Year after year it seems like the Big Four ignore your pleas for a Supermoto that really kicks some butt. You're tormented by watching people on their expensive European kit, and frustrated further by watching smoking 450's tear up the track in Supercross. Why won't they build what you want?
We can't answer that - but with some time, effort and the support of some awesome companies in the aftermarket, and Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA, we've taken a crack at it and built one heck of a bike.
Many of you saw our KLX330SM on display in the HJC Chatterbox tent at MotoGP at Laguna Seca. Here's a breakdown of how you can build what the Japanese don't (yet) . It may cost you a bit of money, but don't worry - you don't need to go as far as we did (we pretty much doubled the value of our donor bike). None of the mods are extremely difficult, and there's nothing you can do that will make the performance less than what you started with.
So warm up your laptop and order away - the beauty of this build is that every company is accessible online and pretty much everything is ready to bolt on - from the engine right down to the shiny bits.
Ingredients:
M-Tech
Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA
Kustom Kraft
Muzzys Performance Products
Race Tech
Wheeling Cycle Supply
Light Speed Performance
Web-Cam Camshafts
Bridgestone USA
Protaper USA
Sprocket Specialists
Galfer
EBC Brakes
Techmounts
Motul
Slime
2009/2010 Kawasaki KLX250SF
In a nutshell, the 2009 / 2010 KLX250SF is a commuter bike dressed up to look like a Supermoto. Derived from their Enduro "S" model, and previously sold in Japan as the D-Tracker, the SF includes a sharp looking set of bodywork, Excel rims and a wave front rotor. A nifty blue LED gauge cluster rounds out the eye-catching package. But the KLX's performance doesn't match the bike's appearance.
Our stocker confirmed that my butt-dyno is still working properly - on M-Tech's Superflow it wheezed out a measly 18hp. This may work for an entry level rider or getting from A to B to run errands, but any seasoned Kawasaki or Supermoto fan will be disappointed as the 250SF in stock form lacks the aggressive and exciting edge that we all know lurks in the DNA of Kawi's products.
www.kawasaki.com/Products/Product-Specifications.aspx?scid=14&id=417
Unleashing the KLX's DNA - The Modifications...
M-Tech
What they supplied...
Hard work!
M-Tech is based in Bend, Oregon and is headed up by Matt Worbes, factory tech for an impressive list of race teams including Rockwall Honda and Proton Team KR.
Working with the guidance of Bikeland's mechanical expert and land speed record holder Doug Meyer, Matt gutted our brand new KLX250SF, stripping it down to nothing, then rebuilt it with all the bits that follow.
www.mtechmotorcycles.com
Kawasaki Motors Corp, USA
What they supplied...
Some donor bits and gaskets, plus a whole lot of engineering support - dissecting a brand new model is a whole lot easier with help from the OEM!
www.kawasaki.com
Kustom Kraft
What they supplied...
330cc Engine Kit - Kustom Kraft is a totally awesome niche parts shop that supplies pre-configured big bore kits for most late model singles from all the OEMs. The kits are reasonably priced and come complete with gaskets and all the bits you need to make a step up in displacement and power.
This specialty shop has been around since 1995 and they know what they are doing. This is bar none the quickest, easiest and most inexpensive way for you to make power with your stock bike, whether it's a Kawi, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki or KTM.
Our Kustom Kraft powered KLX has been running flawlessly, and we can't say enough good things about them.
They are your shortcut to eliminating weeks or months of guesswork and part matching to get your engine into the power making department.
kustom-kraft.com
Muzzys Performance Products
What they supplied...
Muzzys full system with stainless headers and an aluminum can. Adding the system shaved several pounds and helped uncork the KLX's engine. The stock headers are so small in diameter they could easily double as a drinking straw.
Rob Muzzy is an awesome guy and his decades of experience in this industry and the wide range of systems he manufactures for various makes and models help when it comes to tackling a custom project like this!
www.muzzys.com
Race Tech
What they supplied...
A giant rebuild of the suspension. The forks and rear shock were boxed up and sent to Race Tech HQ, where taking into account my weight (220 lbs + riding gear) and the intended purpose of the KLX (terrorizing the streets - and maybe hitting the track once or twice) Race Tech went to work on the originals.
What emerged was something beyond my greatest expectations. The performance of the suspension before vs after is night & day. The spongy, bottoming out front forks and gushy rear are now revamped and provide razor sharp response. It's like getting off an old, under-sprung scooter and hopping onto a sharp, new Ducati.
Clocking in at about $900, it's a pricey mod, but getting the stock suspension reworked is a heck of a lot cheaper than replacing the forks and rear shock altogether. The end result is easily a 100 fold improvement in performance.
www.racetech.com
Wheeling Cycle Supply
What they supplied...
This is one cool shop. Wheeling have done their research and stocks parts to convert your stock bike into a Supermoto. When it came to our little KLX, Wheeling already had cross reference information for our bike vs its Japanese counterpart - the D-Tracker.
Wheeling stepped up with a bucket full of parts including an LED fender eliminator kit that let us bin the giant pizza box size stock fender, smoked LED turn signals, beefy footpegs, ultra-cool bash guards with LED turn signals in them, red shiny anodized bits to dress up the engine, a billet gas cap cover and the prerequisite red radiator hoses.
Their trick shorty lever set completed the package and made sure that our KLX would look as good as it would run!
www.wheelingcyclesupply.com
Light Speed Performance
What they supplied...
Mmmmm .... Luscious and tasty Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber bash guards, heel guards, fork guards, frame guards and caliper protectors. LSP makes the carbon you find on real Supercross bikes that are actually running in the Supercross series. Since their stuff is all over James Stewart's Yamaha 450, so it's definitely good enough for us.
Carbon fiber isn't just ultra-lightweight and pleasing to the eye, it's functional too!
www.lightspeedperf.com
Web-Cam Camshafts
What they supplied...
With the complete top end from Kustom Kraft, some racier cams were in order. Cam shaft experts Web Cams took our stockers and put the Larry Roeseler grind on them for us. Along with a Mikuni carb, Web Cams helped complete the engine component of this build.
www.webcamshafts.com
Bridgestone USA
What they supplied...
Stickier tires ...
The new BT090's perform - used by weekend club racers and Supermoto folk alike, these tires are purposefully designed for smaller performance bikes. A vast improvement from the rock hard pizza cutter commuter tires the KLX ships with. Without the 090's, you'd have a hard time enjoying the extra power and torque your kitted out KLX is making.
According to Bridgestone, the BT090s were designed for "aggressive riding on both circuit and street".
If you want all the super intricate technical details about this street/track tire you can download Bridgestone's BT090 PDF here.
Interested in modding this bike? Take note!
Bridgestone is one of the only choices you have if you want performance kit on this bike due to the odd size rims and the width limitation you face with the KLX's narrow swingarm.
www.motorcycle-karttires.com
Protaper USA
What they supplied...
Handlebars & Chain...
Ditching the rinky stock handlebars and chain isn't a must, but it sure does help. If you don't want to shell out big cash for a new top triple clamp, then you'll welcome Protaper's universal mounting adapter as the top clamp of the KLX has the OEM mount cast into it so you can't just toss the stock bars and replace them with a different set without the Protaper adapter.
The Protaper EVO Fatbars and Protaper grips help improve feel and handling - and they look like a million bucks.
A Protaper chain replaces the original and helps put the extra power to the ground now that the engine actually has some grunt.
www.protaper.com
Sprocket Specialists
What they supplied...
No one in the USA, or anywhere we called for that matter, had fitment for sprockets for this machine - it was simply too new. We sent the stock sprocket to Sprocket Specialists and they machined up some new versions allowing us to go up a few teeth and change our gearing.
If you want to order sprockets for this bike, now you can, and it's specifically because of this project that it's possible!
www.sprocketspecialists.com
Galfer USA
What they supplied...
Again, the bike was too new for anyone to have fitment of lines, so Galfer made us a custom set. Braided lines in red to match those fancy red radiator hoses. Without the braided lines installed, when you grabbed a handful of brake you could see the hose flex as the lever mushed the bike to a stop. Galfer's lines put that issue to rest. Now the brakes are rock hard and you can stand the KLX on its nose.
www.galferusa.com
EBC Brakes
What they supplied...
We love EBC's pads - nothing in the world stops like they do - so we picked up a set of EBC MX-S Series Moto-X Race Pads. Braking feel is fantastic, and combined with the new braided lines this bike now sports some of the best stoppers out there.
Nice!
www.ebcbrakes.com
Techmounts
What they supplied...
Based in Florida, Techmounts makes some of the coolest mounting kit for motorcycles you can buy. Model specific, they can fit almost anything you can throw at them, and the mount will look awesome and exceed your performance expectations.
We've stuck cameras, GPS, radar - you name it - to Techmounts products over the past decade without so much as a hiccup.
We needed to stick our Adaptiv Technolgies radar detector to our project bike, and we knew they'd have no problem getting us a mount to fit the Protaper Fatbars, and they didn't disappoint.
www.techmounts.com
Motul Lubricants
What they supplied...
300V ... smooth, pricey and some of the best oil you can get. Talk to the Motul folk and they'll tell you the whole ShamWow "olive oil vs butter" story ... your eyes will glaze over 'cuz you know they sell great oil and you don't want to hear about cooking!
www.motul.com
Slime
What they supplied...
Man, did I ever have to fight Doug Meyer tooth and nail over this. I love Slime. Tube tires with Slime are a must - who wants to patch a flat and pull out that tube? I've heard the whole unsprung weight blah-diddly-blah blah - but I've also had flats with tubed rims and it sucks.
Call me lazy, but I'd rather get from A to B using a little bit of technology rather than stripping down my bike and pulling out a patch kit in the middle of nowhere.
BTW Slime sells those patch kits if you insist on resisting the Sliming of your tubes!
www.slime.com
The Results
We jumped our horsepower from 18 to 29.8 - dropped piles of weight, and now we have a real Supermoto. Power wheelies? No problem. Stand it on its nose? Check. Suspension? Perfect. Looks? Good to start, mmmmarvelous now.
We covered every corner of the KLX, and so can you.
Remember the list of companies in this build.
They're web friendly and cater to projects like this. They have parts in stock and are ready to help, regardless of brand.
Source: Bikeland.org