Are the 2014 Kawi's reliable?

A buddy of mine blew up three '13 kxf 250 engines last year, made the switch to a ktm and hasn't had one problem since

Is the consensus still that Yamaha four strokes are very reliable? I've been on a 2-stroke for the past few years and have been looking into getting a 250 four stroke to add to my garage and just keeping both my 125 and a 250f. I am meticulous about maintenance but am really looking for reliability over particular performance features.

600 sport bikes rev well past that and you do not hear about many if them letting go.

A lot of it has to do with maintenance and dirt consumption. All the bikes are pretty good now, just keep your air filter clean and your oil/fuel fresh

Bought a 2012 250 in March of 2012, during the breakin the thing locked up then broke free and started knocking. Took it back and after a few heated phone calls kawi backed it up. Both crank halves were cracked at the pin. Got it back after 9 weeks of parts not being available. Guess what happened again. Same thing. During breakin. Kawi then sent us a new crate motor that we now have 35hrs on with no problems. So changing the oil and the filters had nothing to do with it.

I have a 2012 KX450F that I bought used with about 35 hours on it. I have now put 12 additional hours on it with no issue (knock on wood). It's an amazing bike and I'm very happy with it. I also change the oil and filter every 5 hours (or less) and a clean air filter every ride.

Like someone mentioned above, it does eat chain sliders like nobody's business.

Never had a single issue with my half dozen Hondas since the late 90's and I put way more hours on than most and love the rev limiter and sand sand sand most of the time. I just change air filter every ride and oil every couple of rides. I have had to split my day sharing my bike with my riding buddy who had a few Kawi's tho but he never maintained his bikes at all. Made me crazy. I actually would take his bike home with me and do maintenance for him. I sold him my last few Hondas and they are still running strong even with no maintenance guy.

Just discovered that where the case saver bolts to the case on my '13 450, the threaded part of the case that sticks out has snapped off. Fucking great. Not sure how they think that design would save anything because if your chain broke, there is no way that threaded portruding piece of the case wouldn't. Also flattened the front rim already, but I don't hold that one against Kawi.

I've had zero problems with my 2012 kx250f and a friend of mine has two '14's. Regular maintenance and a rebuild of the suspension/motor after 50 hours and I've had zero problems. The '14's that belong to my buddy do not have that many hours on them, but so far so good!

2 of my friends have a 2014 KX250F's, both maintain them very well and dont bounce them on the rev-limiter like a lot do, one blew up the other day for no reason, Kawasaki shop has no idea why it did it. Could be a one-off?

They all suck equally, just pick your color and remember to put sand in the airbox after each filter change


Also rev the shit outta the thing at all times... For no reason at all

Also replacing parts before the 100 hr mark helps

I had a 13' kx250f last year, choose to rebuild the top end at 22hrs, and only adjust valves. raced it all year and ended up with 77hrs when i sold it. So in that year all i did was the top end rebuild, i went through 2 RK 520 chains, 2x sets of sprockets,
changed original chain guide kit to a ™ one, because they rattle like hell and wear even worse.

This year i have 14' kx250f so far i have 55 hrs on it. I rebuilt the topend at 30hrs using all wiseco stuff . and haven't touch the motor since. Ill do a full rebuild including valves at 80 hrs i think.

I ride in sand all year long basically, so I'm hard on the motor, but honestly on a 250f shift early don't go over revving the thing. Especially these Kx250f's , they tend rev out quickly so i shift early and a lot of corners i ride in 4th and give the clutch a tap if needed.

Change my oil and filter every 4 hrs.

I have seen allot of the Kawi 250fs blow up but they are fast. I have never owned a Kawi but every bike that I have owned I have changed the oil every two to three hours and I have never had a problem. I use Shell rotella and its cheap so changing the oil every two hours is not bad. Changing the oil every two hours will not help broken rods and pistons but it cant hurt.

Hey Guys! This might just be the thread, matching my question! I´m thinking of getting a ´12 KXF 250. One offered has about 72 hours.The bike seems fine, but the rumours of all the blown ones make me suspicious. Adressing the guys with the engine issues, how risky might this be?
Thanks in advance!

I've had 16 Kawi's, 450's and 250's and I've never ever had a problem other than a blown fork seal after strapping it down too tight.
They have been indestructible and FLAWLESS!!!
To me, hearing about a broken Kawasaki is a myth and olds wives take....