motoradler Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 Greetings All, I've recently found a 1974 Kawasaki KT250 in reasonable condition for it's age, running well. I've been considering buying it as a second bike to my Cota 311, to ride the aircooled series. What's the typical value of these bikes these days? He is asking around half what I payed for the Cota, which was slightly better condition, but given it's newer that is understandable. Is this a reasonable amount? Does anyone have much information on these? Would they be suitable for riding sportsman and eventually clubmans rounds? From research the biggest problems seem to be poor ability on tight turns and easily stalled, but would this even be a consideration at that level? And mainly, any typical problems on these bikes, e.g, when I go to view it, what should I look for. Thanks for your time. Regards, EM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetupfun Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 They can be set up to turn tightly. 360mm rear shocks and setting the forks up properly does wonders. The motor is a beaut to use and does not stall easily. No mechanical weaknesses at all - they are very sturdy and well made. The only design criticism I can think of is that they are a bit heavier all over than their competitors. As far as ease of trials riding goes they are almost as easy to ride as a TY250, and better to ride than a standard TL250 and standard Suzuki RL250. Late model twinshocks like Fantics and Honda TLRs are noticeably easier to ride while spanish bikes of the same design era as the KT (early to mid 1970s) are a bit easier to ride than the KT. While they are fabulously reliable, you could look for rust inside the fuel tank and all the other things to look at on an air cooled drum braked bike ie worn drums, pitted fork tubes, rusty exhaust, noisy motor, parts missing, clutch action, gear shifting action They were made in 1975 and 1976 No idea what KTs are worth in NZ or what a Cota 311 is worth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoradler Posted May 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 (edited) feetupfun, on 09 May 2014 - 11:54 PM, said:feetupfun, on 09 May 2014 - 11:54 PM, said: They can be set up to turn tightly. 360mm rear shocks and setting the forks up properly does wonders. The motor is a beaut to use and does not stall easily. No mechanical weaknesses at all - they are very sturdy and well made. The only design criticism I can think of is that they are a bit heavier all over than their competitors. As far as ease of trials riding goes they are almost as easy to ride as a TY250, and better to ride than a standard TL250 and standard Suzuki RL250. Late model twinshocks like Fantics and Honda TLRs are noticeably easier to ride while spanish bikes of the same design era as the KT (early to mid 1970s) are a bit easier to ride than the KT. While they are fabulously reliable, you could look for rust inside the fuel tank and all the other things to look at on an air cooled drum braked bike ie worn drums, pitted fork tubes, rusty exhaust, noisy motor, parts missing, clutch action, gear shifting action They were made in 1975 and 1976 No idea what KTs are worth in NZ or what a Cota 311 is worth Hi, That is good to hear- I haven't found much against this bike, is looking promising. The extra weight I would doubt make a difference in the lowest class... how heavy are they spec? My Mont is alleged to be 85KG wet weight, the Honda is 112KG supposedly, I would guess somewhere in the middle... will take it for a test ride tomorrow and see how it rides, looks a bit rough on the edges now I examine the photo's closely, a bit of grunge on the footpeg bolts but not bad overall. Is this likely to be a 1975 then? Advertised as a 74, I was too ignorant to know it wasn't... it has a blue frame and a white tank and guards, assuming this isn't stock. Thanks, Regards, EM EDIT: Attached is a photo of the supposed bike, I've just noticed the guards and the forks seem slightly different to the photographs I've seen of other KT250's, can someone clarify this? Edited May 10, 2014 by motoradler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetupfun Posted May 10, 2014 Report Share Posted May 10, 2014 front wheel, forks and triple clamps look standard. The front guard looks odd because they are usually mounted to the fork sliders, and it is a guard off something else. It would probably feel better to ride with higher bars and trials shocks. The shocks look like TS185ER The end muffler is off something else It will weigh about 95kg The year model makes no difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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