- Ce sujet contient 6 réponses, 5 participants et a été mis à jour pour la dernière fois par
, le il y a 8 années et 3 mois.
250 kxf 2005
-
In the early 2000’s Kawasaki and Suzuki made a decision to commit to a strategic alliance. The two manufacturers would pool their resources to develop some joint models to help them better compete with perennial powers Honda and Yamaha. Along with the new models to be developed they would allow some of each other’s models to be sold by the other with the addition of new plastic and graphics. The first product from this alliance was the hotly anticipated 2004 RMZ/KXF 250 four-strokes. So how did the child of this interesting marriage turn out? Well enough to take the coveted final spot on our countdown of motocross meltdowns.
2004 was a good year for four-stroke aficionados (contrary to what the two-stroke Taliban would have you believe, they do exist). After having three years all to itself, the revolutionary YZ250F finally had some competition in 2004. Along with the new 250F’s from Kawasaki and Suzuki, Honda also threw its hat into the ring with their all-new CRF250R. The 2004 battle for 250 four-stroke supremacy looked to be a good one.
One look at the new KXF and RMZ made it very apparent the two bikes were virtually identical. The only real differences between the two were the color and shape of the radiator shrouds. Other than that they were the same bike. The Kawa-zuki 250F ended up being a funky combination of Suzuki and Kawasaki technology that in the end satisfied neither party.
Pick your poison.
The development of the bike ended up being a joint venture with each company having a hand in its final design. The motor was designed by Suzuki but actually built by Kawasaki. The chassis and the rest of the bike were 100% Kawasaki in design and execution. That meant the bike handled nothing like a traditional Suzuki. If you bought the all new RMZ thinking it was going to turn like your RM you were in for a rude awakening. The RMZ/KXF handled much closer to a KX than a RM which that meant it was stable at speed but less willing to grab the inside line. This was not necessarily a bad thing but it was definitely not what you expected in a bike with a big S on the shroud.
The suspension on the twins was passible but not perfect. The Suz-asaki had an overly soft fork coupled with a stiff rear shock. That gave the bike a jacked up rear end stance and made the it feel unbalanced. You could slide the forks down in the clamps to try and even it out but it would still stinkbug around the track. The best fix was to swap the bottom link for a Pro Circuit one. That would even the bike out and give the shock a smoother action. Overall the chassis was pretty decent on the little thumper, its real problems laid elsewhere.
Like virtually every bike on this list the wonder twins real issues were in the engine bay. The Suzuki designed motor was very different in character than the offerings from Honda and Yamaha. Where those motors were all about revving to the moon, the Kawa-zuki’s were little torquers. They preferred to be lugged rather than revved and ran much more like a small 450 than a big 125. This was not necessarily a bad thing as the motor did produce decent power in its own way. Novices and vets liked it, but pros found it wanting. Much like our number nine Cannondale, the thumper twins had serious trouble staying in one piece.
For starters the bikes ran terribly hot. They would start boiling coolant after only a few minutes if ridden slowly. Woe be to you if you forgot to check your coolant after every ride. Then there was the little issue of oil changes. Unlike the Yamaha, the little Suz-asaki’s did without an external oil tank, limiting their oil capacity. Because they carried much less oil in the motor than the YZF, oil consumption became a major concern. This presented a real problem as the little four bangers loved to drink the stuff. If you forgot to check your oil before every ride you might be in for a very expensive surprise.
In another brilliant move, Suzuki pulled perhaps the stupidest bit of cost cutting ever by making the oil filter cover one piece with the water pump. This meant if you wanted to change the oil you had to drain the coolant first (Maybe they figured it would burn so much oil you could just keep adding fresh? Hey, it worked on my 78 Pinto). In a bike where oil life is CRITICAL, making the task a complete pain in the neck was not smart. Some of the bikes many engine failures might be attributed to four-stroke newbies just letting the oil change interval go too far. Pro Circuit made even more money by selling water pump covers to fix this glaring problem (I sense a pattern here).
Along with the overheating and oil consumption issues, there were problems with the cam buckets, valves and valve seats (once again Pro Circuit to the rescue). If none of those things failed then you still had a good chance of the trans letting go. Race teams like Pro Circuit spent astronomical sums of money trying to work out the many issues these bikes had. Unfortunately as they squeezed more and more power out of the bikes the reliability continued to suffer, leading to several well publicized DNF’s during the 04-05 seasons.
Pro Circuit spent a ton trying to make these bikes faster and more reliable. One out of two ain’t bad.
As problems mounted and fingers pointed, Suzuki and Kawasaki began to sour on their new friendship. Kawasaki was not happy with the terrible reliability of the Suzuki designed motor and Suzuki was not happy with the poor handling Kawasaki chassis. In the end they decided to get a divorce and take their 250F development in separate directions. In 06 Kawasaki came out with an all-new 250F and it was light years better than the bike it replaced. Suzuki would have to solider on with the old design for another year (much to their support team’s chagrin) before finally producing a 100% Suzuki 250F in 2007. The Kawa-zuki alliance ended up going down as a failure and the bike it produced will always be remembered as the bastard child of that failed marriage.
Lol.
- Vous devez être connecté pour répondre à ce sujet.
