch rocket...talked about a money pit.

 

Same reason there are so many classes in drag racing and at Bonneville... riders just like to play. It's a hobby as well as transportation. I tell my wife, "It keeps me out of the bars." And with single cylinder motorcycles it's a whole lot less money than doing it with cars and even multi-cylinder bikes. How far is totally personal in design.

Not only that, but the modified KLX is a whole lot less costly than a KTM to go tear around the canyon trails.

I will say if you go back to stock jetting you'll find the bike loses a lot. Mine is pretty much stock with the MCM and the KLX300 jetting, starts far easier than it did when I got the bike stock. Another reason some modify the bike - to get an EPA lean engine to run the way it should. Sell the Dyno-Jet kit then get the KLX300 jetting stuff and enjoy your bike the way it should have run - stock - since day one.