CAN-AM SPYDER RT - Cycle Torque
CAN-AM SPYDER RT - Cycle Torque
CAN-AM SPYDER RT - Cycle Torque
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RIDING GEAR: Troy Lee Designs helmet,<br />
AXO nylons, Alpinestars boots.<br />
Green<br />
IN THE most competitive class<br />
in motocross today, the KX250F<br />
would certainly have one of<br />
the best reputations around.<br />
The Kawasaki is known for<br />
being fast, punchy and being<br />
seen at the front of the pack.<br />
With more championships than<br />
fingers can count, Kawasaki<br />
set upon refining its already<br />
proven package for 2010.<br />
Engine<br />
Fast is the first thing that<br />
springs to mind after spinning a<br />
few laps on the green machine.<br />
The KX-F has a very fast and<br />
responsive engine which puts<br />
the power down very effectively<br />
and has you taking off in a real<br />
hurry. Even with all the latest<br />
fuss about fuel injection, the<br />
boys at Kawasaki have stayed<br />
with what they know and kept<br />
the trusty old carby on board<br />
for 2010. It’s a little surprising<br />
Kawasaki hasn’t moved to<br />
injection on the 250F, but the<br />
250’s fuel metering system<br />
works very well and doesn’t<br />
have many of the flaws seen on<br />
its rivals in the past.<br />
The Kawasaki engine has<br />
good power off the bottom but<br />
it really shines once you get it<br />
revving a bit more and discover<br />
the mid-top end power. If you<br />
give the clutch a bit of a flick<br />
and don’t mind getting the<br />
revs up then you will love the<br />
KX250F.<br />
We rode the quarter litre<br />
CyCle <strong>Torque</strong> TesT – 2010 kawasaki kX250F<br />
Gone are the days of<br />
constant major change –<br />
evolution is the plan man.<br />
ExtrEmE<br />
TesT By Todd reed phoTos By Chris piCkeTT<br />
thumper in various conditions<br />
and we must say that the KX<br />
engine is very versatile and<br />
works well across the board.<br />
We blasted the green machine<br />
around our Supercross track<br />
where it was fast and aggressive<br />
enough for any obstacle. We<br />
took it to a few local MX tracks,<br />
with the dirt ranging from soft<br />
loam to slippery hard packed<br />
terrain. In the loam the KX<br />
pulled hard and never got<br />
bogged down and pulled us<br />
around with ease. On the hard<br />
packed dirt the KX was still<br />
great as it was very controllable<br />
on the loose surfaces.<br />
Although it may seem the<br />
2010 KX-F is the same as the<br />
’09, there have been many<br />
refinements to the engine to<br />
help find extra horsepower and<br />
durability. The piston has been<br />
redesigned and is now claimed<br />
to be as good as any ‘race spec’<br />
piston and yet still extremely<br />
durable. The exhaust system<br />
has been overhauled, it has a<br />
new shape and design with a<br />
longer head and a shorter mid<br />
section to improve the bottomend<br />
power. The exhaust is still<br />
stainless steel; stronger and<br />
more durable than titanium, but<br />
heavier.<br />
The radiators have been<br />
bulked up and are now thicker<br />
and wider to further improve<br />
cooling and strength.<br />
Frame and Suspension<br />
The chassis received a couple<br />
of minor changes for 2010, all<br />
of which would go unnoticed<br />
to the naked eye. By making<br />
the frame slimmer through the<br />
top of the main spars, wider<br />
down near the footpegs and<br />
redesigning all the gusset pieces<br />
around the frame, it is now<br />
lighter and more rigid. The<br />
suspension received internal<br />
damping changes to help<br />
improve the balance of the<br />
suspension with the revised<br />
chassis. The twin-chamber<br />
Showa forks and shock do a fine<br />
job of holding up the Kawasaki<br />
and are a well-finished package<br />
with Kashima coatings on the<br />
fork tubes and shock body, and<br />
a super-hard titanium coating<br />
on the lower fork tubes to help<br />
reduce friction and improve<br />
strength against scratches and<br />
dents.<br />
On the track the suspension<br />
on the Kawasaki works well<br />
across most conditions. The<br />
fork and shock hold up really<br />
well and have good bottoming<br />
resistance as we found out<br />
after pounding the suspension<br />
around our supercross track<br />
for a few laps. After testing the<br />
bike at a few more motocross<br />
locations we found that by<br />
setting the correct rear shock<br />
spring preload (static sag)<br />
and fine-tuning the clickers<br />
we were able to come up<br />
with a really good setting for<br />
each track. We set the sag at<br />
around 104mm and pushed the<br />
front forks through the triple<br />
clamps as far as we could and<br />
the bike handled the rough<br />
conditions and still turned and<br />
steered really well. If there was<br />
anything to complain about it<br />
was under heavy braking on<br />
rough downhills we found the<br />
rear end to be a bit unstable and<br />
kick around a little bit more<br />
than we liked.<br />
26 - APRIL 2010 Rear shock has all the adjustment Engine retains old-school carby. KX250F engine is one of Forks get Kashima APRIL coating 2010 to make - 27<br />
fruit.<br />
the strongest in its class. them slide easier.<br />
The rest
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