EP#71 - 2026 Kawasaki KX250 Test!

We grabbed a 2026 Kawasaki KX250 and stuck our Enduro Editor Geoff Braico on one to see if he could turn one of the best handling motocross bikes into an agile, easy-to-ride bush race bike. Here's how he's tracking after a few months with the bike. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the ADB Podcast, where we talk all things dirt with your host Mitch Lee. Okay, we are here today to test the 2026 Kawasaki KX250. Now we're gonna hang on to this bike as a long-term test bike, and Jeff Braco, our Enduro Editor, is gonna run it. Now you might be wondering why an Enduro editor is running a motocross bike. That's because we want to see how it goes as a bush bike. Now we know that Kawasaki make this in a cross-country version, they're just very hard to get. We could get a KX250, we couldn't get the KX250X, which is the cross-country. So Braco is gonna hang on to the KX250, he's gonna do everything from draft track to motocross and a lot of Enduro stuff on it. Uh, because we think this bike would make for an excellent Enduro bike because we know how good it already is on a motocross track. Braiko, give us a rough plan over the next six to twelve months with this bike and the kind of racing that you're gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Uh yeah, well, first of all, I actually kind of want to dabble in a bit more motocross as well, so that's kind of a cool thing. But um I'm at that point in my life now where I'm not quite trial riding yet, but I still dabble in the in the off-road events. Yeah. So um a couple of club days, we've got one coming up in uh in about a week or so that I know is a really good. Uh it's actually like a hybrid thing, so you ride the motocross track and the bush. So it's kind of a best of both worlds. And yeah, like it's different being uh in the vet class now and riding a 250f again. But I mean we've we've done so much over the years now with you know KDM Yamaha. I haven't really done a lot of time on a different Japanese 250F, though it's yeah, I'm looking forward to actually getting to know this bike. And uh yeah, as you can see, we've already made it look my own, like my own, which is cool. And um yeah, it's in the yeah, it's I'm looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Cool. Alright, well we're gonna go now and do our test on it. We're actually gonna hit some single tracker bush loops um that we've got to do the test on the 2026 cowby because a lot of that is what we're gonna be riding on this bike for the next 12 months. Uh we're gonna do that now. I'm gonna come back to you with what Braco thought of this bike in the single track and yeah, flying through the bush in a kind of a race scenario. Okay, Braco, we're done now, day testing the KX250. You've actually had this run now for a couple of months, this 2026 model. Um tell us. First up, does a KX250 motocross bike work in the look?

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Surprisingly, yes. Yeah. Um I've haven't touched the suspension yet, but I've actually just softened it right up and then maybe gone in a couple of clicks, and I'm uh I'm really impressed with the the way of the the shower reacts to just clicker changes and rebound changes and stuff like that, because it's actually compared to other brands, especially like WP and that sort of stuff, I've noticed that the when you take or play with the compression, you actually really really generally notice it. So for Bush riding, it's been really good. And stock treatment was way too firm for the bush. Soften it up, it's been really good, and with age it's gotten better and better. Okay, um, but yeah, man, like this thing is a a super lot of fun. Like it is a really nice bike, it's really, really nimble and light, especially it's quite pretty thin. Um, and overall, it's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

I was gonna say it looks very playful out there. We've been testing a lot of bikes over the last couple of months, and big bikes, small bikes, this looks like you're having a lot of fun out there. It's fun to jump off tree routes and into next corners and because it's a motocross bike, does it allow you to be a bit more aggressive uh with the way you ride because it's designed to go faster?

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Um yes and no, because from what I've read in the past about this particular model and and motor is that they're actually a super mellow um bottom end. Um I've heard people complain that they're really soft off the bottom and then they try and modify this so they get more punch out of the bottom, and actually for an off-road machine, that's kind of good. Yeah. Um and another thing I've noticed, even just in really slow stuff, it rarely ever flames out. Um and uh just the way the motor sort of um reacts, I guess, at a low rev is actually very comfortable. So it's it's been a nice pleasant surprise, actually. Right. I thought it was gonna be, you know, ripping out of my hand, that kind of stuff, but it's actually quite one of those bikes that got really good power, but you feel like you're in control, which is nice.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

So uh nine inch rear. Has it had any effect in the bush?

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Not really, they're just a giant pain in the ass to change. Yep. We off-road guys change tires a bit more, but I mean, in an ideal way, I'd love to put an 18-inch on there just because you have a bit more variety, but probably just brought out that new um MX32 rear tire that's an animal tyre. So set of uh bars on there, a set of handguards, a set of tires. I'd put a heavier duty chain on there because the motocross chains don't last. So we've got a um I think it's an XU chain, or something XW chain. Different chain guide, um not a metal one because obviously in the bush you might hit things, so yeah, just the poly sports chain guide and um played around with the gearing a little bit. I've got a 50 on there at the moment. Okay. I think they come with a 49. I'm not sure, I've made it a little bit taller.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

And uh other than that, she's stuck as a rock, so.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

It's taller gearing then, so the gearbox, not across gearbox, but with taller gearing, it allows you to carry what gear in the bush, and does that gearbox work in the bush?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Uh yeah, I again like I'm surprised with the way that the gearbox works for the bush. Um, you know, there's a lot of second and third, chopping and changing. Um I haven't put the clutch to a really good test yet. I've witnessed Japanese wipes in the past clutches not go as long. Um but again that could be an off-road thing, I don't know. I'm not super hard on the gear. Um but yeah, I mean as far as changes go, I th I think I would like to maybe get a different muff. Things just it's huge and I've been in my way a bit, but more just like I've seen them get damaged because they've got such a big you know, big um profile. It's a bit you know, it gets a bit dangerous in the bush, but honestly, like it's been a really impressive machine for it's I mean it's succeeded my expectations.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Yeah, you can see why Kyron Bacon, I know he's on a 300 cow, but I would like the Raby. Oh, so would I. You can see why though, he's so fast in the bush. Is that the s the chassis, the geometry of this bike, it actually works really well in the bush. Like you said, the motor isn't intimidating and crazy, it's not gonna rip your arms out like you'd expect a motocross up in the bush. Um, but you know, you have done some motocross on this, you've done motocross days, um, you spun a million lats around a motocross track already in the last month or so since you've had it. As a motocross bike, what what did you like, what did you like about it?

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Again, it's just planted and it's very predictable. Um I hadn't had a chance to do the shootouts here and whatever, but I mean um the very little engine braking. I've ridden the YZ50F recently and it had a lot of engine braking. Um I didn't like that because it sort of come in and put that lower rev so you have a lot of engine braking, it sort of sucks you in. One of the big things I actually haven't mentioned yet is we did the Unifilter um modification to the air filter, and it's a whole different air filter cage, air filters more um surface area, and that made the bike come to life as well because it's it's quite restricted in stock tuning. So I believe I could drill out a few holes. I haven't done haven't really dove into that yet just because I need someone who's a Kawasaki enthusiast, and there isn't a huge amount around here to do that, you know what I mean? So um yeah, it's it's been really, really good. I'd just for an all-round machine, it's it's super comfortable just across the board. Like I would just say it's just a really, really nice, comfortable machine, whatever I've thrown at it, whether it's car riding, tight bush, open bush, bit of motocross, bit of gas track. It's I haven't really found a surface yet or a situation yet where I'm like, I don't really want to ride this thing, and it makes me want to ride, and it's been really enjoyable to ride across all disciplines of riding so far.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

So yeah, sounds very versatile. That's the pretty cool thing about this bike, I guess. The motocross in Jiro, trail riding, you know, and it and that kind of is proven with Karen and the Aussie guy over in Europe racing the off-roads and what he's been able to do on the Kawasaki, this with a bigger kit in it. Uh, it is incredibly versatile. And we've actually always said that kind of at our 250 motocross shootouts, it's felt like the best bike. If you were gonna go into the bush with any of those 250 motocross bikes, this is probably one of the best, maybe this one in the Honda. Uh so it's kind of cool to hear. Braco's gonna hold onto this for nearly 12 months, uh, and he's gonna keep racing it. He's gonna take it out to motocross, take it out to his enduro, and we're gonna kind of keep updating you guys on the changes he makes, uh, whether he plays around with that airbox, some suspension changes to, uh, and let you know what he does to make it better in the bush, but also work just as good on the motocross track.