Hits:

-Black rims

-New plastic and graphics

-Renthal bars

-10mm wider engine spacers to decrease torsional rigidity

-Improved Shifting

-Better top-end power

-Suspension works really well

Misses:

-Black rims look worn out quicker than silver

-Black plastic looks worn out quicker

-Stock muffler still sounds a little loud

            One look at the record books with championships and race wins over the years, and it’s pretty easy to see that Kawasaki knows what they are doing when it comes to a 250cc four-stroke. And as they always say, what wins on Sunday sells bikes on Monday. With that said, this year Kawasaki didn’t exactly go back to the drawing board when it came time to design their new 2008 KX250F. Instead, they decided to focus their attention on refining and tweaking a machine that for all intents and purposes doesn’t need much refining. Besides the drastically different looking graphics and plastic, the bike underwent small changes that in the end the green team hopes with equal great success.

            Perhaps the biggest and most noticeable changes are to the plastic, graphics, and wheels, but if you dig deeper you’ll actually find more than that. Starting with the motor, Kawasaki improved the intake ports by polishing them to provide better intake flow at nearly every rpm. There is also a new head gasket that helps to improve sealing for increased protection from the elements, and thereby offering even better durability. Finally, the digital ignition is tuned to help better maximize both top-end pull and over-rev. Kawasaki also found a subtle yet effective way to improve shifting on the bike. They raised the shift lever 3mm, positioning the lever three degrees higher to provide a much more positive feel. Moving onto the chassis and suspension, which as it turns out is more closely related to the engine than you would probably think, Kawasaki added a 10mm longer spacer to help reduce torsional rigidity and improve handling. The forks and shock received changes to the valving and internals to help improve turning response and the always-important bottoming resistance. One of the major changes to the chassis, though, would probably be the increased ride height, which helps to give the bike a more aggressive feel while also providing quicker handling. Lastly, like we mentioned already, the bike received black rims, black number plates, green shrouds, and inspired the always-important bold new graphics, all of which were inspired by the race team.

            How do all these seemingly small changes add up on the track? As it turns out, they do make a difference. When compared to last year’s KXF the ’08 has an improved powerband that supplies more over rev and top-end pull while not taking away from the bottom-end power. We rode the bike in the middle of a southern California heat wave when temperatures hovered around the 100 degree mark, and we never had any problem with the jetting—the KXF performed without a problem. As for the shifting, we never really had much trouble with the ’07 bike in this department, and to us the shifting characteristic of the ’08 is just as good. It’s smooth and doesn’t have a tendency to fall into false neutrals.

            Moving onto the chassis and suspension, while our initial day of testing occurred at Milestone Ranch MX Park, a smooth more Supercross-inspired facility, we still found a few ways to adjust it to our liking. Initially, when landing off some jumps and using the entire suspension travel, we felt that both the front and rear suspension rebounded a little too quickly, giving the bike the feeling of being too soft. To cure this, we simply played with the rebound clickers, finally ending on three clicks in. Once this was attained, the suspension performed flawlessly on big jumps and rough straights alike. Turning of the machine was good. In the past, turning wasn’t a huge problem with the KXF, however, it just wasn’t as refined as a few of its competitors. This year, the bike is as agile as it is stabile through corners, allowing us to flow through loamy berms and deep ruts alike.

CONCLUSION:

            At the end of the day, Kawasaki made some minor changes to a bike that at the very least only needed a few minor changes to be even better. The 2008 KX250F isn’t just a new looking bike with BNGs, it’s easily a better bike then last year. It has better overall power with most of the emphasis being on the top end, it turns better, and after a few tweaks to the clickers, it handles slightly better all around the track than the ’07. For us, the few days that we have spent so far on the bike have left us wanting to spend even more time out of the office and away from the computer screen.

SPECS:

Engine                                                       Four-stroke single with DOHC and four-valves

Displacement                                             249cc

Bore x Stroke                                             77.0 x 53.6mm

Cooling                                                      Liquid

Carburetion                                                Keihin FCR37 and hot start circuit

Compression ration                                    13.5:1

Ignition                                                      Multi-map digital CDI with K-TRIC throttle position sensor

Transmission                                             Five-speed with wet multi-disc manual clutch

Final drive                                                 Chain

Frame                                                        Aluminum perimeter

Rake/trail                                                   27.7 degrees/4.7 inches

Front suspension/wheel travel                   47mm inverted twin-chamber telescopic fork with 16-way compression and rebound damping/12.4 inches

Rear suspension/wheel travel                    UNI-TRAK linkage system with 13-way low-speed and 2-turn high-speed compression damping, 17-way rebound damping and fully adjustable spring preload/12.2 inches

Front tire                                                   80/100-21 51M

Rear tire                                                   100/90-19 57M

Front brake                                              Single semi-floating 250mm petal disc with dual piston caliper

Rear brake                                               Single 240mm petal disc with single piston caliper

Overall length                                          85.0 inches

Overall height                                          32.3 inches

Wheelbase                                               57.8 inches

Ground clearance                                    13.2 inches

Dry weight            204 lbs

Fuel capacity                                           1.9 gal

Price                                                        $6,099