I threw myself in the deep end with the 2026 Kawasaki KX250 this month and decided that my first proper ride on the green machine would be the Macleay Valley Transmoto event in Kempsey. The ‘APO Ranch’, as it is professionally known, is a pretty sweet 400+ acre property, and it’s relatively new to the off-road scene. The club up there is throwing a ton of money at the place to make it into a moto haven. Being so new as well, the club has been learning lots about making tracks, and over the years, the APO Ranch has been known for having a bit of a tighter track with lots of switchbacks, cool grass track sections and a low-lying swamp separating the two halves of the property, which can cause some serious grief with a bucket load of rain. Well, this year, that script flipped, and we had nothing but flow, and it was awesome.
So, what did I actually do to the 2026 KX250 before I raced it? Not much, really. After the 10 minutes of riding on the first day I got it, I was happy enough with the stock package to send it into a race. Thankfully, I have some amazing support within the industry still, and after reaching out to a few of them, my KX and I were decked out with some pretty sweet stuff. First up was the good folks at Link International. They hooked me up with some fresh Pirelli tyres, with the all-new Mid-Soft front and rear gracing the bike and looking mean. Motul oils and fluids throughout, a fresh set of Polisport plastics, handguards, a chain guide and a bunch of other stuff like brake pads, oil filters and, lastly, a heavier-duty RK chain.
Next, we had good ol’ Australian-made and owned Uni Filter step up and offer me their new Kawasaki race kit filter system, which replaces the stock plastic cage with a billet cage that is bigger and offers a heap more airflow, which, in turn, means more power. I haven’t had the chance to back-to-back the stock filter with the Uni Filter yet, but I will very soon. And finally, my long-time decal guys, Holeshot Graphics—whose team I was actually a part of—came through with a custom ‘stock’ looking kit for the event. These guys are the best when it comes to graphics, and I’m pretty keen to get a really cool ADB kit up and running in the near future, maybe a Chevy Trucks replica or something, but for now, the racing stock kit looks the part.
As far as how the bike went at the event, well, I had a blast. The APO guys did a fantastic job of the track this year, with it being nice and flowy, and thankfully, we had a storm roll through the night before, so it was prime time. I was happy with the power of the KX250 once I got used to ringing its neck, and I played around with the suspension a fair bit because, obviously, it’s a motocross bike, so the stock setup was too firm for the bush. I was, however, very impressed with how adjustable the Showa suspension is on this bike, with the small clicker changes making big differences in the overall feel. I think I wound the suspension all the way soft and, honestly, I was pretty content with that. It was plush enough to handle the small bumps, yet held up really well on the bigger hits.
So far, so good with the KX250. Now I’m keen for some more rain and hopefully I get some more time on this bike before the next monthly column is ready for print.
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WARRANTY
N/A
DISTRIBUTOR
Kawasaki Motors Australia
SO FAR
TOTAL HOURS
10
MODS THIS MONTH
Holeshot Graphics, UniFilter Australia, Motul oils, Pirelli tyres, RK chains, Polisport plastics.
MODS NEXT MONTH
None
