I bought a 2003 Kawasaki KFX400 ATV on Wednesday.. and its annoying me! I must just be a loser...
The thing is so picky.. and I'm stalling it a TON.. it has a wet clutch on left handlebar.. and then of course you kick down for 1st, and up for 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th.. and a right thumb throttle.
Does anyone have any tips or tricks.. it seems if I baby the throttle and ease off the clutch.. it dies.. and if I hit it a bit more.. its too much throttle and the front wheels come off the freakin ground...
This bike is FAST.. maybe it will just take some getting used to. Top speed on this sucker is over 65mph
[ 21. March 2003, 10:36 AM: Message edited by: J.R. Mayer ]
Posted by HTWLSS (Member # 117) on :
Nice toy! Sounds like it's just going to take some practice...
(FWIW, you're not a loser.)
Posted by J.R. Mayer (Member # 713) on :
Well I can't even do good burnouts or cookies.. so I'm a loser Teri Posted by DanPazich (Member # 1352) on :
Ahh, come on JR, you KNOW you're not a loser. Practice makes perfect Posted by Stealth Performance (Member # 1072) on :
keep it on the pipe my son .
don't baby her ....get -it
2003 F4 Honda coming my way this summer Posted by HTWLSS (Member # 117) on :
quote:Originally posted by J.R. Mayer: Well I can't even do good burnouts or cookies.. so I'm a loser Teri
You can be taught, young Jedi.
Steve will be making his '68 available to you in Bowling Green this year for another cookie lesson.
In no time at all, you'll be doing mud donuts with your new ATV. Now, THAT'S fun!
Posted by DanA_F99_1977 (Member # 118) on :
I'll give you the advice I got when I got my Honda TRX250R. You can't ride that thing with a skirt on. You'll foul the plugs etc. I always either had the front wheels up or the tires spinning. It was scary fact. Top speed of about 90MPH. What was really scary is it was what I called snappy quick. Instant acceleration with the 2 stroke. Good luck. Ride hard.
Posted by DanPazich (Member # 1352) on :
quote:Originally posted by DanA_F99_1977: You can't ride that thing with a skirt on.
AKA....SISSY! Posted by J.R. Mayer (Member # 713) on :
Dan.. are you kidding me? Normally I believe most everything out of your mouth.. but I've been doing a TON of reading.. and the fastest 250 out there I've seen was a Honda TRX250 that was clocked at 76mph.. and that was with some serious mods..
this begs the question..
WHAT IN THE WORLD did you do to that thing? The 400 I got can possibly do 70mph.. but 90 is a very fast speed... SERIOUSLY?!?!?!
Posted by DanA_F99_1977 (Member # 118) on :
JR, TRX250 is a 4 stroke. It is junk compared to the TRX250R. Emphasis on the R. It was (I sold it) a 250CC that was bored out to about 50 over I think, ported and polished head, a bunch of other stuff that I didn't even know about until I rebuilt it. It was owned by a guy who was an Ice Racer. This thing would flip over if you just nailed the throttle on the street. It had all kinds of other extra too like a steering stabilizer, heated hand grips nerf bars, tires and wheels, etc...... I am going to have to look for a picture of it for you when I get home. I got pretty good at climbing hills on that thing. It had one MEAN 2nd gear!
Posted by J.R. Mayer (Member # 713) on :
Aha... I just got home and am starting to get a better hang of getting her going without a stall.. no problem.. I noticed I do much better while standing up then I do sitting down.. weird huh?
I haven't attempted switching gears yet.. still getting the hang of this thing.. but it is FREAKIN fast.. you have to make sure and HOLD ON to the damn bike when you hit the throttle at all.. cause the thing goes FLYIN.
Posted by J.R. Mayer (Member # 713) on :
Here is a pic of me tonight on the new ATV.. it's a fun thing.
J.R.
Posted by DanA_F99_1977 (Member # 118) on :
Here is a picture of my 96 Honda TRX250R. I'm kind of sorry that I sold it!
Posted by J.R. Mayer (Member # 713) on :
Hey Dan.. that's cool!
I was wrong and apologize.. the guy I talked to tonight said that the 250R's held value extremely well and were among some of the fastest ATVs made... he said you can still find 1988 250R's in the low 4000 range price wise. WOW.
Posted by 35th_camaro_ss (Member # 1738) on :
Hey JR...try to take off litterally sitting up onto the very front of the seat and leaning forward,the seats for sitting still on, your weight you want on your feet and dont be afraid to give some RPM, those clutches can take some abuse, but you wont need to ride much clutch cuz taking off like this, you will be driving the machine in no time, taking off sitting normal on the seat is actually hard to do cuz it will want to throw you, or stall unless you ride the clutch, the clutch can take it, but hard to get used to. Try to keep weight on your feet most of the time and you will be able to throw the machine into turns and manuvers quickly....By the way NICE RIDE....Riding an ATV looks like a joy ride, but its not a tractor and it when your riding agressively, it sure is a work out....when in doubt get off the seat and gas it
I have a 1988 Kawasaki TECATE KXF250 with FMF pipe, silencer,shaved head, ported piston...etc...I dont ride it much anymore, but I used to run 112 octane fuel in mine...another old one but quick to, def would of been able to run w Dan's ...A group of us used to ride alot and we were paced by a truck over 80mph and we dusted him after he signaled us 80, I was in 5th and its a 6 spd
[ 22. March 2003, 12:18 AM: Message edited by: 35th_camaro_ss ]
Posted by USA-1 (Member # 1535) on :
It is ment to ride and ride hard. If the front wheels are on the ground, your riding it wrong. Two strokes are made to spin the rear tire all the time.[Ride on the pipe} is what it is all about. Have fun, ride with gear.
Posted by DanA_F99_1977 (Member # 118) on :
Believe it or not, mine was an 86. Looked almost new!! I sold it for 3300! I really should have kept it. Those Ohlin shocks alone were awesomne.
Have a blast with it.
Posted by MaryandRalph (Member # 244) on :
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