On the stock engine, you won't notice a big change with the higher advance other than the bike being a tiny bit easier to rev..but it's not earth shattering and certainly not worth the price of a performance CDI, based upon experience, IMHO. I'm running the KLX250ES CDI on mine right now, and it doesn't really make a difference worth writing home about, though the effect is more pronounced now that I am running more aggressive cams.

I think -at least for this bike- a performance CDI is best utilized as an 'iceing on the cake' type of mod after you have done head and valve work, went to a more aggressive cam profile and possibly lighten some of the moving parts in the top-end. Even the windage and weight of the crankshaft and flywheel on this bike doesn't lend to it being a high-reving screamer, so in order to transform to the point where the CDI would make a big difference you are talking major money..most of which is not bolt-on type work (lighter valves, beehive valve springs, titanium keepers, knife edged, balanced and stress relieved crank, flywheel lightening..etc. bumping-up the compression wouldn't hurt either

Just to some it up in a less wordy way, I think the KLX is wrong platform to start from unless you're prepared to spend big bucks.

 

I wonder if my timing light gun still works? Haven't used it in years with vehicles being OBDII and CAN ECU's.

 

As for me, I'm not expecting earth shattering performance from a dual sport bike. But that extra advance has got to help in the quickness of the rev. If the Australia bikes have it then there must have been a reason for it. Here in the U.S. I would assume the reason we got the retarded timing was to do with burning off carbons i.e. emissions. Retarded motors run exhaust hot, therefore burning off the emissions. U.S. car manufacturers did this for years when carburetors were standard on vehicles.
So I can assume Kawasaki did this for the same purpose since we still have a carburetor on our bikes.
I agree with you that this would be icing on the cake and by far it would be a lot cheaper to do this than add cams or titanium valves and still keep the bike within its RPM range. I appreciate your input on this issue since you have the KLX250EX CDI. So, by chance do you know what it does run at initial and final?