On the move: Kawasaki 250TR

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On the move: Kawasaki 250TR

On the move: Kawasaki 250TR

New classic single-cylinder scrambler from Kawasaki

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After the unsuccessful Kawasaki Estrella 250, the Scrambler version 250TR comes to Germany via gray channels. At exactly the right time – MOTORRAD CLASSIC finds it.

The single-cylinder scrambler from Kawasaki is perfect for speedy cornering, free from any hectic pace.

Do you remember? Back then, in the gravel pit, the bear danced on the weekend. Daredevil you hopped over knee-high hills with your old enduro, plowed full Lotte through the mud and in the evening had beer and joints circling around the campfire with friends and girls. The times are forever ago, but the memories are more vivid than ever.

You sold your XT 500 for a long time, the enduro clothes are four sizes too small, and the gravel pit has overgrown an artificial wet biotope. The worst part: You don’t care. Enduros like an XT 500 are no longer around anyway, and the buddies and girls from back then drive E-Class or S-Bahn today. What are you left with The Kawasaki 250TR; a motorcycle like back when the scramblers became enduros at the end of the 1970s. In contrast to the hardcore two-stroke machines from Maico and KTM, the first Japanese four-stroke enduros from Japan also handled everyday tasks. They were reliable, persistent and frugal in dealing with fuel and oil; the little rascals were aimed more at the moderate audience, were turned towards enduro hikes, easy terrain and trial-like passages. All those who were not so much looking for competition but rather enjoyment away from the street came into play.

Spurred on by the Yamaha XT 500, all Japanese manufacturers put a small four-stroke enduro in their shop window. Honda planted a four-valve engine in the enduro chassis and stuck a huge 23-inch wheel between the skinny fork legs. The bottom line is that it is not a bad solution, which is also suitable for rapid excursions into the gravel pit.

In 1978, Kawasaki improvised an enduro chassis around the simple ohc two-valve engine of the Z 200. The clumsy attempt called the KL 250, in which the exhaust manifold pulled through under the engine, failed due to its poor off-road capability and was soon supplemented by the classy KLX 250.

Suzuki came out of the quark late, but then took the large-displacement SP 370 out of the bag. With 25 hp and an attractive, slim design, the SP 370 cut a brilliant figure on and off the road.

A real modern classic: The Kawasaki 250TR.

With the XT 250, Yamaha opted for the rather conservative path. It was like the face of the legendary XT 500. Technically, however, the small XT with cantilever swingarm and central spring strut as well as the telescopic fork with forward-shifted wheel axle carried features of the YZ-Crosser.

To bring back the good old days, the engineers at Kawasaki got down to work and decorated the Estrella 250 with all kinds of off-road utensils. Starting with the chic 6.5-liter drop tank to the white plastic mudguards to the matt black whitewashed megaphone exhaust, the 250TR looks like a finely restored model from the 1970s. The chrome-plated, high handlebar with cross brace, the rear light enthroned on a sheet metal bracket and the robust brake and gear lever made of tough flat iron go well with this. The Dunlop trial tires, carved with rectangular tread blocks, are stylishly reminiscent of the good old days. The 19-inch front wheel, on the other hand, was more of a concession to the seat height and primarily used in short-distance and city traffic. After all, the 250TR is primarily intended for the Japanese market and is not available from official Kawasaki dealers in Germany. MOTORRAD CLASSIC borrowed the good piece from Braunschweig-based company Popko (www.popko.de), which takes on the import and registration for 4800 euros plus TÜV costs.

If the 19 HP is enough, you can look forward to a motorcycle that can originally be driven as it looks – apart from the starting process. Thanks to the electric starter and the electronic fuel injection, it takes place without kick starter gymnastics and choke fumbling. One press of the button and the single cylinder clocks cleanly.

The long-stroke 250 OHC motor (66 x 73 mm) cranks up from low speeds without holes and pushes evenly. The modest soundscape, however, lacks real single joys; Mechanical engine noises, a rather wooden nailing and knocking in the crank mechanism move into the acoustic foreground. If you didn’t know better, you might think that a diesel engine was working on itself. The engine housing with the distinctive triangular alternator cover and the rounded clutch bell were undoubtedly taken from the British by the Japanese – the Triumph Tiger 100 sends its regards, even if its drive is reversed in the chassis. For this, the Japanese have made considerable efforts with the neatly modeled timing chain shaft. In connection with the almost vertical cylinder, the heart of the engine has been shown in the right light with its opulent dimensions; at first glance a mixture of the Yamaha XT 500 and the AJS Boy Racer.

The 250TR is not only excellent in city traffic.

Even the sitting posture on the Japanese Enduro is very, very English, the handlebars are quite high, but extremely comfortable and easy to grip in connection with the upright posture. You don’t have to say a word about switches and fittings with a Japanese, they were in a class of their own with the first Honda CB 450 K0 from 1965.

Narrow tires, little weight and a slim knee joint are the basis for a handiness that actually reminds of the virtues of the old enduro and scrambler models. However, the lightness of speeding around corners does not come at the expense of stability: if the original Enduros wobbled more or less like the lamb’s tails from 120 km / h, the little Kawasaki hisses even with full throttle and big ears as if cemented over undulating country roads and through fast corners. "Fast" For the 250TR this means: 120 km / h, more is not possible. But more does not have to be, because enduro hiking has never been hectic, but has always included a generous use of space and time.

That is why we never leave out the smallest junction that could end in a gravel or clay slope. Whoever seeks will find. Where hedgehogs and rabbits say good night, we roam all over the country and find here and now that motorcycles like this Kawasaki are even today, perhaps even more so today.

In rough gravel passages and deep transverse grooves, the speed is adapted to the spring travel, that is to say: reduced to walking speed because the spring travel is at least as tight as the damping reserves. As you can see, here too, with the Retro-Enduro 250TR, Kawasaki has strictly oriented itself towards the poor off-road qualities of the KL 250 from 1978. If retro, then right, with all the beautiful and less beautiful peculiarities. The small Kawasaki 250TR makes motorcycling an experience, a challenge, an adventure again. The world already has more than enough softened all-rounders.

Technical specifications

The single cylinder with classic English shapes shows off its ingenious chain shaft.

 Technical data Kawasaki 250 TR
 engine  
 design type

 Air-cooled single cylinder four stroke engine, one above

 Horizontal camshaft, driven by a timing chain,

 two valves, operated via rocker arms

 drilling  66 mm  Hub   73 mm  Displacement  250 cc  compression  9.0: 1  power     19 hp at 7500 rpm  Mixture preparation

 Electronic fuel injection,

 Throttle valve diameter 23 mm

     Electrical system    Start  Electric starter  battery  12 V, 8 Ah  ignition  Contactless battery ignition  alternator  Three-phase current, 224 W.      Power transmission    coupling  Multi-disc oil bath  transmission  Five-speed, claw shift  Secondary drive  Roller chain      landing gear    Frame type  Single tube frame with split steel tube beams  Front wheel guide  Telescopic fork, Ø 37 mm  Rear wheel guide  double swing arm, two struts  Front / rear suspension travel  120/95 mm  bikes  Wire spoke wheels with steel rims  Front tires  90 / 90-19  Rear tire  110 / 90-18  Front brake  Disc brake, Ø 270 mm  rear brake  Simplex drum brake, Ø 160 mm      mass and weight    wheelbase  1420 mm  Steering head angle  63 degrees  trailing  96 mm  Weight  145 kg  Tank capacity  6.5 liters      Performance    Top speed  120 km / h      price  4800 euros plus TÜV  importer  Popko Motorradsport GmbH, Braunschweig    

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