Kawasaki KR250
Scott Maxwell
Howdy Folks
Does anybody have any info on the Kawasaki KR250, What about the engine?
Tandem
twin, does this have any reliability problems (yes I know its a 2
stroke).
Would the body work off a KR1S or similiar fit without bulk loads of
hastles.
Any opinions on how this compares to a RD350LC
Thanks for any help
Scott
Andrei Wittich
Scott Maxwell wrote in message <34D931...@tafensw.edu.aus>...
Go with the RD350LC. The KR250 has a wierd engine config that never realy
took of. I think it's very similar to the RG500, I don't know if the KR uses
disc valve induction like the RG500.
The RD350LC is a legendary bike. You might also be interested in a TZR250, a
lot can be done to this to make them very trick, all depends on how
imaginative you are and how much money you want to spend.
I have a TZR250 with an RGVM swingarm, TZW front fairing, TZE ducktail,
FZR400SP headlight, trick little carbon indicators, and a very trick engine
with Rick Roberts pipes.
Anyhow..
Andrei..
Arran Pearson
Scott Maxwell wrote in message <34D931...@tafensw.edu.aus>...
>Howdy Folks
>
>Does anybody have any info on the Kawasaki KR250, What about the engine?
>Tandem
>twin, does this have any reliability problems (yes I know its a 2
>stroke).
>Would the body work off a KR1S or similiar fit without bulk loads of
>hastles.
>
>Any opinions on how this compares to a RD350LC
Don't know about the comparison but I learnt to ride on a KR250 and have
nothing but good words for it! The one I bought had 40 000 on the clock
when I got it and over 65 000 when I sold it and was mechanically reliable
(in fact when I think about how the poor thing was abused by my then
clueless self I am even more amazed!)
Lots of fun, light fast and comfortable enough for long trips (melb and back
over a weekend)
Conrad Drake
Andrei Wittich wrote:
> Scott Maxwell wrote in message <34D931...@tafensw.edu.aus>...
> >Howdy Folks
> >
> >Does anybody have any info on the Kawasaki KR250, What about the
> >engine?Tandem
> >twin, does this have any reliability problems (yes I know its a 2
> >stroke).
Expensive & hard to rebuild (in, umm, 92 a whole new motor/gbox was
cheaper than a rebuild YMMV) Needs doing around 45Kkm, 50K km according
to the local Kawa shop - failures were apparantly _spectacular_
> >Would the body work off a KR1S or similiar fit without bulk loads of
> >hastles.
NO!
> >Any opinions on how this compares to a RD350LC
> >
> >Thanks for any help
> >Scott
>
> Go with the RD350LC.
Ditto. Much easier to maintain, parts are available, the chassis
lasts much longer & the whole thing is less stressed. Lots more info
available on the Yamahas - the same basic donk was used for years &
years. And the 350 is seriously undervalued w.r.t. 250s
> The KR250 has a wierd engine config that never really
> took of. I think it's very similar to the RG500, I don't know if the >KR uses disc valve induction like the RG500.
It does - of sorts. A combined disk/reed arrangement. Lots of little,
whirring gears under that side cover.
The KR would outrun _any_ stock Yamaha 250LC (including the TZR)
and used to keep the RGs honest. Didn't idle under 2500, wouldn't pull
under 5000, stalled if driven under 25kph. Needed 6000 rpm to stop the
battery going flat when the lights were on. Fouled plugs if not
regularly run WFO & sounded aweful_and_ LOUD at all rpm. Handling was
good at the time but very second rate by today's standards & not really
upgradable (wierd rear shock & frame)
Really a unique moment in time between aircooled piston ported wobblers
& USD forked, spar framed & radial shod pocket rockets of the last 10
years: To get off my '85 KR onto m'mates '89 TZR felt like more like 10
years than 5.
I loved my KR, especially that motor, but could not really recommend one
_now_ as a daily ride.
> The RD350LC is a legendary bike. You might also be interested in a
> TZR250, a
> lot can be done to this to make them very trick, all depends on how
> imaginative you are and how much money you want to spend.
The RD/RZ350 can be tricked in a similar way - indeed the RZ350 motor
could be put into a TZR frame. The RZ/TZR motors are _much_ more
tractable than the RD, which is much better than the KR.
Conrad D
Gillian Evans
Scott Maxwell wrote:
>Does anybody have any info on the Kawasaki KR250, What about
the engine?
>Tandem
>twin, does this have any reliability problems (yes I know
its a 2
>stroke).
>Would the body work off a KR1S or similiar fit without bulk
loads of
>hastles.
>
>Any opinions on how this compares to a RD350LC
My last bike (the BatBike) was a KR. When it died horribly, I
test rode (among other things) an RD350LC. No comparison! My
honest response when returning the RD to the dealer was "what
a heapa shit!" Now, it might have been that it was a
particularly old-and-tired RD; the fact that its brakes
didn't work didn't improve my first impression; but overall,
I found it a rather dated ride - it was rattly, heavy and
underpowered compared with the KR. Not comfy or
confidence-inspiring at all.
I bought the KR coz I fell in love-at-first-ride -
beeoootiful bike! Light, flickable, and omygawd accelleration
when you hit the powerband (about 7000rpm). Wonderful bike -
loved it to bits. Unfortunately, it blew up.
Yup. I took it on the annual toyrun, and it seized on the
freeway. Totally irreparable. Sold it to a wrecker for $190.
Gorgeous bikes, but fragile. And next-to-impossible to get
bits for, since most of the others have blown up too. When I
mentioned what had happened to people I was trying to get
parts from, the general response was "seized? Yeah, they tend
to do that."
So, if you want a passionate-but-shortlived affair, get a KR.
If you do so, I'd get it checked over thoroughly - the
bottom-end particularly, as that's what caused the problems
on mine (conrod spontaneously disintegrated).
Lovely bike, don't regret getting it at all, but I was
heartbroken when it died.
Hope this helps...
Gill & Grace (XJ600)
Graham Rath
On Thu, 05 Feb 1998 14:25:36 +1100, Scott Maxwell
<scott....@tafensw.edu.aus> wrote:
>Howdy Folks
>
>Does anybody have any info on the Kawasaki KR250, What about the engine?
My mate had heaps of hassle, check for excess smoke
>Tandem
>twin, does this have any reliability problems (yes I know its a 2
>stroke).
>Would the body work off a KR1S or similiar fit without bulk loads of
>hastles.?
not sure
>
>Any opinions on how this compares to a RD350LC
Buy this bike , much better
Ian Hagan
My last bike was a KR-1 (standard). I have now gone for an RGV. I had no
mechanical problems and it was reliable. I have ridden the RGV and KR-1
from Sydney to Queensland and found,
- The RGV far better in the wind (It seams to cut through the wind better).
I had a ZZR250 some time ago and that bike whilst slow was a sail. The KR-1
will get blown around a bit but it was nothing to the ZZR.
- The RGV is smother and far, far, far more stable at high speeds. The KR
is feels quite unstable at high speeds, it holds the road fine, but it like
an old car (&^%&) you know your moving.
- The fuel usage is about the same 130-170Kms depending on how hard you
ride.
- The power band on the KR is fairly even and less noticable then the RGV.
The RGV you can sit back and enjoy then hold on when you hit 9000.
- I found that if you run so called "racing" plugs in the KR (and perhaps
other bikes) they are real easy to flood. Any more then 3-4mm on the
throttle when you kick it and you've flooded it.
- I find the RGV more comfortable (I'm ~6ft) but I think that's got more to
do with the stability of the bike.
- The power value rods break over time. This doesn't cause any problem
other then they cost $35 a piece. There are windows on the fairing that
your remove to replace them (like they know they would need replacing!).
I did hear in my travels that the gearbox can be a problem. When it goes it
goes.
Personally, I would prefer the RGV (even though it's not green). I haven't
ridden a 350 or 500 two stroke so I can't comment.
Go the two stroke.
Ian Hagan
ih...@jna.com.au
Graham Rath <gsrath[no_spam]@interact.net.au> wrote in article
<34d9876c...@news.interact.net.au>...
Kath Knight
Gillian Evans wrote:
> My last bike (the BatBike) was a KR. When it died horribly, I
> test rode (among other things) an RD350LC. No comparison! My
> honest response when returning the RD to the dealer was "what
> a heapa shit!"
Dear Gillian,
You have made me very angry, deeply insulting my motorcycle like that.
Obviously if you are ever in Sydney I will have to let you ride a real
one and see if we can change your mind.
> Now, it might have been that it was a particularly old-and-tired RD;
> the fact that its brakes didn't work didn't improve my first >
impression; but overall, I found it a rather dated ride - it was
> rattly, heavy and underpowered compared with the KR. Not comfy or
> confidence-inspiring at all.
Underpowered compared to a KR???
Must have been really stuffed!
When put together properly they are great little engines. Can't remember
quite what it was Mark Hall said when he got off his 92? FZR600 onto the
LC but it wasn't unfavourable and he did learn to power wheelie.
Definately heard him say the the LC had heaps more BOTTOM end and
MIDRANGE - how's that for a 2-stroke? Cameron hates it though. Too much
handlebar vibration. Almost as much as his Kawasaki 4 cylinder 4 stroke
things.
Also Kawasaki did apparently have some quality control problems with the
original KR's. Having a tandem twin that shared a head casing and has
barrels that were sometime's so out of spec that there was up to a
millimeter difference between barrel heights is NOT a good thing.
Kath
who loves her LC, even if it is noisy and smelly.
At least it's not yellow anymore.
Andrei Wittich
Well at least we all agree on one thing here.
TWO STROKES RULE!!!!!
Andrei.. :+)
Scott Maxwell
Hi All
I'm the original poster asking for info on the KR250. I am actually the
proud owner of an RD350LC, and to put it mildly, it hammers..I'm not
sure
that I will sell this bike even when the time comes to upgrade.
Anyway contrary to some advice to steer clear of the KR I decided to
take a
risk as I'm not totally clueless to things mechanical :-) It was a
bargain
as the previous owner gave up after it refused to run on more than 1
cylinder,
After it arrived at my house, and I had checked the obvious, the exhaust
came
off and it was discovered that it was clogged solid, no wonder it
wouldn't run..
It lived on a farm and while the pipes were off a mouse made a home, and
bought
with it lots of cardboard and grass etc. Runs much better now...
Anyone else had strange fixes for problems.
See ya later
Scott
Cameron Simpson
Kath Knight <ka...@zip.com.au> writes:
| When put together properly they are great little engines. Can't remember
| quite what it was Mark Hall said when he got off his 92? FZR600 onto the
| LC but it wasn't unfavourable and he did learn to power wheelie.
| Definately heard him say the the LC had heaps more BOTTOM end and
| MIDRANGE - how's that for a 2-stroke? Cameron hates it though. Too much
| handlebar vibration. Almost as much as his Kawasaki 4 cylinder 4 stroke
| things.
Feh. I don't mind the vibration so much as the HEAVY STIFF throttle,
doubtless a consequence of the bizarre fanout at the base of the throttle
cable. On the other hand, I remember being very surprised getting off the ZZR
at Wakefield (having had much fun) and getting onto the then-ugly RD and for
all that the brakes felt wooden and its handling was totally different and
shorter and lower and the throttle felt heavy I was instantly, 1st or 2nd
lap, 10kph _faster_ around some corners. Probably just the speedo being
optimistic, I'm sure :-)
| Kath
| who loves her LC, even if it is noisy and smelly.
| At least it's not yellow anymore.
It wasn't yellow to start with either, but whose fault was that?
--
Cameron Simpson, DoD#743 c...@zip.com.au http://www.zip.com.au/~cs/
The ZZR-1100 remains the big, fast, versatile bike for the rider with a
regular pillion passenger or the desire to humiliate just about every
other road user who attempted to match its straight line acceleration. - REVS
Kath Knight
Cameron Simpson wrote:
>
> Feh. I don't mind the vibration so much as the HEAVY STIFF throttle,
> doubtless a consequence of the bizarre fanout at the base of the throttle
Nope, actually more likely a facet of the really heavy springs in the
carbies, to try and stop them jamming open when it's cold and wet. I
hate riding on the kill switch.
> cable. On the other hand, I remember being very surprised getting off the ZZR
> at Wakefield (having had much fun) and getting onto the then-ugly RD and for
> all that the brakes felt wooden and its handling was totally different and
> shorter and lower and the throttle felt heavy I was instantly, 1st or 2nd
> lap, 10kph _faster_ around some corners. Probably just the speedo being
> optimistic, I'm sure :-)
>
> | Kath
> | who loves her LC, even if it is noisy and smelly.
> | At least it's not yellow anymore.
>
> It wasn't yellow to start with either, but whose fault was that?
Guess it was just a temporary by product of trying to make it handle
better.
> Cameron Simpson, DoD#743 c...@zip.com.au http://www.zip.com.au/~cs/
>
> The ZZR-1100 remains the big, fast, versatile bike for the rider with a
> regular pillion passenger or the desire to humiliate just about every
> other road user who attempted to match its straight line acceleration. - REVS
So why does my LC _ALWAYS_ humiliate your ZZR off the lights?
Tex
Cameron Simpson wrote:
>
> Kath Knight <ka...@zip.com.au> writes:
> | When put together properly they are great little engines. Can't remember
> | quite what it was Mark Hall said when he got off his 92? FZR600 onto the
> | LC but it wasn't unfavourable and he did learn to power wheelie.
> | Definately heard him say the the LC had heaps more BOTTOM end and
> | MIDRANGE - how's that for a 2-stroke? Cameron hates it though. Too much
> | handlebar vibration. Almost as much as his Kawasaki 4 cylinder 4 stroke
> | things.
Hmm, strains the old grey matter and... I think I said "power delivery
is
a lot less smooth and a lot more of it - it is light compared to the 600
and lower geared.
I think I'll duck the rest of the Kath/Cam fight - but the RG/LC is
very exciting if not refined...... I'd be tempted to build one if
I had the time and I thought it would be reasonably realiable.
Just one other thing - Ian esp - Kath's bike is a Suzuki RG250 frame
with a hot LC350 motor - and it does handle better than a LC frame.
Now I gotta duck the flames from Kath too.
--
Mark Hall
Member, MotorCycle Council of NSW
remove "nospam" from address
Unsolicited email and spam not tolerated.
Russ Dowsing
>
> Hmm, strains the old grey matter and... I think I said "power delivery
> is
> a lot less smooth and a lot more of it - it is light compared to the 600
> and lower geared.
>
> I think I'll duck the rest of the Kath/Cam fight - but the RG/LC is
> very exciting if not refined...... I'd be tempted to build one if
> I had the time and I thought it would be reasonably realiable.
>
> Just one other thing - Ian esp - Kath's bike is a Suzuki RG250 frame
> with a hot LC350 motor - and it does handle better than a LC frame.
>
> Now I gotta duck the flames from Kath too.
> --
> Mark Hall
> Member, MotorCycle Council of NSW
> remove "nospam" from address
>
> Unsolicited email and spam not tolerated.
Hi, from the land of your head of state < duck weave, he, he missed me >
Do you guys have Aprilia RS250s down there ? I've had one for 2 years
now and it is without doubt the finest handling road bike on this
planet. The Bridgestone BT90 SS assist this of course. My wife has got a
de-restricted Aprilia RS125 36bhp, with a trick race rear suspension
which makes it very flickable.
On anything other than boring straight roads there's nothing that will
stay with the RS250, if you get the chance go for a ride you'll be
amazed.
Russ