17 / 18 KXF 250 Crank Issues?

Know of several around here also and not just fast guys either but haven't heard of cause or solutions

32hrs on my 17 without a problem. I’m no fast guy though.

brocsdad wrote:

There have been a couple local fast B riders who have had issues with the cranks on the 17/18 KXF 250's. I also spoke with a couple motor builders who are seeing the same thing. Kawasaki changed the lower end bearing on the 17 and apparently it's not getting enough lubrication. The fast kids are getting between 6-10hrs. One builder even tried the PC cranks at $2300 a piece and still had failures.

Has anyone experienced this problem? If so have you found a solution?

Thanks!

I have 17 kx250f done top end and cam chain at 40 hours, at 69 hours now no problems with bike yet. going to full rebuild at 80 hours

My parts manager is a pro woods rider with over 70 hours on a 17 and 35 hours on an 18 with zero problems. Also sponsor a Loretta's speed 250 B rider who has put 50+ on multiple bikes with no failures. Change the oil every hour and keep a fresh air filter in it and keep riding.

I work at a Kawasaki dealership and this is the first I have heard of it. We have two faster guys both with around 80 hours on their 17's. No issues. Not to say these people haven't had issues, but we haven't heard of any or received any bulletins from Kawasaki.

Steadman wrote:

I work at a Kawasaki dealership and this is the first I have heard of it. We have two faster guys both with around 80 hours on their 17's. No issues. Not to say these people haven't had issues, but we haven't heard of any or received any bulletins from Kawasaki.

Good to hear. I’m buying an 18 kx250f before the end of March so I was disheartened to see this thread lol. But glad to see most people agree it’s not a common problem. Since you work at a dealership, what do you think is the best part on the bike to upgrade first? I was thinking Pro circuit exhaust and suspension. What do you think?

Steadman wrote:

I work at a Kawasaki dealership and this is the first I have heard of it. We have two faster guys both with around 80 hours on their 17's. No issues. Not to say these people haven't had issues, but we haven't heard of any or received any bulletins from Kawasaki.

pmshortt2 wrote:

Good to hear. I’m buying an 18 kx250f before the end of March so I was disheartened to see this thread lol. But glad to see most people agree it’s not a common problem. Since you work at a dealership, what do you think is the best part on the bike to upgrade first? I was thinking Pro circuit exhaust and suspension. What do you think?

Man, I'm the wrong guy to ask haha. Other than getting suspension set up (possibly revalved) I'd leave it alone for now. Maybe upgrade the chain right away. I'm a huge believer of riding the bike stock first before sinking any money in it. Get to know the bike, the motor, the suspension etc. That way if or when you make any changes you will be able to notice those changes.

Both Pro Circuit and FMF systems are popular here. I've owned 15+ motocross bikes and have never bought an aftermarket exhaust though so I have zero feedback.

I'm still on a 2015 KX250F. Race Tech suspension, ARC levers, higher end RK chain and that's it. I'm hoping to be on an 18 myself this year as well. Going to try Factory Connection suspension this time around though.

brocsdad wrote:

There have been a couple local fast B riders who have had issues with the cranks on the 17/18 KXF 250's. I also spoke with a couple motor builders who are seeing the same thing. Kawasaki changed the lower end bearing on the 17 and apparently it's not getting enough lubrication. The fast kids are getting between 6-10hrs. One builder even tried the PC cranks at $2300 a piece and still had failures.

Has anyone experienced this problem? If so have you found a solution?

Thanks!

2017 kx250f crank replaced at 80 hours was still in good condition and within spec.
Put a oem crank in, now at
103 hours haven't had a problem with this bike yet

brocsdad wrote:

There have been a couple local fast B riders who have had issues with the cranks on the 17/18 KXF 250's. I also spoke with a couple motor builders who are seeing the same thing. Kawasaki changed the lower end bearing on the 17 and apparently it's not getting enough lubrication. The fast kids are getting between 6-10hrs. One builder even tried the PC cranks at $2300 a piece and still had failures.

Has anyone experienced this problem? If so have you found a solution?

Thanks!

Lisa_Schroeder wrote:

The riders I knew that had issues have switched brands so I haven’t seen anymore. Keep in mind it was the fast A and B riders having issues. Vet or C Riders may not have crank problems.

Both ofours are still going strong. My son is a faster B rider with around 40 hours on his only 15 or so on mine. That said, a kid we know just grenaded an brand new 18. Haven't heard exactly the cause but took pretty much whole engine out from what I was told. However, it was supposedly gone through by his engine builder right off showroom floor so who knows if they accidentally messed up something while in there....

I have a 18 kx250f, bike has around 35 hours on it. Just recently it started shutting off going into corners and having a hard time to start. But the bike will idle fine. Has anyone had this issue or could point me in the right direction on what to do??

Steadman wrote:

I work at a Kawasaki dealership and this is the first I have heard of it. We have two faster guys both with around 80 hours on their 17's. No issues. Not to say these people haven't had issues, but we haven't heard of any or received any bulletins from Kawasaki.

pmshortt2 wrote:

Good to hear. I’m buying an 18 kx250f before the end of March so I was disheartened to see this thread lol. But glad to see most people agree it’s not a common problem. Since you work at a dealership, what do you think is the best part on the bike to upgrade first? I was thinking Pro circuit exhaust and suspension. What do you think?

Steadman wrote:

Man, I'm the wrong guy to ask haha. Other than getting suspension set up (possibly revalved) I'd leave it alone for now. Maybe upgrade the chain right away. I'm a huge believer of riding the bike stock first before sinking any money in it. Get to know the bike, the motor, the suspension etc. That way if or when you make any changes you will be able to notice those changes.

Both Pro Circuit and FMF systems are popular here. I've owned 15+ motocross bikes and have never bought an aftermarket exhaust though so I have zero feedback.

I'm still on a 2015 KX250F. Race Tech suspension, ARC levers, higher end RK chain and that's it. I'm hoping to be on an 18 myself this year as well. Going to try Factory Connection suspension this time around though.

How Do you like the 16 ?
I always wondered uf the 16 was faster than the 17/18
In 16 and before it Got super goid reviews, shootout wins etc , and that all changed after 17, could the 15/16 model
Possibly be better ?

I have a 2018 with roughly 5 hours on it. This weekend I started experiencing major engine vibration through the grips and pegs. No abnormal noises or anything, just heavy vibration. I checked all motor mounts and everything is tight. I've talked to a few mechanics and they are all pointing to a possible twisted crank...which is highly unlikely being this new. I am no Forkner on this thing either. It starts fine and idles fine. The vibration starts at a certain rpm. Thoughts?

Can anyone shed some light on this? Currently have mine at the dealer and Kawi is having them pull the hours from the ecu before we do anything but their scanner isn't working so they are working on getting their scanner issue resolved because Kawi has to see that its under 15 hours. It may have 5 if that. The vibration starts at a certain throttle point/ rpm. It does not do it at idle. If it is a crank out of balance, wouldn't it do it at idle too? Could it be maybe a loose fly wheel or inner clutch hub?