I have a 98 KX 250. It's a great bike. Lots of torque down low and it does pretty well for mid and top too. Top end drops a little quick compared to some bikes, but not bad. Ergonomics are great. The KIPS exhaust valve system is interesting. You need to do a thorough job of cleaning and adjusting these with every top end rebuild. Mine has been fine, but I've seen KIPS systems where the teeth have been broken off of the side valve actuator rods due to sticking from not cleaning the spooge out often enough. Get a Mitivac and bleed out the front and rear brakes really good and you'll be surprised at how good they feel for that generation KX. The tranmission and clutch are very durable and the bike shifts smooth. Suspension leaves something to be desired. The forks are very harsh, especially as you hit the bottom of the stroke. The shock is ok. I had mine resprung, as I'm far too heavy for stock springs. That alone made a huge difference in the feel of the bike. Kawasaki put progressive springs in the forks and the shock. The progressive springs suck. I switched to straight rate springs and it's much better. All-in-all, it's a sweet bike. Jumps and handles great. Extremely stable ride. It rarely, if ever, gets bent out of shape in the whoops or other rough sections.