Kawasaki is bringing the two stroke back!

Pop Shmoke
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1/25/2025 4:27pm Edited Date/Time 1/25/2025 4:28pm

I mean yamaha has showed you can just put out the same 2 stroke every year and still sell it like hot cakes. Kawi could just break out the old molds and bring back the same bike and call it a day. Or they could put the old motor in the current frame and then keep pumping that out for the next 15 years. I do hope theyre gonna update the kx65. Really all they need to do is update the plastics, throw on some inverted forks, and add a powervalve and that thing will be pretty decent. 
 


Id love to see them allow 250 2 strokes in the 250 class. That would be huge toward making the sport more affordable to people. Motocross action did a shootout between a yz250 and yz250f to see how much it would cost to get each one up to 50hp. The yz250f was in $10,000 and the yz250 was $2200 for both to hit 49 hp. The yz250 was also a 12 year old bike vs a new 2019 yz250f. 

The hopped-up YZ250 peaked at 49 horsepower at 8500 rpm, while the his full-race YZ250F peaked at 49 horsepower at 13,500 rpm. The kicker was that the YZ250 two-stroke had 9 more pound-foot of torque than the thumper. Those kinds of torque numbers are game-changers.”


https://motocrossactionmag.com/two-vs-four-shootout-yz250-two-stroke-vs-yz250f-four-stroke/

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yak651
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1/25/2025 4:29pm
soggy wrote:

The wet blanket is here. 

saskmx wrote:
I tried wording that to make it clear I'm not trying to be a wet blanket. I'm just curious to know if there's something the old...

I tried wording that to make it clear I'm not trying to be a wet blanket. I'm just curious to know if there's something the old kx250s did that make people excited to get this over a yz and speculating over what they're going to do to capture some of the market. I'm glad this is happening even if it's the old kx250 maybe with some modern plastics

Tabarnac wrote:
I seriously doubt anything resembling the old KXsOver 5 years ago, a no-bullshit  friend who was working events on staff  for the MXGP circus told me...

I seriously doubt anything resembling the old KXs

Over 5 years ago, a no-bullshit  friend who was working events on staff  for the MXGP circus told me this "true story". A guy from Kawasaki Japan confided to him during an off-the-record party atmosphere that Kawasaki Japan had at one point considered bringing back the 125-250  KX smokers, more specifically the 125.

They then discovered that all the tooling for producing these bikes had been deemed expendable and sent to the crusher when someone at KHI decided they badly needed the occupied storage space. 

My contact said the Japanese guy that told him this story was dead serious, and still in a state of total disbelief that this had actually happened. And that Kawasaki was at the time serious about butting heads with Yamaha in the showrooms with their own two stroke mx/off-roaders.

 

They would still have all the cad files to remanufacture the tooling, heck probably needed replacing anyhow and tooling from China is cheap

1/25/2025 4:34pm
yak651 wrote:

They would still have all the cad files to remanufacture the tooling, heck probably needed replacing anyhow and tooling from China is cheap

And you thought those KIPS valves were shoddy before!

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1
1/25/2025 4:38pm
38special wrote:
If this is an MX bike, then a 125 would make more sense to me. There are 125-only classes for kids moving up from minis, and...

If this is an MX bike, then a 125 would make more sense to me. There are 125-only classes for kids moving up from minis, and this would keep them green until they go to a 250F.

While I love 250 two strokes, a pure MX model would not make much sense.  Unless of course they have a handful of 250's cover XC, enduro, etc.

I think you are right on about the 125.  My second guess would be the KDX2xx.  A whole line of bikes like KTM has is hard...

I think you are right on about the 125.  My second guess would be the KDX2xx.  A whole line of bikes like KTM has is hard to fathom.  

It's funny because KTM's line of bikes seems exhaustive -- but they are kind of like the automakers, where it is all on a single chassis...

It's funny because KTM's line of bikes seems exhaustive -- but they are kind of like the automakers, where it is all on a single chassis platform, and divided amongst a small few engine platforms, that are then segmented by configuration (in probably a few runs). With just a handful of models, Kawi might be making more actual different bikes with full-sized and fully discrete KX, KLX, KLR, etc.

You are right about that.  I just can't believe any manufacturer would go that broad into the segment now.  Triumph, Ducati and Beta seem to be keeping their new  offerings a little simpler.   

The Shop

aeffertz
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1/25/2025 4:43pm

I hate to be that guy, but I had to go to a wedding and so I missed the reveal. Was it a KX or nah?

1/25/2025 4:46pm
aeffertz wrote:

I hate to be that guy, but I had to go to a wedding and so I missed the reveal. Was it a KX or nah?

No one knows, it was the sound of a 2 stroke.

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1
1/25/2025 4:46pm
aeffertz wrote:

I hate to be that guy, but I had to go to a wedding and so I missed the reveal. Was it a KX or nah?

What reveal😂

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soggy
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1/25/2025 4:47pm
aeffertz wrote:

I hate to be that guy, but I had to go to a wedding and so I missed the reveal. Was it a KX or nah?

We don’t know yet

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Press516
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1/25/2025 4:49pm
bodean123 wrote:

So they announce today they are developing a full size 2T and people are somehow upset about it? 

Press516 wrote:

Only upset about the PR/marketing effort.  Nobody is upset about the new bike.

soggy wrote:
So you mad they announced a new two stroke is coming?  Cause thats all they’d been officially announced. Zoom really got everyone mad at kawi for making...

So you mad they announced a new two stroke is coming?  Cause thats all they’d been officially announced. 

Zoom really got everyone mad at kawi for making a new two stroke 😂

You win points for lack of comprehension…

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cappelmans
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1/25/2025 4:50pm

But what if it is a road bike 🫣

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cappelmans
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1/25/2025 4:52pm

Clip sounds like a 300

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1/25/2025 4:53pm

To me the 125 would make the most sense. It would allow them to “compete” in ever class from 65cc up. I say compete it quotes because the mini bikes need massive improvements. 

1911
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1/25/2025 4:55pm
cappelmans wrote:

But what if it is a road bike 🫣

They have experience 👍

IMG 4144 2
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OldTech
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1/25/2025 5:00pm

I am drinking before the race, but listening to the clip, it very well could be a 125 cracking just off idle

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Timo
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1/25/2025 5:27pm

A 300ish cc woods bike wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Wtih a counter balancer! I had a 04 KX250 set up for the woods and my feet would go numb from it vibrating so badly. 

Interesting, my 04 KX250 vibrated less than some of my 4 strokes.

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1/25/2025 5:29pm Edited Date/Time 1/25/2025 5:50pm
cappelmans wrote:

Clip sounds like a 300

Let's be clear, though: even if they had a new 300 ready to go, they wouldn't go get that prototype bike, bring it into the local recording studio and grab the Neumann U87 to get a new clip for their 6 second Insta text tease. 

Kawi's social media intern grabbed that 2-stroke dirt bike blipping throttle sound clip from whatever vast sound libraries they typically access (by the way, I see many dozens now just searching "2-stroke exhaust sound") -- with no inferences involved, other than that they are promoting a 2-stroke, as the ad says.

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KurtJ99
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1/25/2025 5:50pm
500 Mike wrote:
Apparently Kawasaki learned nothing about how to introduce a new model from the roasting Triumph took when they trickled out info on their new 250.  Unbelievable...

Apparently Kawasaki learned nothing about how to introduce a new model from the roasting Triumph took when they trickled out info on their new 250.  Unbelievable.  🤦🏼‍♂️

I remember the first teaser about the 2002 CRF450 was a similar audio only clip. Agree should look at Triumph for a bad and Ducati for a good example.

bluesmoke
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1/25/2025 5:51pm

Probably just a revamped kx65

Nooooo!😧 a two fiddy and 3 hunsky!🙂

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Spoonguy
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1/25/2025 5:57pm

Audio is of a Sherco 300

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Gravel
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1/25/2025 6:00pm
cappelmans wrote:

But what if it is a road bike 🫣

1911 wrote:
They have experience 👍

They have experience 👍

IMG 4144 2

We need wider roads for that thing 

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Lipless
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1/25/2025 6:03pm

This is exciting news.

Press516
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1/25/2025 6:03pm
Spoonguy wrote:

Audio is of a Sherco 300

That doesn’t seem likely, but it did sound like whatever it was just had the choke flipped off and it wasn’t warmed up yet…

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mb60
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1/25/2025 6:04pm

Kx 144 bet. 

2
Taylor415
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Midlothian, TX US
1/25/2025 6:31pm

Anyone notice they posted this news on 1/25? Hhmmm…..

6
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1/25/2025 6:31pm

A 300ish cc woods bike wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

RDnutz wrote:

they already have 1 and doubt they would want to cannibalize sales of it with a competing 2-stroke.

Kawasaki KLX®300 | Dual-Sport Bike | Capable & Powerful

 

I sell Kawasaki’s and a KLX300 is not what the true moto/off-road crowd desires

4
davis224
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1/25/2025 6:35pm
cappelmans wrote:

Clip sounds like a 300

Let's be clear, though: even if they had a new 300 ready to go, they wouldn't go get that prototype bike, bring it into the local...

Let's be clear, though: even if they had a new 300 ready to go, they wouldn't go get that prototype bike, bring it into the local recording studio and grab the Neumann U87 to get a new clip for their 6 second Insta text tease. 

Kawi's social media intern grabbed that 2-stroke dirt bike blipping throttle sound clip from whatever vast sound libraries they typically access (by the way, I see many dozens now just searching "2-stroke exhaust sound") -- with no inferences involved, other than that they are promoting a 2-stroke, as the ad says.

SM57 in the garage will do the trick.

1
1
1/25/2025 6:37pm Edited Date/Time 1/25/2025 7:58pm
cappelmans wrote:

Clip sounds like a 300

Let's be clear, though: even if they had a new 300 ready to go, they wouldn't go get that prototype bike, bring it into the local...

Let's be clear, though: even if they had a new 300 ready to go, they wouldn't go get that prototype bike, bring it into the local recording studio and grab the Neumann U87 to get a new clip for their 6 second Insta text tease. 

Kawi's social media intern grabbed that 2-stroke dirt bike blipping throttle sound clip from whatever vast sound libraries they typically access (by the way, I see many dozens now just searching "2-stroke exhaust sound") -- with no inferences involved, other than that they are promoting a 2-stroke, as the ad says.

davis224 wrote:

SM57 in the garage will do the trick.

But that didn’t happen, either.

It’s like a Zoom H1 and some proud dude’s piped Vespa.

OldTech
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1/25/2025 6:37pm

I don't care if it has 15-year-old KYB and made in Malaysia, if it's 6k I'm in.

 

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