KAWASAKI'S KLX250SF is a soft-hearted Supermoto machine suitable for anyone looking for a versatile, inexpensive bike for commuting, weekend fun or learning.

Like most Supermoto machines, the KLX250SF is based on an off-road machine; in this case the entry-level KLX250S. The 250 class is still very important around the world for learners, but let's hope the 250 is so successful we get a 450 version…

The SF is obviously targeting learner riders who want some street cred.
It's a fun bike to ride, great around the city and as we found out can be used for longer trips as well. Its ‘softer’ engine would probably suit the everyday grind better than the competition based 450cc donk. And the little 250 looks ultra cool too.

Learners only?

Not everyone will be tempted by the motard looks of the KLX250SF. For a start it has a relatively high seat height 860mm because of its off-road origins so shorter riders may find the climb a little too hard to deal with on a regular basis. And with most states allowing bigger capacity bikes in their LAMS legislation, there’s so many bikes for learners to pick from. Does this make the SF redundant? Not on your life. Many riders will love the aggressive styling of the SF and would rather its ‘calmer’ nature than that of bigger capacity street supermotos. In many ways this bike is perfect for commuters. Its tall seat height gives many advantages because it gets the rider up high where visibility in traffic is better. Its comfortable riding position is also a plus, although the lack of any real luggage carrying capacity will be a negative in many possible buyers’ eyes.

On the stand

With a 250cc four-stroke single cylinder engine it’s never going to stretch your arms too hard. It’s important to realise this is no KX250F in disguise. Even though the little 250cc racer’s engine is reliable in its intended arena, we’re not sure how long it would last being ridden at full revs on the highway continually. Kawasaki’s engineers had to make sure the engine would last with reasonable servicing intervals.

Carburation is still used on the SF’s engine, and a six speed gearbox drives the chain. You can buy tall enough gearing to be able to sit at close to 100km/h, but the bike isn’t really going to like it too much. With standard gearing cruising on 80km/h is fine, and just where learners should be. In the city standard gearing is just right for dodging cars and the like.

Kawasaki plucked the suspension for the SF straight from the S trail bike. Both bikes use 43mm inverted cartridge forks with compression damping adjustment. Down the back Kawasaki’s Uni-Trak single shock is adjustable for pre-load, compression and rebound damping. The only real difference is the suspension travel. With 230mm up front and 205mm at the rear, the SF has 25mm less than the S at either end. Obviously the big departure is the 17inch supermoto wheels, which look awesome in blue, colour matched to the bike’s bodywork. The tyres aren’t outrageous in size, with a 110/70-17 front and a 130/70-17 rear. You can buy a decent range of tyres in these sizes for reasonable prices.

Of course a supermoto needs a huge brake and the SF gets one. It’s not over the top though. A 300mm semi-floating petal disc is grabbed by a twin-piston calliper at the pointy end while a 240mm petal disc is done likewise with at the rear by a single-piston calliper. This combination is spot on the for SF.

Fuel stops will be sooner than most learner level bikes. The SF has a 7.7 litre tank and even though fuel economy is good it doesn’t allow a huge fuel range. Then again it all depends on what you are doing with it. At 137 kg it’s not a heavy machine. The only way riders will struggle with the size of this bike is with its height, not its weight.

On the road

With the electric start the engine fires up readily. There’s no kick-starter as a backup like you might expect but realistically there’s no need for one. The engine revs easily right up to its redline although there’s no need to rev it to the stratosphere. Power tails off before peak revs are hit so changing gear before then is the most sensible option. We rode the bike in the city, on country back roads and also a weekend away with a learner on board. In the city it’s a hoot. You can dart in and around the traffic, and with the wide ’bars you have plenty of confidence to ‘throw’ the bike around. Roundabouts are child’s play for the SF with the grippy standard tyres on the supermoto rims.

Out on the bumpy back roads the long travel suspension soaks up the bumps, and dirt roads are no problems. We even had a play on the grass and took it down some fire trails. Realistically this bike is capable of going to some well out of the way places if you are adventurous enough. Kawasaki has got the handlebar/seat/footpegs ratio pretty right for a range of things. It has a comfortable sitting down position and if you want to stand up the ’bars aren’t too low.

Our weekend jaunt had the bike and rider off with a group of larger machines. It involved mainly highway riding, with some twisty bits thrown in for good measure. Our learner was legally only able to sit on 80km/h, even though he felt the bike would be able to sit comfortably at higher speeds on the standard gearing. Seeing no luggage could be easily fitted it was down to a backpack to take his gear. He also mentioned the riding position allowed him to take some of the weight of the pack off his back by letting it sit on the seat. In fact the seat was the only bugbear in the whole trip. Being off-road derived it’s a bit hard and narrow for long distance riding.

On the way home our rider was able to give the bigger bikes a big hurry up in the tight stuff, showing the KLX250SF is a very capable machine in the right hands and in the right situation.

Verdict

At $7,299 we feel the SF represents great value.
It’s a smart looking bike with plenty of street cred. And it’s ability to perform outmatches its looks.