The handlebar can be moved forward or backward and the footpegs have an optional lower position for taller riders or someone looking to try to lower the bike’s center of gravity. The rider triangle is neutral with plenty of room for adjustment. The feel is almost Honda’esq but slimmer feeling. For me, at 5’11, the Kawasaki chassis fits me well and I would say this would be true for most riders. The KX250 chassis is based off the same platform as the KX450. Shifting under load was reasonably easy with only the smallest amount of clutch lever input, which is much better than the KTM under load. It was easy to modulate and because of the hydraulic system, there was no fade during our motos. The clutch works well and plate life is on par with the Honda CRF450R system. The clutch friction plates have three different materials to help reduce clutch fade from heat. The clutch assembly is also using a cone-disc spring in place of a coil-spring system. This Nissin unit is the same system that is used on the KX450 and it has proven to work well. The hydraulic clutch works well and to me isn't as on/off as the Brembo system. So, it is worth considering adding this tool to your race budget. This is an added expense, but if you are serious enough about your racing, you are probably already planning on getting your suspension revalved and purchasing an aftermarket exhaust, race gas, and more. It can be found on the Kawasaki website and ordered through your local dealer. To do this custom mapping on your own, you would need to buy the accessory KX FI Calibration Kit, which retails for $699.95. This is called the Chavez Map which has been around for a couple years now. I wouldn’t say it was huge, but it helped with mid rpm torque and seemed to make the power even longer into the upper rpm range. The Kawasaki technicians created a custom map that uses the ignition settings of the white coupler and the fuel mapping of the black coupler, which made for a noticeable improvement in the overall power and was accomplished by increasing the midrange torque, which helped it continue to make power further into the highest of rpm. Each had improvements, but they also had some drawbacks. I tested all three and found improvements in certain areas with the white and black couplers. This is the same system as what comes on the KX450. Green is standard, white is aggressive, and black is mellow. These are changed via a coupler located on the right side just by the steering stem. There are three different preprogrammed settings available. The FI mapping runs right great from the get-go. The engine revs far enough that shifting to third gear is not needed until you have exited the corner and down the straight a bit. Maintaining the correct gear is also important, meaning second gear will be used in most corners and will not give you that lugability like the Yamaha. The power delivery is definitely better if you keep the rpm up and although the green bike doesn’t have that Yamaha mid range meat, it still pulls strong. They achieved this higher rpm mainly by adding stiffer valve springs along with new camshaft timing. I like that this engine can rev to 14,500 and you can feel that on the track when riding! The 2022 KX250′s engine characteristics are the same to the 2021 package with that great over-rev because of the increased rev limit they achieved in 2021. Even though the 2022 KX250 engine has been unchanged, Kawasaki is still one of the top three 250 four stroke engines in my opinion.
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