10 Things You Should Know About The 2012 Kawasaki KX250F

Inside Kawasaki’s new mid-sized thumper

By: Chris Denison | Friday, July 22, 2011

There are a million things to like about summer, but one of our favorites is that this is the time of year when motocross bike manufacturers start rolling out the latest and greatest new models to the roost-throwing public. Kawasaki’s newest machine, the ever-popular KX250F, is back with a vengeance in 2012. Having received some pretty major changes in 2011, the new version boasts even more revisions and race-inspired tweaks that help to make this machine an absolute rocket. Motocross.com recently spent a day shredding the new KX250F, and as a result we now know ten things about the bike that we’d be tickled to share with you. Hang on to your helmets!

#1: The 2012 KX250F has loads more top end than last year. Prior to 2012, this bike was criticized for its lack of over-rev and high RPM performance. Well, not anymore. Thanks to changes to the existing Digital Fuel Injection (DFI) that include a second fuel injector—something never before seen on a production MX bike—the new KX250F is much happier being wound out. It certainly still has a rev limiter, but if you hit it you are probably in the wrong gear.

#2: The bike still looks cool as hell. With black rims, blue bling on the engine/ fork components and an aggressive styling, this new Kaw looks more like a clean, factory race bike than a stock machine.

#3: She’s a strong shifter. Kawasaki boosted several of the shift components within the KX250F’s gearbox with the end goal of gaining more durability and performance when banging through gears. You can certainly shift the KX250F on the fly, and it now pops into gear with almost Honda-like ease. The real test will be in how the bike shifts with 40 hours on it, but judging by how our 2011 KX250F has held up we don’t think that the new version will have any long-term shift issues.

#4: Balance, balance, balance. Be it front to back, side to side or up and down, the KX250F is an extremely balanced motorcycle. We fiddled with the race sag a bit and ended up going from 104mm to 107mm, but even with the ride height a little high there were no major surprises in handling from the KX250F. You can charge into square edged bumps a little out of shape and the bike will just take it, and whoops and rollers were no match for the KX250F’s chassis.

#5: Torque is still king. We praised the 2011 Kawasaki for its strong mid-range pull, and we are happy to report that this hasn’t gone anywhere in 2012. The bike has great torque down low, but the surge of horsepower that pours out in the middle RPM range is where the motor truly shines. You can accelerate like mad out of turns with this, and it also makes quick work of inside-line seat-bounce jumps and short run-ups to steep faces. No doubt, this will be a great Supercross bike.

#6: This suspension is definitely stiffer than in 2011. The spring rate on Kawasaki’s unique Separate Function Fork has been boosted to a firmer setting, and because of this the bike doesn’t blow through the stroke nearly as easily. The left fork takes care of damping, and the valve stack has been reworked to accommodate the heavier fork spring. To keep the overall ride balanced, the rear shock also saw similar changes and was given a stiffer spring rate along with a more aggressive valve setting.

#7: Can you say traction? This 2012 KX-F stays hooked up and connected with the ground in an incredibly impressive manner. Off-camber turns and loose, dry dirt are no problem for the KX250F, and the bike seemed to really get power to the ground despite less-than-ideal conditions. Of course, this leads to our next point….

#8: The 2012 Kawi is a holeshot machine. OK, so we didn’t actually race the bike, but after doing a few practice starts it’s clear that the KX250F is going to be tough to beat off the line. On first gear starts it’s nearly impossible to keep the front end on the ground, while second gear clutch-drops make for crazy straight-line acceleration. Expect to see this bike out front a lot off the line.

#9: The Kawasaki is a proven winner. Ever heard of the Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit team? Yeah, they’re the guys who end up on the podium at pretty much every AMA National race out there. And you guessed it…. all on KX250Fs. Similarly, the 2011 KX250F killed it in magazine shootouts last year, even bagging the elusive Dirt Rider 250F MX shootout title. Make no mistake: This machine has a racing heritage that helps propel it to the cutting edge of motocross performance.

#10: You need one. If you’re a hardcore racer or a weekend MX competitor, the KX250F is a darn good choice for a stock race bike. Pure beginners might be scared of the bike’s outright performance, because straight off the showroom floor this feels like a mod machine. But for those seeking the edge on the track, there’s a lot to be said for how well the Kawasaki works straight out of the gate. Naturally, we’ll know more about this stacked class as Honda, KTM, Yamaha and Suzuki release their new 2012 models, but from what we can tell the Kawasaki KX250F is a winner in every sense of the word.

To see our video impression of the new 2012 KX250F log on to www.dirtrider.com.

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