Kawasaki Green...Ya Gotta Love It

1100 miles of riding the KLX 250 this summer and a few memories of the motorcycles through the years.

The first motorcycle I owned was a Kawasaki 350 Bighorn back in 1973, same green. Some great riding on that 350, it was a powerful 2 stroke with about 5 or 6 inches of suspension travel...The time I was hammering up 494 at about 70 MPH and seized the motor, or trail riding at Bald Mountain and tearing down the path along the railroad tracks. I learned how to rebuild the motor top end and was hooked on motorcycles from those early experiences. I went on to trade it for a 1974 Kawasaki 500 triple that just ripped. I saw 114 MPH on that rocket between Chaska and Waconia one summer evening. The next year I traded the 500 in on another enduro, a 1976 400 Yamaha, bright yellow and black. That bike was the street legal enduro rage, power and handling. I hit every river valley trail between Shakopee and Carver and used to find deer trails and blaze my own trails. There is a trail along the river that I would take home each evening from work along corn fields and right on the river bank, always wide open throttle. As I roared between corn fields the flocks of blackbirds would fly out of the fields and I would duck my head and feel the birds bouncing off my helmet and motorcycle, That was a learning experience to not flinch with unexpected obstacles. Those early experiences stuck with me and have save my life several times...don't flinch.

It was becoming a pattern, large enduro motorcycle one year and the next year fast road bike. In 1977 I found a new 1976 500 Kawasaki triple again, I would like to ride one of those rockets again. Early crotch rockets. My theory behind this was that I craved the speed of the fast road bike and became too comfortable with warp speeds, 100+ MPH, so the next year ride a dirt bike. Gain handling skills on the trails then ride fast on the road. AK Kenny Roberts, the primo racer of the 70s and 80s. The next bike was a TT 500 Yamaha, tiny head light and tail light, full knobbies, street legal, barely. Worked nights, so rode that dirt bike back and forth every night, 40 miles round trip from Shakopee to Hopkins. That bike, I learned to lean it over on the edge of the knobs on the roads and feel the slide. Then I took the big ride, a 1976 900 Kawasaki. That bike, set it up with narrow, low road race handlebars and a 4 into 1 exhaust. That bike ROCKED!! Got to the point where I could throw it into a 95 MPH power slide in the corners. This is the motorcycle that I started the back road trips through southern Minnesota, find the curviest roads and ride, also started plugging in a radio ear phone, still do this to this day. I came up with a system of cornering speeds, if it had an arrow and indicated a speed of 50 MPH, I would double it and throw the bike in and go. If the corner had an arrow and no speed indicated, it was at least 110 MPH. With the 900 Kaw I wore out a couple pairs of boots because they were used as lean indicators. The next bike acquired was another crotch rocket, a 1981 GPZ 550 Kawasaki...this was a giant killer. It was as fast as my 900 Kaw, 140 MPH, more ground clearance, lighter and had superior braking power. I rode with a radar detector mounted on the handle bars, it satisfied my need for speed. These were the bikes of the "good old days".

This is just a partial list of the 22 motorcycles I have enjoyed over the years.

This 250 KLX is a blast, fast enough for the highway. It will run up to 85 MPH+ if need be, with over 11 inches of suspension travel front and rear. Looking forward to riding it off-road this summer.
Kinda back where I started 37 years ago on a Kawasaki Green Enduro. GOOD TIMES...