Hey there

Recently bought a 2006 KLX250. It's got 22k miles on it. Guy said he had some top end work done on it (not exactly sure what that means) and it seems to run pretty well.

Here's what I've done so far:
- New kit and oil for the forks (rear suspension was recently replaced)
- New brake fluid and pads front and back
- New sprockets and chain
- Tried to fix the radiator overflow (a large chunk broken out of it)
- Air filter is pretty new

So what are some of the bigger things I should think about doing? I bought a Cyclepedia subscription so I have the manual. Any ideas would be great.
Thanks!
-r

 

I'd be curious too about what the "top end work" means. At 22K most KLX's with some decent care shouldn't have required any serious top end work like a valve job or cylinder wear. Can you find out from the PO what was involved?

On the suspension do you know what the spring weight rates are front and rear? How much do you weigh and what kind of intended riding?

 

Thanks for getting back to me. I believe it was carb work.

I weigh around 170 with helmet and kit on. Springs appear to be stock in the front. I forgot to mention above that I did go through the sag setting exercise and rear sag is right around 100mm. Riding is 80% street and the 20% will be combo of fire roads, and technical single track. I have a 13t front sprocket on the way.

 

The rear spring doesn't look stock...I guess probably due to the shock swap back? Sag sounds good. At 170 pounds you may find the stock fork springs too soft. Off road that would result in some more frequent bottoming and on pavement a good bit of wallowing and fork dive under braking.

The carb work sounds better than serious top end work. I'd imagine the PO did some rejetting and/or had a pilot jetting plugged from setting or such. Many find the '06/'07 to be a superior dirt bike because it has more suspension travel than the '09 and later models. When you say "new kit" for the fork, what did that involve? Glad to see the fork oil serviced. These are tough bikes. It looks like you're pursuing good service habits, so it should last you awhile.

 

Yeah, the story I got was that he couldn't pass the safety check with the roached-out read shock. Here on Kauai no one cares about smog , but you gotta have everything working.

I noticed the top of the air filter is gone so they may have been doing some homebrew hot-rodding.

I replaced the seals on the forks. Tore the whole thing apart and cleaned it up. All the metal parts were in great condition, just dirty from torn up seals. In the next few months I'll tear it apart again and replace everything I can (have to build up the budget again).

Front brake seems sloppy, there's no way I could do a nose wheelie with the current state of the front brake. I replaced the pads and cleaned up the brake lines with fresh fluid. The front reservoir actually had dirt in it, never seen that before. I've seen some chatter about stainless line for the front, I might do that later too. I work on computers, not bikes so this is a learning mission.

I've also seen that people are replacing the CCT with one from that guy who makes adjustable ones (Krieger?). I don't hear any ticking from the top end so maybe don't worry about that?

Everything else is pretty bomber. The PO's son gave it a beating, I had to take a pipe and bend the bars back to straight. Choke it and it starts with two cranks. Idles nice, and seems to be able to run all day.

Thanks for the feedback!
-roccit

p.s. Any thoughts on my 13t front sprocket? Seems like a happy medium.

 

Oh, forgot to mention, I've had a string of KX250s so this thing is a treat. My first time with a 4-stroke on the dirt. I can't throw it around like the old KX

So the fork dive is noticeable on the street. I don't believe there is any compression setting on these things is there?

 

The compression is adjustable via the clickers in the base of the fork legs.

 

The are pretty soft in the front especially on tar and hammering the front brake. Like someone said above stronger springs may be needed. Don't forget it's not a MX bike. Slightly heavier oil may help as well.
I suggest putting the air box lid back on, If you wan't more airflow a KDX 200 lid is popular upgrade, it has a larger intake and will quieten the racket running without a lid causes.
Oh getting back to the front brake yes a stainless steel brake line will help to increase braking power and make the soft forks feel worse lol. Always a trade off.
13 tooth is good off road and of course makes higher revs at speed.
My overflow tank had a hole in it I sealed it up with sealastic if it's too big just for the sealant try some plastic to cover the hole then sealastic over the top.
Enjoy your 2006

 

Oh, I thought that was rebound. Thanks!

 

I don't have the lid, it's just gone. Don't suppose anyone has an extra KDX200 lid

I don't worry too much about the 13t at higher speeds. I live on Kauai and the fastest speed is 50mph (80kph). Great suggestion for the overflow tank, thanks!