From the moment the kickstarter brings the bike to life, it's apparent that Kawasaki did a lot more than just change the color of the bike. Likely due to the 30mm shorter muffler, the bike has a different exhaust note than before, and the throttle response feels clean and snappy, even when warming the engine up. On the track, it is easy to tell that the power has been shifted with the new engine design. While the previous KX250 had great low-end throttle response and excellent mid-range power before flattening out on top. The 2020 machine pulls much, much further up, and it is no doubt a machine that young 250-class rippers will love. Though the transmission ratios between second and third seems a bit short, the bike purrs like a kitten when the RPMs are kept high and the rider is skilled. The low-end and mid-range power that we loved last year was sacrificed for the impressive high-RPM power, but that's not to say that the bike has no bottom and mid. Let's just say that the Kawasaki now performs more like a KTM or Husky now than a Yamaha or Honda. The Castillo Ranch track is tight and somewhat slippery, and we can't wait to get the little green machine on more familiar territory to open her up. As always, the optional fuel couplers offer distinctly different power personalities. When we take delivery of our test bike next week, we plan to try all the couplers, as well as some different gearing, to see if we can better tune the powerband to our liking. Again; faster riders will love the new powerband as is...we're just looking for something that's a little easier to make good use of.

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