XR250 vs. KDX200

I used to own a '96 XR250R. It was a good bike, but then I went and rode a '97 CR250 and....well....you know.... :aj: Wasn't long before I had a YZ250WR sitting next to the XR and then when I wanted to simplify, I sold the XR. Then I sold the YZ. Then I was bikeless. After 2 years of agony, a KDX200 showed up in my garage. I thought it had the best of both the XR and YZ traits (good handling, good power, reliable, versatile, etc) and none of the bad ones (plowing/understeering, YamaHop, diesel pigging, etc). Well, last weekend, I went riding in the woods with a buddy who has an '02 XR250. Long story short, he had to go back to the truck for tools (drowned XR80) with the ATV, leaving me alone in the woods with his sons and XR and KDX. I went for a ride on the XR and a) found an approx 3 mile shortcut for his return trip!, b) rode the XR and KDX back and forth over this shortcut.

Observations:

1) the XR pulls down low! I don't remember my XR pulling this low, but his pulled up hills just off idle. After that, it fell totally flat- no "hit" at all. I'm not sure why they even put throttles on them except that they get louder when you twist more. All the low-end grunt you could ever want, though.

2) Whereas on the KDX, I was pulling wheelies thru puddles with just a twist of the grip and a slight pull, I couldn't hardly get the XR's tire off the ground. I didn't want to loop the bike, so I didn't clutch it and pull.

3) the XR felt surprisingly light and fairly flickable. I guess the handguards on my KDX (none on the XR), WER, Trail Tech, fender tool kit, etc. put a little weight up high.

4) the XR felt a little lower and the back of the seat was noticeably flatter, even though I've re-shaped my KDX foam.

5) My KDX has worked-on suspension and I noticed a big difference there. The XR is stock and the rear felt really firm. I bet he doesn't have enough sag. The forks felt okay- makes me wonder if the previous owner switched springs already. But overall, the KDX suspension was much plusher.

6) no question that the KDX was more flickable. I was going into turns (we were riding mostly on beat-up 4WD roads), brake-tapping the rear, and then blasting out. The XR didn't want to do that at all. It wanted to just chug-chug-chug thru the corner, give it about 1/3 throttle, then shift gears.

7) we were broken down in a big sandy flat and I tried to do a power slide around the flooded XR80 and only got 1/2 way around before I felt the power go "bye-bye" on the XR250 and I needed to shift gears, which was a little tough to do because I was making a left hand turn. When I did the same stunt on the KDX, I made a full 270 deg under full power, throwing wet sand everywhere, and then pulled a wheelie leaving the turn! More throttle = more power on the KDX.

8) on hills, as long as the traction was there, the KDX ripped the XR. As long as I kept the revs up, I was able to easily pass the XR on hills. When traction wasn't there (that is, the KDX spun the wheel), the XR was better as long as it didn't totally break traction. It could just about idle up most of the hills. I never actually failed to climb any hill, although I had to clutch a few after being forced to drop momentum to keep from running into the back of the XR. Being a buddy, I didn't want to just elbow him off the hill, right?

All in all, I had fun on the XR and it was fun riding one again, but I'm happier on the KDX.

JasonRan said:

My basic impressions have been that the KDX is WAY lighter feeling and SO much easier to throw around. The XR just felt really heavy and hard to manuever, espically up hills.

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The way I worded it up above might give the impression that the KDX felt sluggish- not the case at all. What I was surprised at was that the XR didn't feel worse that it did. It was actually kind of rideable. I don't think I was pushing it as hard as I push my KDX, though. I remember when I had my XR and was trying to keep up with my buddy's XR600 that I would have a lot of trouble stopping for corners. When I got the YZ250WR, I didn't have that problem anymore and was able to easily keep up with the 600, nor do I have it on the KDX. The KDX can stop on a dime, if you ask it.

Today, I rode that same XR on our local MX track, a fairly smooth track with some jumps, but no real whoops or really rough sections. Again, it did pretty good, although I sure bottomed the forks (stock springs!!!) good and hard! But, as I showed the owner, the XR is really good at taking a tight inside line. Since wheel spin isn't much of an issue, it can take a tight inside line and the low rpm grunt gets it thru the corner pretty well. I very surprised at how much distance I got on the tabletops- I cleared all the little ones and got the front over the medium sized ones. The owner commented on how it looked like I was definitely riding a bigger, heavier bike (I had the KX at the track). I was not getting it leaned over nearly as much as the KX. Still, for a mini-diesel pig, it was fun. A guy wouldn't be the fastest thing on the track, but he could definitely enjoy himself on the XR. Getting back on the KX was like going from a butter knife to a razor blade, though!