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KLX230 /S /SE / SM Thread
- Thread starter Bill_M
- Start date
Bill_M
Well-known member
25 lbs lighter, narrower, shorter wheelbase (turns tighter), and lower seat height (2-4 inches depending on which model of the 230). The 230 will be better on tight trails, the 300 will be better on open gravel roads.
For frame of reference, my wife has owned a honda 230, a KLX250S with the 351 big bore kit, the WR250R, and now the KLX230S.
For frame of reference, my wife has owned a honda 230, a KLX250S with the 351 big bore kit, the WR250R, and now the KLX230S.
Bill_M
Well-known member
So the Acerbis X-Factory handguards will fit, but they take need to be bent in slightly on the throttle side to get everything to line up correctly. This is with the stock bars and the BikeMaster heated grips.
The cross bar on the stock handlebars make it a pretty tight fit. I ended up with the throttle side just outside the cross bar, and the clutch side just inside them, both as tight up against the cross bar as I could get them.
The fit would be a lot easier with aftermarket bars that don't have cross bars.
The cross bar on the stock handlebars make it a pretty tight fit. I ended up with the throttle side just outside the cross bar, and the clutch side just inside them, both as tight up against the cross bar as I could get them.
The fit would be a lot easier with aftermarket bars that don't have cross bars.
Bill_M
Well-known member
Here is a pic showing the tail of the KLX after removing the reflector bracket (which was quite large), flipping the license plate bracket upside down and mounting the license plate by the bottom holes rather than the top, and trimming off about 6" of plastic fender.
Probably removed a pound or two of weight, and it looks a little better. It could probably lose another couple of pounds by doing a tail tidy kit, but for now this will do...
Probably removed a pound or two of weight, and it looks a little better. It could probably lose another couple of pounds by doing a tail tidy kit, but for now this will do...
Bill_M
Well-known member
The 2023 Sumo version of this bike is starting to hit dealerships. I noticed 3 dealerships in western WA advertising them as in stock. So far nobody is showing the standard version in stock yet. There are a few leftover 2022 models out there though.
The weather here hasn't cooperated with me getting any seat time on my wife's bike, so I'm still undecided on whether or not I want to downsize yet...
The weather here hasn't cooperated with me getting any seat time on my wife's bike, so I'm still undecided on whether or not I want to downsize yet...
motocopter
Well-known member
Gonna add "SM" to the thread title?
Done
Bill_M
Well-known member
Well... I put down a deposit on a Battleship Gray 2023 KLX230S yesterday. It is in transit to the dealership, should be there in a few days to a week. I liked the one we picked up a couple of months ago for my wife so much that I decided to go down the same path.
Coming from a WR250R, the KLX has a good bit less power at the top end, but it really tractors well at the low end, and is a great trail bike for an old, short, slow rider (that's me!) who doesn't really care about going super fast. I really like how low it carries its weight. While on paper it is only a few pounds lighter than the WR, it feels MUCH lighter.
Listed the WR for sale on that other ADV site in the PNW regional section last night, and found a buyer this morning. Sale to be completed on Tuesday if all goes well. Sad to see the trusty WR go, but really excited about the new bike.
Mine will be the non-ABS version, my wife's has ABS.
Coming from a WR250R, the KLX has a good bit less power at the top end, but it really tractors well at the low end, and is a great trail bike for an old, short, slow rider (that's me!) who doesn't really care about going super fast. I really like how low it carries its weight. While on paper it is only a few pounds lighter than the WR, it feels MUCH lighter.
Listed the WR for sale on that other ADV site in the PNW regional section last night, and found a buyer this morning. Sale to be completed on Tuesday if all goes well. Sad to see the trusty WR go, but really excited about the new bike.
Mine will be the non-ABS version, my wife's has ABS.
Bill_M
Well-known member
Got the new bike today! Might be the first Battleship Gray one in the wild!
doughughes02144
New member
Any real-world back-to-back comparisons with an XT225? Similar on paper, you gain FI and rear disk but give up the ability to add a Clarke 4 gal tank (and for some, kick start). Seat height is a little higher and ground clearance a little less. I don’t expect to give up my XT anytime soon but this would seem like a reasonable replacement in a pinch.
Bill_M
Well-known member
Over on that other ADV forum, there are several KLX230 threads, and people have posted up comparisons with the XT250, but I haven't seen a direct comparison with the XT225. General consensus comparing to the XT250 is that the KLX has a better ride while the XT has better range. XT has more aftermarket options, but the KLX is gaining on it fairly quickly. And the differences are small enough, that it really comes down to personal preference and availability.
nj-brett
Well-known member
I think the KLX230 is a larger bike.
The 230 is new and fuel injected, the 225 is old and has a carb.
The 230 is new and fuel injected, the 225 is old and has a carb.
Bill_M
Well-known member
Prices are up now...
Looks like it would cost about $1200 to buy the headlight, bracket and shroud. That's insane...
This pic doesn't show the shroud, that is another $50. Looks like while it is possible, it is not economically feasible.
Bill_M
Well-known member
On the new headlight design, having both sitting in the garage side-by-side, the difference is pretty subtle. Especially in the colors that have a black shroud rather than the white one. Somehow the white color emphasizes the size.
My wife and I both have black shrouds, so the difference is not that obvious other than the actual shape of the headlight itself. Yeah, put a tape measure on it, and the 2022 is about an inch narrower and inch shorter, but it really isn't that noticeable. Certainly not anything I'd spend that much money to switch out...
My wife and I both have black shrouds, so the difference is not that obvious other than the actual shape of the headlight itself. Yeah, put a tape measure on it, and the 2022 is about an inch narrower and inch shorter, but it really isn't that noticeable. Certainly not anything I'd spend that much money to switch out...
Bill_M
Well-known member
^ Especially when I can get a plug-and-play LED H4 bulb from Cyclops for about $80...
Bill_M
Well-known member
Posted this on that other ADV site, adding it here...
So I got bored on this rainy winter evening, and started comparing specs of the 2023 KLX230R and KLX230S (CA model on both, non-ABS on the S since that is what I have). I was wondering what the real weight difference is, and where it might be coming from.
So I started putting down some numbers. Curb weights are straight off the Kawasaki website for both bikes.
KLX230R - 262.3 lbs
KLX230S - 297.7 lbs
That is a difference of 35.4 lbs. At first glance that seems like a lot, but then I started comparing pics of the two and adding up guestimates of the weight of all the things that the R model does not have:
I'm planning to do a tail tidy on mine, and the passenger pegs and muffler shield can go away since I never carry a passenger or saddlebags. Reflectors can go away because I don't ride pavement after dark ever. Also a lithium battery (an easy 4 lb weight loss). So I can probably shave 15-20 lbs, but at least half of that will go back on as I add handguards, heated grips, GPS, luggage rack and skid plate. I'll be really happy if I can have it fully equipped the way I want it, ready to ride, and still under that 300 lb mark even with a tailbag carrying a spare tube, some spoons and tools onboard.
And the above doesn't include the seat strap and bolts and the frame mounts for it - that might add up to a few more ounces...
BTW, I do not plan to go to the extreme of grinding off the mounts for the things I'm removing... my youngest son did that on his WR250X and ended up regretting it.
And I will be leaving the engine, intake and exhaust totally stock, and will not be messing with any of the emissions stuff... I'm getting old, I don't need the extra noise any more.
So I got bored on this rainy winter evening, and started comparing specs of the 2023 KLX230R and KLX230S (CA model on both, non-ABS on the S since that is what I have). I was wondering what the real weight difference is, and where it might be coming from.
So I started putting down some numbers. Curb weights are straight off the Kawasaki website for both bikes.
KLX230R - 262.3 lbs
KLX230S - 297.7 lbs
That is a difference of 35.4 lbs. At first glance that seems like a lot, but then I started comparing pics of the two and adding up guestimates of the weight of all the things that the R model does not have:
- Whale tail rear fender, turn signals, tail light, license plate bracket, reflectors and subframe bracket - 10 lbs
- Passenger pegs - 6 lbs (they are really hefty, the two of them with their mounting brackets might be even heavier than this)
- Front Headlight and bracket - 5 lbs
- Front turn signals and reflectors and the brackets and frame mounts for them - 2 lb
- Muffler heat shield and chain guard and the frame mounts for them - 3 lbs
- Plastic smaller gas tank, w/non-locking plastic cap - 5 lbs (including less fuel weight)
- Wiring harness, fuses and relays for all of those lights - 2 lbs
- Factory toolkit (R model does not have one) - 1 lb
I'm planning to do a tail tidy on mine, and the passenger pegs and muffler shield can go away since I never carry a passenger or saddlebags. Reflectors can go away because I don't ride pavement after dark ever. Also a lithium battery (an easy 4 lb weight loss). So I can probably shave 15-20 lbs, but at least half of that will go back on as I add handguards, heated grips, GPS, luggage rack and skid plate. I'll be really happy if I can have it fully equipped the way I want it, ready to ride, and still under that 300 lb mark even with a tailbag carrying a spare tube, some spoons and tools onboard.
And the above doesn't include the seat strap and bolts and the frame mounts for it - that might add up to a few more ounces...
BTW, I do not plan to go to the extreme of grinding off the mounts for the things I'm removing... my youngest son did that on his WR250X and ended up regretting it.
And I will be leaving the engine, intake and exhaust totally stock, and will not be messing with any of the emissions stuff... I'm getting old, I don't need the extra noise any more.
Mosefitch
Member
It's the side view where the biggest difference is.On the new headlight design, having both sitting in the garage side-by-side, the difference is pretty subtle. Especially in the colors that have a black shroud rather than the white one. Somehow the white color emphasizes the size.
My wife and I both have black shrouds, so the difference is not that obvious other than the actual shape of the headlight itself. Yeah, put a tape measure on it, and the 2022 is about an inch narrower and inch shorter, but it really isn't that noticeable. Certainly not anything I'd spend that much money to switch out...
Bill_M
Well-known member
I did this today to establish a baseline for my bike... used a 2x6 which was really close to the same height as the bathroom scale, and weighed the front and rear tire weights.
Total came out to 299.0 lbs, which is exactly 1.3 lbs heavier than the Kawasaki specification, likely due to calibration error in the scale (I'm guessing your typical bathroom scale isn't going to be any better than 99.5% accurate, which would mean +/- 1.5 lbs at 300 lbs).
It is close enough to get a pretty accurate feel for the weight changes from upcoming modifications.
I re-did it a few times just to make sure I had the bike balanced properly, and got within 0.1 lbs each time, so I'm pretty confident in repeatability of the measurement.
Total came out to 299.0 lbs, which is exactly 1.3 lbs heavier than the Kawasaki specification, likely due to calibration error in the scale (I'm guessing your typical bathroom scale isn't going to be any better than 99.5% accurate, which would mean +/- 1.5 lbs at 300 lbs).
It is close enough to get a pretty accurate feel for the weight changes from upcoming modifications.
I re-did it a few times just to make sure I had the bike balanced properly, and got within 0.1 lbs each time, so I'm pretty confident in repeatability of the measurement.
Bill_M
Well-known member
Today I installed the KLXParts.com Manual Idle Adjustment Screw. It was a pretty easy installation... remove two bolts, pop out the old idle adjuster, pop in the new one, put the two bolts back in. But getting to it required removal of the side plastics, seat, and unbolting the fuel tank and moving it to one side. All of that was more time consuming than the actual install.
Really the hardest part of the whole job was figuring out what to do with the old adjuster. If you unplug it, the bike throws codes and starts stumbling when you rev the throttle. So you have to leave it plugged in. The problem with that is that it is a tiny stepper motor, with about a 1" long shaft coming out of it, that spins forward and backwards pretty much constantly as the throttle position changes. So what I ended up doing was cutting a piece of rubber tubing to enclose that shaft long enough to let it spin freely without contacting anything, and then taping the whole thing up with bright yellow electrical tape and zip tying it out of the way.
Did it on both mine and my wife's bikes. Works great, no more weird RPM surges...
Here is the manual adjuster - really easy to reach for on-the-fly adjustment, no tools required:
And here is the old adjuster tucked up out of the way:
In that second pic, you can also get a peak at the KLXParts.com brake reservoir bracket. Another very simple install, that gets those passenger footpegs out of the way and takes a few pounds of weight off the bike.
Really the hardest part of the whole job was figuring out what to do with the old adjuster. If you unplug it, the bike throws codes and starts stumbling when you rev the throttle. So you have to leave it plugged in. The problem with that is that it is a tiny stepper motor, with about a 1" long shaft coming out of it, that spins forward and backwards pretty much constantly as the throttle position changes. So what I ended up doing was cutting a piece of rubber tubing to enclose that shaft long enough to let it spin freely without contacting anything, and then taping the whole thing up with bright yellow electrical tape and zip tying it out of the way.
Did it on both mine and my wife's bikes. Works great, no more weird RPM surges...
Here is the manual adjuster - really easy to reach for on-the-fly adjustment, no tools required:
And here is the old adjuster tucked up out of the way:
In that second pic, you can also get a peak at the KLXParts.com brake reservoir bracket. Another very simple install, that gets those passenger footpegs out of the way and takes a few pounds of weight off the bike.
Bill_M
Well-known member
For reference, here is a pic of the manual and automatic idle adjusters side-by-side (pic taken from the KLX Parts website):
That black plunger on the shaft of the OEM adjuster will just thread off. You need to remove it, otherwise as the shaft turns, it will try to move closer and farther away from the motor as the motor spins back and forth.
I removed the red o-ring, the black seal, and the plunger. Properly taped up, there is no reason to keep them on there.
That black plunger on the shaft of the OEM adjuster will just thread off. You need to remove it, otherwise as the shaft turns, it will try to move closer and farther away from the motor as the motor spins back and forth.
I removed the red o-ring, the black seal, and the plunger. Properly taped up, there is no reason to keep them on there.