Just picked up my first Kawasaki, a 2006 klx250s with low kilometers and no mods ... other than some spray-painted side panels

I've owned a few bikes over the years (2001 Honda CR250R, 2003 Suzuki SV650S, 2006 Yamaha YZ450F, 2008 Triumph Daytona 675SE) so I'm no stranger to both dirt and road riding. The old, slow, boring klx250s might seem like an odd choice for a bike for me but I'm really hoping it will fit the bill for what I want. I've always loved the handing and riding position of a dirtbike, and some of the most fun I've had on two wheels has been on relatively gutless machines. I put handling and weight ahead of big power and wanted a bike I could quietly explore trails and backroads on without waking up everything within 5 kilometers. The cost to buy and insure a klx250s made the choice easy, but only time will tell if it was the right one.

At the moment the bike still has the oem tires and needs a new rear at least, thinking either a D606 or maybe just try out a pair of K270's for now since they are so cheap. Other than I might drop a tooth on the front sprocket if I feel like I need more grunt and less top speed and there is a bit of rusty hardware around the bottom of the engine that I'm going to replace, it looks like the bike was ridden in the winter a few times and the roads in this part of Canada are heavily salted.

So far this looks like a great place for klx information, can't wait to make some memories with this bike!

 

Welcome to KF, Dave. This is the right place for KLX250 information and help. And it looks like you found a very nice specimen!

Get rid of 12 year old tires, even if they look good. Yikes! That front is probably so hard it will be susceptible to washing out on you.
2006/07 are the better years in my opinion. A little more suspension travel and a taller 6th gear, which makes dropping the front sprocket less of a deal and you're unlikely to lose too much top end.
A lot of us here have ridden and/or own many other bikes and love our little KLXs. Hey, if it's not the right bike, sell it. No biggie!

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the response, and yeah that's a good point about ditching the old rubber. I was actually looking for an 06/07 specifically, I like the things you mention and I heard they are a few pounds lighter too, not sure if there is any truth to that though, I'll have to put mine on a scale and see since it's essentially stock.

I didn't have much of a chance to look the bike over before I had to fly out of town for work, but when I get home I plan on giving it a good tear down, inspecting and greasing all the suspension pivots, bleed the brakes, do the air filter, oil change, clean the carb and see what jets are in there and where the needle is set to, and just give the bike a really good once-over and cleaning.

Right now I'm looking into what gear people wear when dualsport riding and trying to decide which of my local clubs might be worth joining.

 

Yes, grease all the pivot points including steering stem if you want to get in there. Kaw is known to be tight on grease on these. Check wheel bearings. Change coolant too. Lube the cables. While you have the carb off, remove the EPA plug from the pilot mix screw if its still in place. If you want to do it better, get a dynojet kit which is good for the needle alone. Or get Kaw's adjustable needle for the KLX300 and maybe a few larger pilot jets. Consider removing the airbox lid or changing the rubber air tube thing (forgetting its name) for the KDX200 unit (direct fit). Any of these airbox mods will require some re-jetting but should add a little more power and response. See klxster's posts as he's went through jetting like crazy!