Labor total was about 3 hours (stretched over a couple weeks). I didn’t want to hassle with pressing in and out stems and I knew the KX 500 stem was the same size as the KDX so I picked up a set of 2004 KX 500 clamps on ebay. I also got a complete 2002 KX 125 front end, minus brake hose and master cylinder.
Forks and clamps - My original plan was to mate the 125 forks to the 500 clamps but that’s where the first glitch came up: The 125 forks fit in the bottom 500 clamp fine but the top of the forks were about 2mm each too large for the 500 top clamp. I ended up using the top clamp from the 125, which was fine as it was a nice, after-market Emig Racing clamp. I did need to use shim stock (Coke can, nudge, nudge, wink, wink) around the stem to get a snug fit up top.
Handle bar clamps - The Emig Clamps came with a nice, solid-top bar clamp for 7/8” bars but since I’m running 1 1/8” Magura X bars I had to get some other clamps. Since I like my bar height taller, I am using Tag Metals 10mm+ clamps and it feels perfect to me. (Note: The stock KDX bar camps will not work with aftermarket triple clamp tops, nor with the stock KX 500 top clamp – bolts are way too long).
Front brake – Since the KX 125 front end had the caliper I decided to use that instead of the KDX caliper, especially because the KDX brake line routing would have been problematic with the fork slider and guide setup on the 2002 KX forks. I noticed on later KXs they revert to the KDX similar routing but 2002 was still the old style routing, down the front and under the fork leg. The KX 125 front end had no hose or master cylinder so I used the KDX master cylinder and bought a stainless steel braided hose from Pyramid Parts on eBay that was supposedly for a 2002 KX 125 but at 147 centimeters it was way too short. I exchanged it for one that was 158 cm long, which was long enough to emulate the KDX positioning behind the headlight, as opposed to the stock KX positioning in front of the number plate.
Headlight mounting – The stock top clamps would have worked with the stock KX 500 top clamp but since I was running the Emig top clamp I had to fabricate the top mounts out of 16 guage steel. Since I don’t have a welder, I brazed on the nuts. For the bottom headlight mount, I fabricated a bracket out of 1/8” x 5/8” aluminum flat stock that the headlight bracket bolts to. Turns out this aluminum bracket works well as a tug point, too.
Riding impression: I took her out to Wildomar, a local OHV area that has a mixture of steep hills, sand sections, whoops, rocky sections, tight trails, and fire road type trails and it was vastly better that the stock forks, even without adjusting anything on the KX forks yet. The spring rate seems perfect and I may only end up playing with the clickers. Next test: Vet MX Track action. Will report.
