Kawasaki is bringing the two stroke back!

BossWool2800
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Jackson , TX US
4/14/2026 10:17am Edited Date/Time 4/14/2026 10:18am

Maybe they shouldn't. Seems to be doing just fine every year the way it is. 

I agree 😎

1
ProKawi24
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4/14/2026 12:43pm
ProKawi24 wrote:
I think I last viewed this topic around page 3 or 4. Decided to come back to see if anything new was going on since I...

I think I last viewed this topic around page 3 or 4. Decided to come back to see if anything new was going on since I haven't heard about what exactly Kawi is making.

Looks like this is now on page 32. And judging by recent comments still nobody has any idea what it is.

I'll try again around page 67. 

* Edit - make that page 69. Giggidy. 😆

 Trying again at page 75 

 Check's notes....nope. Try again next year  

17
1
gt80rider
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4/14/2026 12:52pm

Where's the jiri prohaska meme "I'm coming!" when u need it.... 

1
1
4/14/2026 1:44pm

Every time I see another post here, I get less and less excited and then let down. 
I feel like Mr Garvey about to freak out.  Ya’ll best to stop this foolishness and reserve this thread for some real KX updates.

IMG 3846 1.png?VersionId=wx0QG
12

The Shop

GrapeApe
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4/14/2026 2:13pm
philepe747 wrote:
Every time I see another post here, I get less and less excited and then let down. I feel like Mr Garvey about to freak out.  Ya’ll...

Every time I see another post here, I get less and less excited and then let down. 
I feel like Mr Garvey about to freak out.  Ya’ll best to stop this foolishness and reserve this thread for some real KX updates.

IMG 3846 1.png?VersionId=wx0QG

Ya done messed up, philepe!

7
kevin204
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Kawartha Lakes, ON CA
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4/14/2026 8:13pm
philepe747 wrote:
Every time I see another post here, I get less and less excited and then let down. I feel like Mr Garvey about to freak out.  Ya’ll...

Every time I see another post here, I get less and less excited and then let down. 
I feel like Mr Garvey about to freak out.  Ya’ll best to stop this foolishness and reserve this thread for some real KX updates.

IMG 3846 1.png?VersionId=wx0QG

The irony is that if this thread is left with no replies until there’s official confirmation, it will likely be forgotten and never actually updated to contain real information on the new Kawi 2 stroke. 😅

2
1
soggy
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1 day ago
philepe747 wrote:
Every time I see another post here, I get less and less excited and then let down. I feel like Mr Garvey about to freak out.  Ya’ll...

Every time I see another post here, I get less and less excited and then let down. 
I feel like Mr Garvey about to freak out.  Ya’ll best to stop this foolishness and reserve this thread for some real KX updates.

IMG 3846 1.png?VersionId=wx0QG
kevin204 wrote:
The irony is that if this thread is left with no replies until there’s official confirmation, it will likely be forgotten and never actually updated to...

The irony is that if this thread is left with no replies until there’s official confirmation, it will likely be forgotten and never actually updated to contain real information on the new Kawi 2 stroke. 😅

There will be, conservatively, 27 threads about it when it does get released. 

12
MOTO13
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Elkhorn, WI US
1 day ago

If Kawi brought back the Tecate 4, I'd buy another one. Those quads were friggin awesome. I miss my old one. 

3
2
1 day ago

Lol 

Btw, good source says Suzuki is working on an updated RMZ.

All they need is updated suspension, button, and some tweaks to the engine. I hope they don't remake the entire bike.. it has a classic dirt bike look.

1
2
1 day ago

Lol 

Btw, good source says Suzuki is working on an updated RMZ.

All they need is updated suspension, button, and some tweaks to the engine. I hope they don't remake the entire bike.. it has a classic dirt...

All they need is updated suspension, button, and some tweaks to the engine. I hope they don't remake the entire bike.. it has a classic dirt bike look.

Put 250 suspension on the 450 and it's one of the most rideable bikes in the class.

The engine needs nothing in my opinion. 

5
1 day ago

Lol 

Btw, good source says Suzuki is working on an updated RMZ.

All they need is updated suspension, button, and some tweaks to the engine. I hope they don't remake the entire bike.. it has a classic dirt...

All they need is updated suspension, button, and some tweaks to the engine. I hope they don't remake the entire bike.. it has a classic dirt bike look.

Kindasmoky wrote:

Put 250 suspension on the 450 and it's one of the most rideable bikes in the class.

The engine needs nothing in my opinion. 

I concur with this sentiment.  The motor is very usable and simply putting on the 250 shock makes a massive difference.  

3
Wandell
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1 day ago Edited Date/Time 1 day ago

THE IRONY IS THAT THOSE SERIOUSLY WANTING THIS COULD HAVE RESTORED AN OLD KX BY NOW AND BE ENJOYING IT EVERY WEEKEND!

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4
Brad460
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1 day ago
ProKawi24 wrote:

 Trying again at page 75 

 Check's notes....nope. Try again next year  

75 pages and 357,000 views- If that is not an indication of a viable market, I don’t know what is..

6
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MAS06
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13 hours ago
Wandell wrote:

THE IRONY IS THAT THOSE SERIOUSLY WANTING THIS COULD HAVE RESTORED AN OLD KX BY NOW AND BE ENJOYING IT EVERY WEEKEND!

Id like a fuel injected e start bike, Already had all the old KX's You ever restore a bike? its 6k minimum, 8k if its a 500

5
indy rider
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13 hours ago

Thinking an old KDX comes anywhere close to a modern Beta or KTM 2T is just silly. 

5
KurtJ99
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9 hours ago
Wandell wrote:

THE IRONY IS THAT THOSE SERIOUSLY WANTING THIS COULD HAVE RESTORED AN OLD KX BY NOW AND BE ENJOYING IT EVERY WEEKEND!

That would be funny if at the start of this thread someone merged a KX250 bike build as time went by and you could age the thread by the completeness of the build. 

3
Kenny Banyan
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8 hours ago
Wandell wrote:

THE IRONY IS THAT THOSE SERIOUSLY WANTING THIS COULD HAVE RESTORED AN OLD KX BY NOW AND BE ENJOYING IT EVERY WEEKEND!

The real irony, is that they’ll be just as fast on the rebuild as the latest and greatest.

agn5008
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8 hours ago
Wandell wrote:

THE IRONY IS THAT THOSE SERIOUSLY WANTING THIS COULD HAVE RESTORED AN OLD KX BY NOW AND BE ENJOYING IT EVERY WEEKEND!

The real irony, is that they’ll be just as fast on the rebuild as the latest and greatest.

Some people don’t care about being fast. A lot of people want an easy bike to ride with their buddies on the weekends, which is why the KTM/betas are such popular choices. A kx 250 is not anywhere near as good as the modern two stroke woods bikes for hard enduro or trail riding. The modern two strokes are fantastic for about any type of riding. A restored kx 250 would be good for a mx track and wide open trails. 

9
Kenny Banyan
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8 hours ago
Wandell wrote:

THE IRONY IS THAT THOSE SERIOUSLY WANTING THIS COULD HAVE RESTORED AN OLD KX BY NOW AND BE ENJOYING IT EVERY WEEKEND!

The real irony, is that they’ll be just as fast on the rebuild as the latest and greatest.

agn5008 wrote:
Some people don’t care about being fast. A lot of people want an easy bike to ride with their buddies on the weekends, which is why...

Some people don’t care about being fast. A lot of people want an easy bike to ride with their buddies on the weekends, which is why the KTM/betas are such popular choices. A kx 250 is not anywhere near as good as the modern two stroke woods bikes for hard enduro or trail riding. The modern two strokes are fantastic for about any type of riding. A restored kx 250 would be good for a mx track and wide open trails. 

Good thoughts.👍🏻

1
Beta480RX
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Helena, MT US
7 hours ago

I've ridden all the newer Beta and KTM 300 (and 350) smokers.

Is my KDX a better performing machine? Absolutely not! 

Is the KDX the more comfortable machine for an entire day of riding? Yes, yes it is. And it's not even close.

4
FreshTopEnd
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7 hours ago Edited Date/Time 6 hours ago
ProKawi24 wrote:

 Trying again at page 75 

 Check's notes....nope. Try again next year  

Brad460 wrote:

75 pages and 357,000 views- If that is not an indication of a viable market, I don’t know what is..

I don't know man, could be 350 people recycled their looks 100,000 times . . . 

1
7 hours ago

Too lazy to read 75 pages. Are the new kawi 2 strokes any good? Might buy one. 

4
5 hours ago
Beta480RX wrote:
I've ridden all the newer Beta and KTM 300 (and 350) smokers.Is my KDX a better performing machine? Absolutely not! Is the KDX the more comfortable machine...

I've ridden all the newer Beta and KTM 300 (and 350) smokers.

Is my KDX a better performing machine? Absolutely not! 

Is the KDX the more comfortable machine for an entire day of riding? Yes, yes it is. And it's not even close.

Being in MT, I'm guessing you'd rather be way up in the backcountry on a KDX200 vs any modern/FI bike.

I'd go buy a modern iteration of a KDX200 tomorrow or a modern XR400....huge gap in the full size "trail" market with a simple, reliable bike.  

I'd love me a YZ250X but they lack headlight/wiring circuit but I am confident could be made into a good trail bike with some detuning mods.

1
4 hours ago
indy rider wrote:

Thinking an old KDX comes anywhere close to a modern Beta or KTM 2T is just silly. 

Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e. large tanks, softer sus, mild power, headlights, durable machines.  I had a 1996 KTM 250 EXC, came stock with a 3.2g tank, could ride 90 miles on that thing, steel subframe, plush sus, awesome bike.

I wish Honda would do something like put their CRF300F engine in a full size bike with good sus.

Enough guys detune their KTM's with low comp heads, low gearing, Reklus, flywheel weights, etc. that I think a full size trail bike would sell well.

2
soggy
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4 hours ago Edited Date/Time 4 hours ago
indy rider wrote:

Thinking an old KDX comes anywhere close to a modern Beta or KTM 2T is just silly. 

Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e...

Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e. large tanks, softer sus, mild power, headlights, durable machines.  I had a 1996 KTM 250 EXC, came stock with a 3.2g tank, could ride 90 miles on that thing, steel subframe, plush sus, awesome bike.

I wish Honda would do something like put their CRF300F engine in a full size bike with good sus.

Enough guys detune their KTM's with low comp heads, low gearing, Reklus, flywheel weights, etc. that I think a full size trail bike would sell well.

The xcw are pretty much a modern version of what you described. Mellow power, soft suspension. 

I do get what your saying, a low tech option, carbed OC plush forks etc, I just think that market is tiny in an already small market. 

And there are some companies that make what you are describing but you probably wouldn’t like who is making them.


The yz250x lack of lighting coil is a $200 fix.  It’d be nicer if they came with e-start though. 

1
4 hours ago
indy rider wrote:

Thinking an old KDX comes anywhere close to a modern Beta or KTM 2T is just silly. 

Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e...

Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e. large tanks, softer sus, mild power, headlights, durable machines.  I had a 1996 KTM 250 EXC, came stock with a 3.2g tank, could ride 90 miles on that thing, steel subframe, plush sus, awesome bike.

I wish Honda would do something like put their CRF300F engine in a full size bike with good sus.

Enough guys detune their KTM's with low comp heads, low gearing, Reklus, flywheel weights, etc. that I think a full size trail bike would sell well.

soggy wrote:
The xcw are pretty much a modern version of what you described. Mellow power, soft suspension. I do get what your saying, a low tech option, carbed...

The xcw are pretty much a modern version of what you described. Mellow power, soft suspension. 

I do get what your saying, a low tech option, carbed OC plush forks etc, I just think that market is tiny in an already small market. 

And there are some companies that make what you are describing but you probably wouldn’t like who is making them.


The yz250x lack of lighting coil is a $200 fix.  It’d be nicer if they came with e-start though. 

Yeah - there is the GPX option, so maybe you are right, if Kawi came out with a 'trail' bike at $7k, you could go buy a KTM for $9-10k or a GPX for $5k....it's kind of in no mans land.

The XCW are good - but they are $ and are slanted more on the race end of the spectrum relative to a KDX or XR.  I have a 00' XR400 and it still a great bike along side my more modern KTMs.

It's $200 + wiring + headlight + rectifier and it's only 25W which is marginal at best and once you add a flywheel weight, low comp head, lighting stuff, soften the sus....probably better off just buying a XCW at that point TBH.

soggy
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UT US
4 hours ago Edited Date/Time 4 hours ago
Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e...

Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e. large tanks, softer sus, mild power, headlights, durable machines.  I had a 1996 KTM 250 EXC, came stock with a 3.2g tank, could ride 90 miles on that thing, steel subframe, plush sus, awesome bike.

I wish Honda would do something like put their CRF300F engine in a full size bike with good sus.

Enough guys detune their KTM's with low comp heads, low gearing, Reklus, flywheel weights, etc. that I think a full size trail bike would sell well.

soggy wrote:
The xcw are pretty much a modern version of what you described. Mellow power, soft suspension. I do get what your saying, a low tech option, carbed...

The xcw are pretty much a modern version of what you described. Mellow power, soft suspension. 

I do get what your saying, a low tech option, carbed OC plush forks etc, I just think that market is tiny in an already small market. 

And there are some companies that make what you are describing but you probably wouldn’t like who is making them.


The yz250x lack of lighting coil is a $200 fix.  It’d be nicer if they came with e-start though. 

Yeah - there is the GPX option, so maybe you are right, if Kawi came out with a 'trail' bike at $7k, you could go buy...

Yeah - there is the GPX option, so maybe you are right, if Kawi came out with a 'trail' bike at $7k, you could go buy a KTM for $9-10k or a GPX for $5k....it's kind of in no mans land.

The XCW are good - but they are $ and are slanted more on the race end of the spectrum relative to a KDX or XR.  I have a 00' XR400 and it still a great bike along side my more modern KTMs.

It's $200 + wiring + headlight + rectifier and it's only 25W which is marginal at best and once you add a flywheel weight, low comp head, lighting stuff, soften the sus....probably better off just buying a XCW at that point TBH.

The XR400 is a great bike. Bullet proof.  While that was a trail bike it was also capable raced a lot. Much of the development in the Japanese side at that time was all focused on MX bikes. 


The crf300 MSRP is 5000.  I think if you put good suspension and a better frame/geometry you are probably knocking on the door of 8k and then like you said you are kind of in no man’s land market wise. And if you did all that the engine becomes the weak link and kind of out of place imo.  

2
3strokemx
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2305
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Location
US
4 hours ago
indy rider wrote:

Thinking an old KDX comes anywhere close to a modern Beta or KTM 2T is just silly. 

Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e...

Depends on use case, there is still an argument for the late 90's offroad bikes when they were more slanted to trail riding vs racing; i.e. large tanks, softer sus, mild power, headlights, durable machines.  I had a 1996 KTM 250 EXC, came stock with a 3.2g tank, could ride 90 miles on that thing, steel subframe, plush sus, awesome bike.

I wish Honda would do something like put their CRF300F engine in a full size bike with good sus.

Enough guys detune their KTM's with low comp heads, low gearing, Reklus, flywheel weights, etc. that I think a full size trail bike would sell well.

soggy wrote:
The xcw are pretty much a modern version of what you described. Mellow power, soft suspension. I do get what your saying, a low tech option, carbed...

The xcw are pretty much a modern version of what you described. Mellow power, soft suspension. 

I do get what your saying, a low tech option, carbed OC plush forks etc, I just think that market is tiny in an already small market. 

And there are some companies that make what you are describing but you probably wouldn’t like who is making them.


The yz250x lack of lighting coil is a $200 fix.  It’d be nicer if they came with e-start though. 

Beta XTrainer?

2
Beta480RX
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52
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Location
Helena, MT US
3 hours ago
Being in MT, I'm guessing you'd rather be way up in the backcountry on a KDX200 vs any modern/FI bike.I'd go buy a modern iteration of...

Being in MT, I'm guessing you'd rather be way up in the backcountry on a KDX200 vs any modern/FI bike.

I'd go buy a modern iteration of a KDX200 tomorrow or a modern XR400....huge gap in the full size "trail" market with a simple, reliable bike.  

I'd love me a YZ250X but they lack headlight/wiring circuit but I am confident could be made into a good trail bike with some detuning mods.

Depends if I'm feeling like a smoker day or thumper day. For those trips it can be the KDX250 or the XR650R. I'm a bit on the bigger side, so the KDX200 and XR400 get a we bit anemic at altitude!

And also depends how stupid the trip is going to get. If stealth is also going to be a requirement, KDX it is!

 

1
Beta480RX
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Location
Helena, MT US
3 hours ago
3strokemx wrote:

Beta XTrainer?

Xtrainer is kinda in a no man's land like mentioned above for the CRF300F.

But it definitely has a niche due to it's size compared to normal 300s. A very very successful niche!

 

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