I'm really happy to hear that the showa forks are gping to be close or the same as the kyb. I love the feel of the kyb on my 21 kx250. I've already put a pre-order on the 2025 250 as well. After watching this it's got me really excited to get my bike!
I am stoked for most the changes, or lack of changes on some of the stuff, but I wish they would have stayed with KYB and I am not sure the engine needs a counter balance shaft. My 22 doesn't vibrate or shake at all.
Do you think the suspension will come good enough stock. I know I’ll most likely have to change the springs for my body weight but outside of that is there anything like valving thats worth spending a couple hundred bucks on.
Does the counter balance shaft allow for the bike to lean easier since its rotational inertia in the opposite direction. From my understanding the gyroscopic effects from the rotating masses cancel out
It’s possible. Back to back testing of the two models would be the easiest way to tell if the difference is minute, subtle, and very noticeable. My guess is the difference in handling is minimal
this is an amazing bike. a counterbalancer is always a good thing. the added weight and extra mass inertia will always be worth it considering the engine will be more reliable and run more consistently. "good harmonics" do not damage components like "bad harmonics" do. in other words, the engine should stay happy. OEM's know that there is no free lunch in engineering. adding the balancer tells us they are boosting the power and providing insurance for those changes. think of it this way... a high performance diesel engine in a semi truck will make a certain allowable amount of power in that application, but the same exact engine in a marine application is allowed to make nearly twice the HP. why? because the entire ocean is cooling that boat engine, where as the truck only has 8 gal of coolant running through an air over liquid radiator. anything an OEM can do to preserve the life of an engine will expand their horizon by reducing limitations. it could be that they are getting worried about how much they have increased peak RPM's in this model over the past four years and are building safeguards, or it could be that they had reached the limit of reliability with those RPM gains. perhaps the only way to safely stress the engine more through design upgrades, is to give themselves more "room to grow" by using the balancer. either way, this is a good sign from Kawi.
A balance shaft in no way changes the balance of the engine, it only changes the perceived vibration by the rider. It is not balancing the rotating assembly, it is creating a secondary imbalance which offsets the vibrations of the rotation assembly so the engine feels smoother externally. Marine applications are very detuned because they're under constant heavy load, basically the equivalent of towing up a huge hill at all times.
@@OtisFlint mostly true. two-stroke snowmobiles that have counterbalancers do not feel that much different, but the drive belt and primary dive clutch life lasted many times longer. this is because the harmonics are not destroying the components. harmonics have been known to "sing" crankshafts apart in some two strokes. the crank journal and con-rod shafts vibrate apart form their press fit. so its for more than just rider comfort. as for marine units like jet ski's and most small boats... yes, they are detuned to handle the steady load. but i am talking real world work experience dyno-ing the same exact new model engines in those two applications for a major OEM dealership. from memory the difference from the truck to the ocean vessel was that the truck was rated to 850HP and the marine model was pulling 1400HP. same exact engine with different HEUI computer fuel setting downloads. the performance difference was solely based on available cooling. it was pretty amazing.
Hi there! The new piston design has a flatter crown which accommodates for a narrower valve angle and slightly reduces the compression. This change, along with a host of other changes, allow for the piston to be lighter and stronger when compared to the outgoing generation piston. - Anthony
Kawasaki hasn't released the HP figure for the 2025 KX250. We hope to see an increase in HP output with the heavily revised engine for the new model year. - Anthony
I'm really happy to hear that the showa forks are gping to be close or the same as the kyb. I love the feel of the kyb on my 21 kx250. I've already put a pre-order on the 2025 250 as well. After watching this it's got me really excited to get my bike!
God i cant wait for this bike to hit the stores
We're right there with ya!
- Anthony
I am stoked for most the changes, or lack of changes on some of the stuff, but I wish they would have stayed with KYB and I am not sure the engine needs a counter balance shaft. My 22 doesn't vibrate or shake at all.
Agreed! We hope all of the changes Kawasaki made was for the better as we head into 2025. Time will tell!
- Anthony
Agree
My 22 does vibrate more than I'd like so let's hope the 25 is smoother
Do you think the suspension will come good enough stock. I know I’ll most likely have to change the springs for my body weight but outside of that is there anything like valving thats worth spending a couple hundred bucks on.
That’s good question. Unsure. The stock previous Gen KYB was rather stiff / firm for stock suspension. Hopefully this showa setup has a plusher spec.
Does the counter balance shaft allow for the bike to lean easier since its rotational inertia in the opposite direction. From my understanding the gyroscopic effects from the rotating masses cancel out
It’s possible. Back to back testing of the two models would be the easiest way to tell if the difference is minute, subtle, and very noticeable. My guess is the difference in handling is minimal
this is an amazing bike.
a counterbalancer is always a good thing. the added weight and extra mass inertia will always be worth it considering the engine will be more reliable and run more consistently. "good harmonics" do not damage components like "bad harmonics" do. in other words, the engine should stay happy.
OEM's know that there is no free lunch in engineering. adding the balancer tells us they are boosting the power and providing insurance for those changes.
think of it this way... a high performance diesel engine in a semi truck will make a certain allowable amount of power in that application, but the same exact engine in a marine application is allowed to make nearly twice the HP. why? because the entire ocean is cooling that boat engine, where as the truck only has 8 gal of coolant running through an air over liquid radiator. anything an OEM can do to preserve the life of an engine will expand their horizon by reducing limitations.
it could be that they are getting worried about how much they have increased peak RPM's in this model over the past four years and are building safeguards, or it could be that they had reached the limit of reliability with those RPM gains. perhaps the only way to safely stress the engine more through design upgrades, is to give themselves more "room to grow" by using the balancer.
either way, this is a good sign from Kawi.
A balance shaft in no way changes the balance of the engine, it only changes the perceived vibration by the rider. It is not balancing the rotating assembly, it is creating a secondary imbalance which offsets the vibrations of the rotation assembly so the engine feels smoother externally. Marine applications are very detuned because they're under constant heavy load, basically the equivalent of towing up a huge hill at all times.
@@OtisFlint mostly true. two-stroke snowmobiles that have counterbalancers do not feel that much different, but the drive belt and primary dive clutch life lasted many times longer. this is because the harmonics are not destroying the components. harmonics have been known to "sing" crankshafts apart in some two strokes. the crank journal and con-rod shafts vibrate apart form their press fit. so its for more than just rider comfort.
as for marine units like jet ski's and most small boats... yes, they are detuned to handle the steady load. but i am talking real world work experience dyno-ing the same exact new model engines in those two applications for a major OEM dealership.
from memory the difference from the truck to the ocean vessel was that the truck was rated to 850HP and the marine model was pulling 1400HP. same exact engine with different HEUI computer fuel setting downloads. the performance difference was solely based on available cooling. it was pretty amazing.
at 10:37 it shows degrees......degrees of what? .....in relation too
Hi there!
The new piston design has a flatter crown which accommodates for a narrower valve angle and slightly reduces the compression. This change, along with a host of other changes, allow for the piston to be lighter and stronger when compared to the outgoing generation piston.
- Anthony
The 06 kaw was new. 06 suz was the same as 04 and 05. 07 suz was new.
Thanks for the info Bill!
- Anthony
what's the hp number?
Kawasaki hasn't released the HP figure for the 2025 KX250. We hope to see an increase in HP output with the heavily revised engine for the new model year.
- Anthony
@@RideJBI off the record for a guess?
@@mikeflynn56511 more HP than last year 🤞😂