D-tracker 250 2009 Reviews

[Richie1971]

Hi Guys,

Does anyone have an opinion on the D-Tracker 250? I looking at either something like this or a ERN 650 (big contrast I know)

I cant find any real user reviews on the D-Tracker.

Any information gratefully received I'm ready to buy but just need a few pointers from Farnags in the know.

Cheers

Richies

[Richard-BKK]

Do a Internet search on Kawasaki D-Tracker 250

[thaicbr]

Try looking at the GT riders website. google gt riders thailand

[BigBikeBKK]

I have a lot of friends who ride D-Trackers and they seem like a lot of fun and are quite cheap.

Chief complaint is that they are underpowered... They can not keep up with Ninja 250Rs and of course not a chance keeping up with an ER6. But D-Trackers were never meant for speed so I guess it really depends what you want it for. For tearing around the city or light off road riding I think they are fine. For touring they are really soft at the top end and max speed is about 110-120km/hr. Other than that they have a great reputation for reliability (minus one recall for defective ECUs) and are infinitely customizable with TONS of aftermarket parts available here in Thailand.

Happy Trails!

Tony

[Richie1971]

Do a Internet search on Kawasaki D-Tracker 250

tried it - no real info

[LivinLOS]

Nice but gutless.. Feels weak for a 250..

[Richard-BKK]

He Richies,

I agree not much info, but then there is not much to tell. It is in basic a motard style KLX250. If you ask me, I would wait a bit a look what Sachs will offer with its X-Road 250, which will also not be a powerhouse.. but at least it would be more value for money...

P.S. What do you like to know? I have all data on the (D-tracker) engine and design on my desk

Edited April 30, 2009 by Richard-BKK

[Zzinged]

http://www.nst.com.my/blogs/man-on-wheels/...cker-250-review

http://www.motorcycle.in.th/article.php/20...-250-introduced

Is that considered to be insufficient info?

[Fishenough]

Its rev limited in the higher gears forcing a rider to slow down and; enjoy the country and stay alive amongst so-so drivers. The biggest weakness, IMO, is the motocross seat on a road oriented bike; having mine redone makes 400-500kms days a treat.

Simply a quality bike, with solid brakes, easy handling and excellent gas mileage that will be left behind on the highway by bigger bikes. Every bike is a comprise for what you’ll use it for; so ideally 2-3 bikes is just right. Myself liking something more solid than a scooter, that has nice suspension for my damaged spine and handles dirt track comfortably. Stock tires are useless on wet dirt/mud/clay.

Rent one for a couple of days, also try out the Er6n – that should make up your mind.

[Zzinged]

It all depends on what you want to do with it. If you're going to use that to commute only, then the D-tracker should do perfectly. But if you want to do some touring, the ER6 would be a better option. Of course like Fishenough said, the best solution is to have a few bikes

[wrathfultalon]

That stock exhaust has to be strangling that engine as the outlet looks like the size of my pinky!!

Cool bike though.

[HangDongRider]

I´ve tested the D-Tracter on 4000 km tour in North-Thailand last month. Indeed a good funbike, good brakes, handling very easy. The performance with only 22 HP made me nervous all the time. I tried to use the speed allways too long and brake much too late. Only 1 bad accident was happend, the brakes worked great. But in fact, the accident wasn´t happend with a higher performance. I´ve riden all time very close to my frontier. It´s not the right bike, if you are relaxed biker.

[nikster]

That stock exhaust has to be strangling that engine as the outlet looks like the size of my pinky!!

No, that's not the issue. The general consensus between all people I spoke to about the bike and in online forums is that the stock exhaust is just fine. Switching to a 3rd party exhaust does not improve performance.

The main problem with the Dtracker power is the ECU which limits higher revs in gears 3 and up. Since you can only get about 8500 RPM in those higher gears, the bike always felt weak when going faster than 90 km/h. I was wondering why it even had a 6th gear if there is no difference between 5 and 6.

Then they swapped my ECU in the recall and now I can rev to 11,000 in all gears where I could try that safely. Now the bike definitely doesn't feel weak anymore, and I can get to 120 easily maybe even 130 on a straight flat when pushing it to the limit. And that's pretty much as fast as I want to go on a bike like this, there's a lot of wind and shaking going on already. Others have said the new ECU made no difference for them, so it seems a bit hit and miss there, sadly - can't really say that Kawa solved the higher RPM issue completely.

There are reports of an 8000 BHT ECU replacement that unlocks the full power of the bike too.

Anyway - I can absolutely recommend this bike post ECU replacement. It has fantastic handling, great acceleration, pretty decent gas mileage, and is a load of fun on a mountain road or in the city. Can be used for some light touring duty too. The only thing I'd like is a bigger fuel tank b/c as it is range is limited to 180kms. I'd like it to be a bit more, like a 10l tank instead of the current 6l one would be great.

I also appreciate the high clearance - you can do some light offroading no problem, and that comes in pretty handy around where I live. It's the main reason I haven't upgraded to the ER-6n.

Don't mind the hard seat at all... together with the rock hard suspension it feels more sporty. This is not a harley, after all. But if you must you can easily adjust the suspension and replace the seat with an old person seat

Edited May 3, 2009 by nikster

[LivinLOS]

Then they swapped my ECU in the recall and now I can rev to 11,000 in all gears where I could try that safely. Now the bike definitely doesn't feel weak anymore, and I can get to 120 easily maybe even 130 on a straight flat when pushing it to the limit. And that's pretty much as fast as I want to go on a bike like this, there's a lot of wind and shaking going on already. Others have said the new ECU made no difference for them, so it seems a bit hit and miss there, sadly - can't really say that Kawa solved the higher RPM issue completely.

There are reports of an 8000 BHT ECU replacement that unlocks the full power of the bike too.

Dont take this as too strong as I kinda like the d-Tracker and see it as having potential myself for a fun bike but..

120 and maybe 130... KPH !! Out of a 250 !! Thats simply pathetic.. I can get 110 out of a 112cc kwaker cheer thats maybe 10 years old and with 60k kms on the clock !! If I really wound it up over a long straight and laid flat I might see the similar speeds or at least a bit closer.. 20 years ago I could get +-100 kph out of a 50cc !! A 125 sonic or a 150 raider will fly past these speeds.

A 250 should pull 140 plus, and should get there with some authority.. Even this kind of motard design style.. The d-tracker / klx is really weak feeling for a 250.. Why I dont know, and I would love to ride one with the new mod ECU or one hotted up.. All the potential is there but having grown up on dirtbikes, most of which were 2 strokers, this 4 stroke FI emissions controlled power plant feels a big step down.

[Richie1971]

Then they swapped my ECU in the recall and now I can rev to 11,000 in all gears where I could try that safely. Now the bike definitely doesn't feel weak anymore, and I can get to 120 easily maybe even 130 on a straight flat when pushing it to the limit. And that's pretty much as fast as I want to go on a bike like this, there's a lot of wind and shaking going on already. Others have said the new ECU made no difference for them, so it seems a bit hit and miss there, sadly - can't really say that Kawa solved the higher RPM issue completely.

There are reports of an 8000 BHT ECU replacement that unlocks the full power of the bike too.

Dont take this as too strong as I kinda like the d-Tracker and see it as having potential myself for a fun bike but..

120 and maybe 130... KPH !! Out of a 250 !! Thats simply pathetic.. I can get 110 out of a 112cc kwaker cheer thats maybe 10 years old and with 60k kms on the clock !! If I really wound it up over a long straight and laid flat I might see the similar speeds or at least a bit closer.. 20 years ago I could get +-100 kph out of a 50cc !! A 125 sonic or a 150 raider will fly past these speeds.

A 250 should pull 140 plus, and should get there with some authority.. Even this kind of motard design style.. The d-tracker / klx is really weak feeling for a 250.. Why I dont know, and I would love to ride one with the new mod ECU or one hotted up.. All the potential is there but having grown up on dirtbikes, most of which were 2 strokers, this 4 stroke FI emissions controlled power plant feels a big step down.

Cheers guys - real opinions from real riders

[DVERGO]

Then they swapped my ECU in the recall and now I can rev to 11,000 in all gears where I could try that safely. Now the bike definitely doesn't feel weak anymore, and I can get to 120 easily maybe even 130 on a straight flat when pushing it to the limit. And that's pretty much as fast as I want to go on a bike like this, there's a lot of wind and shaking going on already. Others have said the new ECU made no difference for them, so it seems a bit hit and miss there, sadly - can't really say that Kawa solved the higher RPM issue completely.

There are reports of an 8000 BHT ECU replacement that unlocks the full power of the bike too.

Dont take this as too strong as I kinda like the d-Tracker and see it as having potential myself for a fun bike but..

120 and maybe 130... KPH !! Out of a 250 !! Thats simply pathetic.. I can get 110 out of a 112cc kwaker cheer thats maybe 10 years old and with 60k kms on the clock !! If I really wound it up over a long straight and laid flat I might see the similar speeds or at least a bit closer.. 20 years ago I could get +-100 kph out of a 50cc !! A 125 sonic or a 150 raider will fly past these speeds.

A 250 should pull 140 plus, and should get there with some authority.. Even this kind of motard design style.. The d-tracker / klx is really weak feeling for a 250.. Why I dont know, and I would love to ride one with the new mod ECU or one hotted up.. All the potential is there but having grown up on dirtbikes, most of which were 2 strokers, this 4 stroke FI emissions controlled power plant feels a big step down.

Cheers guys - real opinions from real riders

Hi, i bought a the d tracker motard last month during my stay in Pattaya, I sw a new shop at the sukumvit road, stopped, tryied one and bought one, I think it is great around the Pattaya city area, and it is quite quick up to 80, and then it slows very down. But it is solid, god handling and good brakes, wich was the reason i bought it, i was tired of the renting the scooters with lack of brakes. Had problems with it after just 3 days, it just keept stopping, they changed the computer brain, then th problem went away, but felt no changes at all regarding the power. But as many say it is so solid, but just a lacks a bit more power. So please tell me, if anybody knows what i can do to give it more power and go faster, without changing the front teeth, i need the accleration it has. My d tracker stops at 114, and you need to leen down to get it up to 118-119....

[MJP]

Had a look at one. It ain't that big really, so I didn't bother.

Oh, okay. The house extension ate all the spare money so I can't afford it. There . . . the truth.

Would love something like this, but the Click step-through thing will have to do.

[Zzinged]

MJP... is your first name Mal by any chance?

[MJP]

MJP... is your first name Mal by any chance?

Thankfully, it isn't, no, sorry.

[katabeachbum]

Then they swapped my ECU in the recall and now I can rev to 11,000 in all gears where I could try that safely. Now the bike definitely doesn't feel weak anymore, and I can get to 120 easily maybe even 130 on a straight flat when pushing it to the limit. And that's pretty much as fast as I want to go on a bike like this, there's a lot of wind and shaking going on already. Others have said the new ECU made no difference for them, so it seems a bit hit and miss there, sadly - can't really say that Kawa solved the higher RPM issue completely.

There are reports of an 8000 BHT ECU replacement that unlocks the full power of the bike too.

Dont take this as too strong as I kinda like the d-Tracker and see it as having potential myself for a fun bike but..

120 and maybe 130... KPH !! Out of a 250 !! Thats simply pathetic.. I can get 110 out of a 112cc kwaker cheer thats maybe 10 years old and with 60k kms on the clock !! If I really wound it up over a long straight and laid flat I might see the similar speeds or at least a bit closer.. 20 years ago I could get +-100 kph out of a 50cc !! A 125 sonic or a 150 raider will fly past these speeds.

A 250 should pull 140 plus, and should get there with some authority.. Even this kind of motard design style.. The d-tracker / klx is really weak feeling for a 250.. Why I dont know, and I would love to ride one with the new mod ECU or one hotted up.. All the potential is there but having grown up on dirtbikes, most of which were 2 strokers, this 4 stroke FI emissions controlled power plant feels a big step down.

The price of LOS emission, similar to California emission. I would love to get one of these or the Sachs 250. But I want the fun-power. Anyone with experince on NON Calif/Euro3 ECU??