2006 KX250 tips

Deetsmx
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Deetsmx
Edited Date/Time 1/26/2012 10:12am
I picked up an 06 kx250 yesterday that I found on craigslist. I'd been looking for a a clean 2-stroke for a while but I lucked out on this one. If it wasn't for the knobs being rounded of on the rear tire I would never have known it was ridden. Anyway, I was wondering if any of you guys had experience with this bike. Compared to my 04, it feels a lot bigger and the motor is quite a bit stronger throughout. I went up to a 165 from a 160 to keep it from pinging itself to death, but it still pings a little down low under a load. Suspension feels good for now, but I have a feeling once it breaks in it will start to blow through the stroke. The front end feels unstable so I was wondering if any of you guys have tried the Pro Circuit link to lower the rear and if it helped. I'm going to ship the suspension off but was wondering which company had experience with the Kayaba on the KX 2-strokes. MB 1 works great on Showa and I know MX-tech is good with KTM stuff. Those are 2 companies I'm considering. The motor is plenty strong, but I'm thinking of sending it to Eric Gorr just for kicks to see what he can do to it since it's the same price as a pipe. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
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AMA714
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AMA714 4/17/2009 12:38pm
4/17/2009 12:38pm Edited Date/Time 4/17/2009 12:53pm
pro circuit pipe C-12 and braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap
Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 4/17/2009 12:44pm
4/17/2009 12:44pm
I haven't had the best results with pro circuit in the past. Seems like they mimic the stock powerband but just allow some more overrev. I thought porting would be more bang for my buck.
AMA714
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AMA714 4/17/2009 12:55pm
4/17/2009 12:55pm
Its been a while for me on a 2 stroke. I do ride with a guy that has an RM 250 and his works primo with a FMF fatty. Maybe that is the way to go. I do know that when jetted nice to keep them crisp you need better than pump fuel. I always went C-12.
kaw rider9
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kaw rider9 4/17/2009 1:15pm
4/17/2009 1:15pm
What kind of riding do you do?

FMF Fatty for the pipe.

My buddy races 30B in MX and his bike is stock. He's pretty damn fast!

I race HS and mine stock as well! I love it just the way it is!

Get the suspension set up for you and ride.

The Shop

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Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 4/17/2009 3:01pm
4/17/2009 3:01pm
I have an FMF fatty on the 04 (came with it) and I've switched it back and forth with the stock and it did help in the mid and top. I'm not really looking for a pipe, but I am curious about engine work. The bike does have plenty of power, it's just more of something I'd like to try. I ride mx (pro class) and I've had my suspension done in the past by Independent (for SX), ESP (on a Yamaha in 02 and I was very happy with the result) and some others I care not to name since I was happy with them on one bike and not really on another and I don't feel like badmouthing a company on here. MB1 also works well on Showa on Suzuki's, I've ridden those. I'm just looking for some input on people that have owned this bike and what they did to it since now I mainly ride for fun and I like to experiment.
Craze
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Craze 4/17/2009 4:42pm
4/17/2009 4:42pm Edited Date/Time 4/16/2016 11:26pm
Here's your suspension set up...only a mere $6,750.00

Photobucket
FlickitFlat 4/17/2009 6:38pm
4/17/2009 6:38pm
Craze wrote:
Here's your suspension set up...only a mere $6,750.00
Here's your suspension set up...only a mere $6,750.00

Photobucket
I'd pay $6750.00 just to get rid of that heavy ass spring on the shock. The weight loss on that alone would surely add a few seconds to you lap times.
FlickitFlat 4/17/2009 7:01pm
4/17/2009 7:01pm
Deetsmx, I have a 97', 04' 05' and an 07' KX 250 that I haven't rode more than 10 min. and only started 5 times since I just recently had knee surgery. The 07' is for sure a bigger and taller bike but it doesn't feel big like a 450 from what few min. I've rode it.
I had Jesse Williams of Williamsmotowerx do over my 04 and I love it. I got an overbore with tons of power and snap and I run pump gas. I've tried in the past and I have had nothing that even got close to this bike with a stock bore without being unreliable or just plain finicky and was strictly race fuel only. That is a pain in the ass when an overbore will do the trick with no headaches. The only thing I find is that I shift a little shorter but the damn things got it. It really doesn't matter. It revs quicker than the stock bike but it still caries the gears just as far. It just has so much mid that it powers through. If you get 3/4 to full throttle you will be running through some gears. Its a fun bike to ride. I was in about the same situation as you, just wanting something fun to do and ride, when I had the overbore done. If you really want to play I highly recommend Jesse and an overbore.
davis224
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davis224 4/17/2009 9:35pm
4/17/2009 9:35pm
I've ridden my friends 06 KX250, and it did feel very nervous handling wise, but I kinda liked it. I put the pro circuit link on my 09 KX450 and it made the cornering much smoother, front end tucked a lot and the bike felt too tall before that.
rallendude
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rallendude 4/20/2009 6:57am
4/20/2009 6:57am
The guys around here that had that bike all ended up running at least a 50/50 mix of 93 pump and C12 to keep it from detonating itself to death. Even when jetted as well as they could it would knock when exiting corners under hard acceleration. I think some even found the gap between the pickup and the flywheel to be too small from the factory. This and jetting helped a lot but never cured the knock.

Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 4/20/2009 9:38am
4/20/2009 9:38am
rallendude wrote:
The guys around here that had that bike all ended up running at least a 50/50 mix of 93 pump and C12 to keep it from...
The guys around here that had that bike all ended up running at least a 50/50 mix of 93 pump and C12 to keep it from detonating itself to death. Even when jetted as well as they could it would knock when exiting corners under hard acceleration. I think some even found the gap between the pickup and the flywheel to be too small from the factory. This and jetting helped a lot but never cured the knock.

Yeah, I put some race gas in this weekend (about 25% since that cured the problem on my 04) and it still knocked quite a bit. I also fattened up the needle and that helped a bit as well, but it lost some responsiveness after a couple of laps. Maybe I'll send the motor of for some porting and have them reduce the compression a bit. Thanks for the input.
CamP
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CamP 4/20/2009 10:01am
4/20/2009 10:01am
100LL Avgas works well in these bikes and will keep them out of detonation. It's going for less than $3/gal around here.
Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 4/21/2009 10:21pm
4/21/2009 10:21pm
I've been reading up on the Avgas and there seem to be guys for and against it. Maybe I'll give it a whirl to see what happens. My other problem I'm having with the bike is that the front end wants to tuck when the track started to dry out this weekend and I started picking up the pace. Does the Pro Circuit link help this much or are there some other tricks like lowering the forks (which I'll try next time). When I read the MXA shootout they said the same thing, but I didn't notice it when the track was tacky but the second it dried out I almost lost the front end several times. Davis224 said it worked well on his 450 but I was wondering if anyone tried it on their 250 2-stroke or if just a revalve would work.
Sonny
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Sonny 4/22/2009 3:35am
4/22/2009 3:35am Edited Date/Time 4/22/2009 3:36am
Same issue with the height with me. your best bet is to send shock and forks to a suspension guy and they can lower it evenly. Not sure how he did it for me, but it worked actually I believe he did it free with a revalve.
Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 4/22/2009 2:38pm
4/22/2009 2:38pm
Sonny wrote:
Same issue with the height with me. your best bet is to send shock and forks to a suspension guy and they can lower it evenly...
Same issue with the height with me. your best bet is to send shock and forks to a suspension guy and they can lower it evenly. Not sure how he did it for me, but it worked actually I believe he did it free with a revalve.
Did you have your suspension done locally or by a well known place and how did it work? So far it's not bad stock, just getting a bad push in the front and I'm sure once it breaks in more I will need to send it off.
Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 5/4/2009 8:57am
5/4/2009 8:57am
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was set at .016 and I believe stock should have been between .024 and .040. I set it at .035 and went riding. To my dismay it completely cured the knock and pinging. I'd never even heard of this till I came on here and read it on TT as well. I also dropped the forks about 5mm and that seemed to keep the front end from tucking as bad so I think I'll pass on the pro circuit link. Up next will be a revalve and then maybe I'll send off the motor. Thanks for the help guys.
Motojunky
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Motojunky 5/8/2009 5:47pm
5/8/2009 5:47pm
I think the best thing to do to that bike is to have the head rechambered, then you dont have to worry about always finding the same race gas. and it will be more consistant with jetting.
Sonny
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Sonny 5/15/2009 3:29am
5/15/2009 3:29am
Sonny wrote:
Same issue with the height with me. your best bet is to send shock and forks to a suspension guy and they can lower it evenly...
Same issue with the height with me. your best bet is to send shock and forks to a suspension guy and they can lower it evenly. Not sure how he did it for me, but it worked actually I believe he did it free with a revalve.
Deetsmx wrote:
Did you have your suspension done locally or by a well known place and how did it work? So far it's not bad stock, just getting...
Did you have your suspension done locally or by a well known place and how did it work? So far it's not bad stock, just getting a bad push in the front and I'm sure once it breaks in more I will need to send it off.
This was a local guy who does hit races as trackside support also. It was no big deal either. He did the same thing that he's doing on the 2009 CRF 450 - putting a 3mm spacer in the shock that lowers it nearly an inch. What a difference. Night and day

Pit Row

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jtomasik
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jtomasik 5/15/2009 6:19am
5/15/2009 6:19am
Deetsmx wrote:
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was...
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was set at .016 and I believe stock should have been between .024 and .040. I set it at .035 and went riding. To my dismay it completely cured the knock and pinging. I'd never even heard of this till I came on here and read it on TT as well. I also dropped the forks about 5mm and that seemed to keep the front end from tucking as bad so I think I'll pass on the pro circuit link. Up next will be a revalve and then maybe I'll send off the motor. Thanks for the help guys.
You're dismayed that the air gap change fixed it? Why would that disappoint you?

My RM pings a bit...and I've never checked the gap on that plug (it's only been in there two years...gimme a break). Maybe I should!
kaw rider9
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kaw rider9 5/15/2009 1:22pm
5/15/2009 1:22pm
Deetsmx wrote:
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was...
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was set at .016 and I believe stock should have been between .024 and .040. I set it at .035 and went riding. To my dismay it completely cured the knock and pinging. I'd never even heard of this till I came on here and read it on TT as well. I also dropped the forks about 5mm and that seemed to keep the front end from tucking as bad so I think I'll pass on the pro circuit link. Up next will be a revalve and then maybe I'll send off the motor. Thanks for the help guys.
Are you talking about the spark plug gap?
Cygnus
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Cygnus 5/15/2009 1:31pm
5/15/2009 1:31pm
Not the plug gap. The pulser gap.
Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 5/18/2009 2:11pm
5/18/2009 2:11pm
Sonny wrote:
Same issue with the height with me. your best bet is to send shock and forks to a suspension guy and they can lower it evenly...
Same issue with the height with me. your best bet is to send shock and forks to a suspension guy and they can lower it evenly. Not sure how he did it for me, but it worked actually I believe he did it free with a revalve.
Deetsmx wrote:
Did you have your suspension done locally or by a well known place and how did it work? So far it's not bad stock, just getting...
Did you have your suspension done locally or by a well known place and how did it work? So far it's not bad stock, just getting a bad push in the front and I'm sure once it breaks in more I will need to send it off.
Sonny wrote:
This was a local guy who does hit races as trackside support also. It was no big deal either. He did the same thing that he's...
This was a local guy who does hit races as trackside support also. It was no big deal either. He did the same thing that he's doing on the 2009 CRF 450 - putting a 3mm spacer in the shock that lowers it nearly an inch. What a difference. Night and day
Do you have any idea where he puts the spacer to lower the shock? It seems that putting a spacer in would raise it, unless there was a bigger spacer in there to start with.
Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 5/18/2009 2:14pm
5/18/2009 2:14pm
Deetsmx wrote:
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was...
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was set at .016 and I believe stock should have been between .024 and .040. I set it at .035 and went riding. To my dismay it completely cured the knock and pinging. I'd never even heard of this till I came on here and read it on TT as well. I also dropped the forks about 5mm and that seemed to keep the front end from tucking as bad so I think I'll pass on the pro circuit link. Up next will be a revalve and then maybe I'll send off the motor. Thanks for the help guys.
jtomasik wrote:
You're dismayed that the air gap change fixed it? Why would that disappoint you? My RM pings a bit...and I've never checked the gap on that...
You're dismayed that the air gap change fixed it? Why would that disappoint you?

My RM pings a bit...and I've never checked the gap on that plug (it's only been in there two years...gimme a break). Maybe I should!
I wasn't disappointed, just surprised. And I'm taking about the pulsar gap on the flywheel and the sensor above it, not the spark plug gap. I was surprised because I'd tried a bunch of things with no success and was about to send the motor off to lower the compression.
bobby397
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bobby397 5/18/2009 2:23pm
5/18/2009 2:23pm
Kawasaki + Pro Circuit = Cheerful
jtomasik
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jtomasik 5/18/2009 2:28pm
5/18/2009 2:28pm
Deetsmx wrote:
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was...
Update: Ok, so I figured I'd post an update to help out others with this bike. I adjusted the air gap on the ignition. It was set at .016 and I believe stock should have been between .024 and .040. I set it at .035 and went riding. To my dismay it completely cured the knock and pinging. I'd never even heard of this till I came on here and read it on TT as well. I also dropped the forks about 5mm and that seemed to keep the front end from tucking as bad so I think I'll pass on the pro circuit link. Up next will be a revalve and then maybe I'll send off the motor. Thanks for the help guys.
jtomasik wrote:
You're dismayed that the air gap change fixed it? Why would that disappoint you? My RM pings a bit...and I've never checked the gap on that...
You're dismayed that the air gap change fixed it? Why would that disappoint you?

My RM pings a bit...and I've never checked the gap on that plug (it's only been in there two years...gimme a break). Maybe I should!
Deetsmx wrote:
I wasn't disappointed, just surprised. And I'm taking about the pulsar gap on the flywheel and the sensor above it, not the spark plug gap. I...
I wasn't disappointed, just surprised. And I'm taking about the pulsar gap on the flywheel and the sensor above it, not the spark plug gap. I was surprised because I'd tried a bunch of things with no success and was about to send the motor off to lower the compression.
Hmm. That's a bit weird. Can't really wrap my head around this one. Wondering how the hell the small gap would cause knock/ping. I guess I could understand if it was causing early firing of the plug. But, I'd think a wider gap would do this.
Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 5/18/2009 2:43pm
5/18/2009 2:43pm
Maybe with the wider gap it takes a bit longer to sense it, thus delaying the firing of the plug. I don't know how it works, I just know it does. It was knocking bad before and was apparently a common occurrence on that bike. Glad I read up on it on dirt rider and thumpertalk.
jtomasik
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jtomasik 5/18/2009 3:00pm
5/18/2009 3:00pm Edited Date/Time 5/18/2009 3:00pm
I think it might be field collapse, not just when the reluctor feature enters the magnetic field. So, closer would collapse the field earlier, I think. I wonder if RM's have the same problem. I have an '04 that has some pre-ignition ping to it.
kaw rider9
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kaw rider9 5/18/2009 5:42pm
5/18/2009 5:42pm
Did you have to drill out the bracket that holds on the pulser?
Deetsmx
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Deetsmx 5/20/2009 1:19pm
5/20/2009 1:19pm
kaw rider9 wrote:
Did you have to drill out the bracket that holds on the pulser?
nope, just loosened up the bolt, put in a feeler gauge and set it.
Sonny
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Sonny 5/21/2009 8:05pm
5/21/2009 8:05pm Edited Date/Time 5/21/2009 8:05pm
I'm not 100% sure about how the spacer in lowering works.

LUMPY where are you???

Deets, lumpy may know, I've met him on other boards, the dude knows a thing or 2 about a thing or 2.

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