Is this the real deal? 1978 KX250 Works Bike

MXEditor
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MXEditor
Edited Date/Time 11/17/2014 8:42pm
"Works" 1978 KX250 from EBAY
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MXEditor
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MXEditor 10/11/2011 10:37am
10/11/2011 10:37am
Sorry for the typo, should say 1978!!
ocscottie
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ocscottie 10/11/2011 10:49am
10/11/2011 10:49am
What typo Sean? Cool

That is a beaut! wonder what the reserve is at? bet it is up there pretty damn high!

Wasnt there a model of that bike? i could swear i recall building one as a kid.
newmann
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newmann 10/11/2011 11:10am
10/11/2011 11:10am
That is a bone stock production bike. A very limited production bone stock production bike that is pretty damn rare. A one year bike as well. Very good looking bike, my favorite year model of the KX's.
MXEditor
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MXEditor 10/11/2011 11:20am
10/11/2011 11:20am
So is it really a "Works Bike"?

Was this just as you would have bought one in 1978 from the dealer?

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MXEditor
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MXEditor 10/11/2011 11:21am
10/11/2011 11:21am
Text from the ad:

1978 KX 250 A4. This one of 1500 produced worldwide and one of 600 imported to the US. Bike number 1065. Machine was found in Colorado Springs wasting away against a shed. in running cond. Actully we didn't know what it was at the time. Just another Kawasaki dirt bike. When we couldn't find parts, the real story came out. Seems that from 1973 to 1976 Kawasaki was getting walked on, on the MX circuit by Yamaha, Suzuki,Penton,Ossa, well evryone. So in 1977 Kawasaki shut down production of their KX line and R&D went to work. This machine is the result. 210 lbs., chromally frame,aluminum gas tank, first year of the "electro fusion" cylinder, 40 hp, 38 Mikuni round slide carb, Gold wheels, swing arm, and motor mounts. KYB oil charged rear shocks with air charged fronts. 3.00 x 21 front wheel with a monster 5.00 x 18 rear.
newmann
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newmann 10/11/2011 11:30am
10/11/2011 11:30am
MXEditor wrote:
So is it really a "Works Bike"?

Was this just as you would have bought one in 1978 from the dealer?
Production bike that you would have purchased off the dealer floor. Only thing, those things sat on the dealer floor back then because they didn't have a real good reputation. With the non borable cylinders, once the top end seized up they rarely got repaired and back on the track back then, straight to the dump. Old Kawi's are fairly rare in vintage racing.

Not much different than the 1974 YZ250 and YZ360. Very trick limited production bikes. The 74 YZ250 came stock with a hard anodized machined billett aluminum clutch basket. Trick stuff from back in the day.
motoarmageddon 10/11/2011 1:41pm
10/11/2011 1:41pm Edited Date/Time 10/11/2011 1:43pm
MXEditor wrote:
So is it really a "Works Bike"?

Was this just as you would have bought one in 1978 from the dealer?
newmann wrote:
Production bike that you would have purchased off the dealer floor. Only thing, those things sat on the dealer floor back then because they didn't have...
Production bike that you would have purchased off the dealer floor. Only thing, those things sat on the dealer floor back then because they didn't have a real good reputation. With the non borable cylinders, once the top end seized up they rarely got repaired and back on the track back then, straight to the dump. Old Kawi's are fairly rare in vintage racing.

Not much different than the 1974 YZ250 and YZ360. Very trick limited production bikes. The 74 YZ250 came stock with a hard anodized machined billett aluminum clutch basket. Trick stuff from back in the day.
those things didnt sit on the showroom floor at all dude. they were very limited production. they were all special ordered. not just any dealer could get one. and they were a good bike in 1978. and that nickel cylinder was trick in its day. just like now, you could seize it and still use the cylinder without boring it out after you removed any aluminum on the cylinder wall. straight to the dump? i guess if you dont know what you are doing.
WhipMeister
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WhipMeister 10/11/2011 2:08pm
10/11/2011 2:08pm Edited Date/Time 10/11/2011 2:09pm
motoarmageddon wrote:
those things didnt sit on the showroom floor at all dude. they were very limited production. they were all special ordered. not just any dealer could...
those things didnt sit on the showroom floor at all dude. they were very limited production. they were all special ordered. not just any dealer could get one. and they were a good bike in 1978. and that nickel cylinder was trick in its day. just like now, you could seize it and still use the cylinder without boring it out after you removed any aluminum on the cylinder wall. straight to the dump? i guess if you dont know what you are doing.
Yeah Newmann is a real novice....Whistling
newmann
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newmann 10/11/2011 2:11pm
10/11/2011 2:11pm
Back in 78 our Kawasaki dealer was also the Yamaha dealer. I remember him saying that he couldn't give a KX away with a YZ sitting next to it and I remember 78 KX's on the floor here in the middle of nowhere Texas. He ended up moving the Kawi dealer to a separate location. A lot of bikes with chrome bores got put out to pasture prematurely. KX's are pretty rare at the vintage races.
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 10/11/2011 2:13pm
10/11/2011 2:13pm
Cool bikes, never saw one at the track. Ran head on into the 78 Cr250. Kawi always sort of floundered back then trying to catch up the revisions made by Suzuki (RM's in 76), Yammie (YZ's in 77) and Honda (250 in 78). Did see more of the 79's.
newmann
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newmann 10/11/2011 2:14pm
10/11/2011 2:14pm
WhipMeister wrote:
Yeah Newmann is a real novice....Whistling
Well, "straight to the dump" probably wasn't the best choice of words.Smile
les962
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les962 10/11/2011 3:09pm
10/11/2011 3:09pm
It was 6k last week and this week it is 5k. It's on craigslist, I have been thinking about it ......
Oldmxer95
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Oldmxer95 10/11/2011 4:07pm
10/11/2011 4:07pm
I bought one new in 78, wish I still had it for vintage races.

oldmxer95
project racer 10/11/2011 4:51pm
10/11/2011 4:51pm
We had two Kawasaki dealers in the area, and each dealer had at least two of the 250's and two of the 125's on the showroom floor. I'd say the 125 is even more rare for that year. You never see them ,hardly.

The 250 was very light weight, but it was still an also ran. Too bad for Kawi that Honda decided to drop the new CR250 on us the same year.

I do recall being at a night race ,when Jim Bernard had the repo guys show up at the track for his El Camino. They hopped in it ,fired it up, and started hauling ass towards the front gate. Little did they know they were dragging one of those 78 KX 250's by a tie down strap that Jim had his bike hooked to as a stand.Laughing
TerryK
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TerryK 10/11/2011 8:47pm
10/11/2011 8:47pm
Not so rare production bike. I'm not sure what the deal was in the US, but here in Canada there seemed to be just as many KXs as CRs and YZs. I raced against lots of guys with these bikes.
CamP
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CamP 10/11/2011 8:54pm
10/11/2011 8:54pm
TerryK wrote:
Not so rare production bike. I'm not sure what the deal was in the US, but here in Canada there seemed to be just as many...
Not so rare production bike. I'm not sure what the deal was in the US, but here in Canada there seemed to be just as many KXs as CRs and YZs. I raced against lots of guys with these bikes.
Not so rare? Kawasaki only made 1,500 '78 KX250's total. That's the reason a restored '78 KX250 is $5k+.
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TerryK 10/11/2011 9:18pm
10/11/2011 9:18pm
TerryK wrote:
Not so rare production bike. I'm not sure what the deal was in the US, but here in Canada there seemed to be just as many...
Not so rare production bike. I'm not sure what the deal was in the US, but here in Canada there seemed to be just as many KXs as CRs and YZs. I raced against lots of guys with these bikes.
CamP wrote:
Not so rare? Kawasaki only made 1,500 '78 KX250's total. That's the reason a restored '78 KX250 is $5k+.
Guess we had more than our share around here lol. I knew 3 guys who raced them locally, and yes they were 1978 models.
Premixed
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Premixed 10/11/2011 11:25pm
10/11/2011 11:25pm
i think jimmy weinert did the advertisement for that bike?

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slowvet
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slowvet 10/12/2011 6:12am
10/12/2011 6:12am
I had a '79 kx 250 and loved it.
Jay LINY
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Jay LINY 10/12/2011 7:48am
10/12/2011 7:48am
Pre-78 Kx125's and 250's were slow sellers.This Bike was so rare that I couldnt even buy one in '78.Ended up on an RM.Nothing wrong with that,it turned out to be the better bike overall. But the A-4 was so trick. Actually I don't think i have ever seen one in person.The "79 was also trick.Then they got ugly after that.
mxrose3
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mxrose3 10/12/2011 9:05am
10/12/2011 9:05am
I thought I read something somewhere that in 1978 you had to send in a race resume to even buy one of these things and had to be a top level racer (an expert level racer or pro). They wouldn't sell them to any Joe Schmo off the street. Maybe thats why some of them sat in showroom floors. Anybody know any truth to that rumor?
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wow123 10/12/2011 9:31am
10/12/2011 9:31am
project racer wrote:
We had two Kawasaki dealers in the area, and each dealer had at least two of the 250's and two of the 125's on the showroom...
We had two Kawasaki dealers in the area, and each dealer had at least two of the 250's and two of the 125's on the showroom floor. I'd say the 125 is even more rare for that year. You never see them ,hardly.

The 250 was very light weight, but it was still an also ran. Too bad for Kawi that Honda decided to drop the new CR250 on us the same year.

I do recall being at a night race ,when Jim Bernard had the repo guys show up at the track for his El Camino. They hopped in it ,fired it up, and started hauling ass towards the front gate. Little did they know they were dragging one of those 78 KX 250's by a tie down strap that Jim had his bike hooked to as a stand.Laughing
The 250 was very light weight, but it was still an also ran. Too bad for Kawi that Honda decided to drop the new CR250 on us the same year.
Yep
As a 17 yrs old, the choice for me was obvious.
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Barry_Burack 10/13/2011 2:33pm
10/13/2011 2:33pm
motoarmageddon wrote:
those things didnt sit on the showroom floor at all dude. they were very limited production. they were all special ordered. not just any dealer could...
those things didnt sit on the showroom floor at all dude. they were very limited production. they were all special ordered. not just any dealer could get one. and they were a good bike in 1978. and that nickel cylinder was trick in its day. just like now, you could seize it and still use the cylinder without boring it out after you removed any aluminum on the cylinder wall. straight to the dump? i guess if you dont know what you are doing.
WhipMeister wrote:
Yeah Newmann is a real novice....Whistling
As the owner of this machine, I can tell you it is the real deal. This machine is flawless and just a piece of art. If I didn't live in a condo it would be in my living room! Thanks for the super reviews. The pics. don't do it justice.
newmann
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newmann 10/13/2011 2:55pm
10/13/2011 2:55pm
motoarmageddon wrote:
those things didnt sit on the showroom floor at all dude. they were very limited production. they were all special ordered. not just any dealer could...
those things didnt sit on the showroom floor at all dude. they were very limited production. they were all special ordered. not just any dealer could get one. and they were a good bike in 1978. and that nickel cylinder was trick in its day. just like now, you could seize it and still use the cylinder without boring it out after you removed any aluminum on the cylinder wall. straight to the dump? i guess if you dont know what you are doing.
WhipMeister wrote:
Yeah Newmann is a real novice....Whistling
Barry_Burack wrote:
As the owner of this machine, I can tell you it is the real deal. This machine is flawless and just a piece of art. If...
As the owner of this machine, I can tell you it is the real deal. This machine is flawless and just a piece of art. If I didn't live in a condo it would be in my living room! Thanks for the super reviews. The pics. don't do it justice.
Living in a condo, the living room is the only place it should be!Smile Sweet bike, my favorite year KX. There are a couple guys in the Dallas area that race with the TVRC that have a whole fleet of Kawasaki's. If they weren't so hard to find parts for I'd probably have a couple 78 KX125's in my fleet of oldies.
crf250pilot
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crf250pilot 10/13/2011 3:38pm
10/13/2011 3:38pm
Here's some footage of the bike in action
neverwasfastenuf 10/13/2011 4:16pm
10/13/2011 4:16pm
WhipMeister wrote:
Yeah Newmann is a real novice....Whistling
Barry_Burack wrote:
As the owner of this machine, I can tell you it is the real deal. This machine is flawless and just a piece of art. If...
As the owner of this machine, I can tell you it is the real deal. This machine is flawless and just a piece of art. If I didn't live in a condo it would be in my living room! Thanks for the super reviews. The pics. don't do it justice.
newmann wrote:
Living in a condo, the living room is the only place it should be!:) Sweet bike, my favorite year KX. There are a couple guys in...
Living in a condo, the living room is the only place it should be!Smile Sweet bike, my favorite year KX. There are a couple guys in the Dallas area that race with the TVRC that have a whole fleet of Kawasaki's. If they weren't so hard to find parts for I'd probably have a couple 78 KX125's in my fleet of oldies.
Ultra trick with fins on the lower forks.
jeffro503
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jeffro503 10/13/2011 4:34pm
10/13/2011 4:34pm
My 1969 Kawasaki 238cc Scrambler. My dad bought it brand new in 69' when I was 1 yr old. I still have it and it tore down to the brae frame for a complete restoration. Newmann.....this is the bike I told you about quite a few months ago in your thread where you posted all your bike pictures , remember? Anyways...here it is. BTW....I rode that 238cc from the age of about 11yrs old to when I was about 14yrs old , and it blew up on me. After I blew up my 1975 XR75 , my dad said " If you want to keep riding.....go fire up the 238!" Had permanent bruises on the back of my right leg from miss timing that god damn compression release OOWW!! man , I love being able to post pictures now........

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neverwasfastenuf 10/13/2011 5:18pm
10/13/2011 5:18pm
jeffro503 wrote:
My 1969 Kawasaki 238cc Scrambler. My dad bought it brand new in 69' when I was 1 yr old. I still have it and it tore...
My 1969 Kawasaki 238cc Scrambler. My dad bought it brand new in 69' when I was 1 yr old. I still have it and it tore down to the brae frame for a complete restoration. Newmann.....this is the bike I told you about quite a few months ago in your thread where you posted all your bike pictures , remember? Anyways...here it is. BTW....I rode that 238cc from the age of about 11yrs old to when I was about 14yrs old , and it blew up on me. After I blew up my 1975 XR75 , my dad said " If you want to keep riding.....go fire up the 238!" Had permanent bruises on the back of my right leg from miss timing that god damn compression release OOWW!! man , I love being able to post pictures now........

[/img]

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Good stuff!
jeffro503
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jeffro503 10/13/2011 6:25pm
10/13/2011 6:25pm
Thanks man! I had some great years on that bike. It also taught me how to respect the power on certain bikes....especially since I was about 110lbs soaking wet. It was never lacking in power.....but it was all or nothing. Like a light switch......crack the throttle.......my lips were flappin'.

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