KDX250 or 200?

[Chewy]

Hi guys, Ive decided to get back into riding after an absence of a few years, and after much reading have come to the conclusion that the KDX is for me.
I had my heart set on an immaculate 1990 KDX200 on ebay with 4000km on the clock, but unfortunatly the auction was closed early due to selling it outside of ebay.

There is however a 95 KDX250, which has the same price on it as the 90 but has $1100 worth of work done on the engine (piston, rod kit etc)
The bike looks a little sad but otherwise seems ok.
Heres a link

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/250-KDX-American ... 4590757413

My question is, is the KDX250 as good as the 200 for the same reasons (light weight, good handling etc)
Or is it a completely different bike?
I have read that the 250s are heavier than the 200, but by how much?
Are these models as reliable as the 200?
And should I go for this one, or wait for another 200 to come along (could be a while)
What are the good, and bad points of the KDX250?

Cheers
Chewy

[Ryan]

well i to was also looking at a kdx250 for my first bike. Here is what i found im my research. The kdx250 is very powerfull. But the addition in power comes at a cost of weight. The weight on the kdx250 is a little bit more than the kdx200. Also because of the weight the handling and suspension were a little bit more creud. But im my opinion The 1995 would have better suspension than the 1900 but like i said the weight and handling was an issue. Im not trying to not make you buy it. Heck if you dont mind an extra 20 pounds or so go for it.!! Im sure you will love the bike if you get it. I would go test drive it before you bid. If you dont think it is too heavy and you like the way it feels get it. The 250 will have a good amount more power than the 200

[Indawoods]

Hey Chewy!

First off... I don't think that is a 95... they sure didn't sell 95 KDX250's over here at that time and it has old styling.

Personally I would wait for a more supported model like the 200. Parts and information is more readily available. The KDX250 is a fine machine but does take some knowhow to get the most out of it. I want a KDX250 as a spare myself but doubt I would get one as my primary ride.

[Indawoods]

1991 - 1994
KDX250 – D1 to D4
Parimeter frame with inverted fork

[KDXGarage]

Last things first - WHEW! I thought my list on my site had been copy and pasted, and I had misspelled perimeter, but I see it is the list from another site. There are a few things on that list that are just wrong.

Now that that is covered, welcome to the site! Check around to see which model is better supported in your country. In the USA (where almost all of us are from), there is not as much information or used OEM or new aftermarket parts available for the KDX250 as on the 1989 - 1994 KDX200's. The most recent version is the 1995+ KDX200. You may be better off to hold out for one of those.

As far as the KDX250 compared to the KDX200 of similar vintage, the KDX250 was 20 pounds heavier, as reported in Dirt Bike magazine. They said the KDX250 was better for mud and sand courses where a lot of pwer was needed, but that the 200 was better in most other areas due to it being more nimble.

As far as a direct comparison on the suspension, the forks can be made to work fairly well. The 43mm upside down forks can be tuned to a higher level than the damping rod forks on the 1990 KDX200 you mentioned. They are the best KDX OEM forks that were released in the USA.

The back of the KDX250 supplemental service manual lists a 1995 model, but I never see one mentioned in the USA. It may have been just in other countries. All four are very similar with only a few changes, and those were mostly from 1991, with a few things changed from '92 to '93 and almost no changes from '93 to '94.

Maybe member KAY DEE EXER can comment on parts availability for KDX's in AUS, as he is from AUS. In the USA, a KDX is fairly common, and a '95+ model is not hard to find in most places.

I bought a KDX250 about two months ago, and it doesn't look as good as that one, so don't worry too much about it. ANY dirt bike is a cash black hole, so you can always fix it up. By the way, I stripped mine to the frame after buying it, so I have no first hand experience besides a 5 minute test drive. I can't really comment on how it compares to a 200, or I would have offered some advice on it.

[43Duc748]

That is definately a 91 to 94 KDX250. I bought one as my primary bike. For what I ride it's great. I do mostly trail riding in the local deserts. The bike is heavier than the 200. I reduced the weight somewhat by removing things I dont need like lights and fender braces. The power is great once you get the jetting right. The bike will climb just about anything.... you just have to be able to hang on.

The rear suspension is fine, the fronts benefit greatly from re-valving and heavier springs. I have done neither to mine and have very little problem riding how I want to ride.

I paid about $1000 USD for mine and would not have paid any more than that. I put some money into mine to get it the way I wanted, but not much. A lot of what I did to mine was aesthetics. I plan to re-do the forks soon.

You can change the "nimbleness" of the bike by raising the fork tubes in the triple clamp and moving the rear wheel forward. You will lose some high speed handling when you do that. I get pretty shaky at about 50 mph and would want a stabilizer if I did that kind of riding a lot, but I don't. Good luck. You can see mine at : http://www.garage.whatburns.com/KDX.htm

Good luck!

[KDXer]

Welcome !!

The 95+ 200's are alot easier to get parts for over here than the 250. I have seen a fair few 95+ KDX's go through eBay for around the $3000 with rego. I guess it all depends on your price range. If it were me, I would save a few extra pennies and get a 95+. That 1990 with 4000k's has more-n-likely clocked over 10k km's as I think the trip counter only goes to 10k before reseting to zero. To put it in perspective, my 98 has over 20,000k's and that's mostly bush riding. Never know though, I guess.

Try here also. I have seen probably 10-15 KDX's get sold over the last 6 months or so.
http://www.tradingpost.com.au
http://www.bikesales.com.au

[Chewy]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.
I might go and have a look at it and take it for a ride, I wouldnt bid on this one without looking at it. It about 100ks away on the otherside of melbs tho.
Went and test rode an XR600, big fat and heavy.

My budget is $2000 atm, after christmas it will probably go up a little.
I might just stick it out for a 200 or maybe even go an RMX or XR250 if the price is right.
Cheers

[Chewy]

Thanks for the bikesales link KDXer, there is an E model on there for $1500, but its on the other side of melbourne (as with every other bike Ive wanted to look at)
Cheers

[KDXer]

No worrie's mate. Hang in there buddy, something will pop up sooner or later. Good luck with the hunt.

[43Duc748]

Hey

My budget is $2000 atm, after christmas it will probably go up a little.
I might just stick it out for a 200 or maybe even go an RMX or XR250 if the price is right.
Cheers

I would stay away from the XR250 unless you just want a utility bike. I rode one a lot before I got my KDX250. The suspension was way to soft for any sort of agressive riding and the bike was seriously under-powered and overweight. A good learning bike though. My KDX 250 laughs at hills that used to challenge the XR250... and sand? Well sand was the mortal enemy of the XR250... the KDX eats it up. Just my 2 cents on the XR.

[KDX220PHIL]

AGREED! I used to own an XR250, very reliable, low maintenance, what you would expect for an under-powered bike that cannot be tortured if you tried. Suspension sucked, and even with brand new tires it performed poorly in sand. There is no comparison between the XR and my KDX 220.

[KanuckKDX]

AGREED! I used to own an XR250, very reliable, low maintenance, what you would expect for an under-powered bike that cannot be tortured if you tried. Suspension sucked, and even with brand new tires it performed poorly in sand. There is no comparison between the XR and my KDX 220.

All the XR250 bikes I have seen are seriously modified and perform incredibly well. They do ride them hard though and they have XR durability. My KDX is great but I wouldn't hesitate to buy an XR250 and modify it so that it performed well. There are a huge number of them out there to buy at a good price.

Suspension has to be modified but even changing fork springs is sufficient in most cases and is cheap. Every bike I know is modified so it's not like anyone can buy a stock bike and be happy. Isn't modifying it half the fun? I had to change the suspension in my KDX. And it seems lots of guys here like to change their entire front end!

The first thing I have done with all my bikes is to modify them. More power, better handling and much prettier!

[KDX220PHIL]

I guess it depends on what type of riding you like to do, My KDX's stock suspension blew away that of the XR's and that is a lot to say. Pretty hard to get much more HP out of an XR.
You are right on the mods, I would modifying every bike i bought, it is fun, but when you compare potential, the XR is lacking without swapping the engine and suspension.

[KanuckKDX]

Pretty hard to get much more HP out of an XR.

It would surprise me to find there are a lot of XR250 fans here. And I agree with you totally. The 2 stroke completely smokes the XR. For horses it seems all the XR250 guys bore them out, change cams, and buy performance pipes. Out of the box, my 1988 KDX was by far a better bike. My 92' is modified and is probably twice the bike the XR250 is after it was modded. And the KDX mods are probably a lot cheaper.

Of course my bud with the XR250 thinks his red bike is better. But what does he know? My KDX is the oldest bike in the group and it still performs with the best, if the rider is any good. It still takes a real rider to ride 2-stroke well in the mountains we ride.

My argument is simple for those who may have the option of getting an XR250 - the XR250 is still a good bike to consider. No bad surprises if you get one. But the KDX is much better for the same dollars.

[Indawoods]

I had a XR350 I really really liked. Adequent power with plenty of torque. The best 4 stroke I ever owned. It was heavy and bulky though.

[KanuckKDX]

I had a XR350 I really really liked. Adequent power with plenty of torque. The best 4 stroke I ever owned. It was heavy and bulky though.

I tried to ride a 350. I couldn't clutch it never mind pick it up.
Riding behind a big thumper is cool though as the exhaust hits your chest.
Torque is fun , but lifting it up after many falls is brutal.

[Chewy]

We used to have an XR350, they are great bikes but are prone to overheating and head problems (which ours eventually got)

I gave the guy with the KDX200 a ring today and it is a Jap import "SR" model, are these any good or should I steer clear?

Cheers

[Indawoods]

About the same... some extra hardware on it you can pitch. Oil injection needs to go too.It may have a metal gas tank on it and a smaller carb but I don't know for sure.
I think other than that...they are about the same.

[m0rie]

They are pretty much the same as a standard KDX. It will have street equipment (flashers, odo and oil injection among other things) but that can all be easily removed. Depending on the year it might have a smaller 28mm carb instead of a 33mm or 35mm carb that is standard on the non street KDX's.