Hello, new here, I am thinking about closing a deal in the morning on a 2009 klx250s, a few questions, i have read some owners think this bike is a slug, what is the real deal for a 175lb rider. also, I hear there is trouble on some of these regarding bike dieing for no reason? how does this bike compare with yamaha-suzuki's , thanks in advance! chas

 

Bike is great. Best available in its class for the price. All the answers here.

 

Welcome to the forum.
You weigh about the same as I do and in my opinion the KLX has enough power especially if you do a few simple mods. I have an 09 and it's a great bike for the price.

 

I weigh 250 and my bike is jetted and have the aftermarket exhaust, and its the bomb. My bike has never died.....well once the carb iced up, but that's it. You wont regret the bike.

 

P.S. odometer is at 13,300 and its awesome!

 

Depending on your back round and expectations you may find the bike underpowered. If you expect it to explode like an MX bike out of a turn, you will be dissappointed. If you want a good low maintenance trail bike that also has a plate and will tolerate 60mph down the road as long as you are willing, then you have the right bike.

 

I don't know...I think all these 250 sized dual sports are pretty anemic right out of the box. The WR250R is probably the best in bone stock condition, but even it is a little sluggish without some uncorking and a Power Commander or similar device. There are some bikes like the Husky TE250, but I don't really put it in the same class as the Japanese models. All of these Japanese models are horribly choked down with intake and exhaust issues.

The good news?...a bike like the KLX is easy to uncork, and when you do, it really transforms. The biggest purchase issue is a decent slip-on muffler. You open the airbox and jet accordingly. The bike really comes alive at that point.

The dying issue you speak of isn't something I'm familiar with. Some do report cold start issues, but that's easily fixed. The outright dying, however, isn't something that common that I'm aware of hearing or reading about.

 

I weigh about 170 and the bike has been fantastic. I did a lot of mods to my bike but more for the fun of it than because it needed it. I've never heard of one dying... Well, twice mine died when I was in water up to the carb but that's another story

 

The Fuel Injected bikes have issues. The bikes in the USA are still carbed.

 

Like ryathis said it depends on your background and experience. If you've been riding bikes all your life and you are used to the strung out MX bikes, you will probably be left wanting something more.. If you're fairly new and don't care too much about speed and power, then it's a real good bike.
And if you put the 351 kit in it, it's a whole new animal That's how it *SHOULD* have came from the factory.

Good luck