I just got back from the "Dirtwise" school last Sunday, and I thought I would post a review, and some pics of my KDX.
First off, a little background on me. I am 46 years old, and have not ridden a dirtbike in close to 20 years. I am an avid mountain biker for many years, and was looking for something different, so a buddy and I each bought bikes off of Craigslist. After much research on this great site, I decided that a KDX was the bike for me. As luck would have it, I found a good deal last December on a 2001 KDX. It had 16 miles on it, and the owner was asking 1300 for it. I left work, and high tailed it over to look at the bike. The owner had purchased it from our local dealership, and ridden it one day, and then stuck it in his garage. It sat that for a decade. I took it home that night and brought it down to my shop in the basement.
I spent all winter taking it apart and greasing everything. I was surprised at the small amount of grease that was used when the bike was assembled at the factory. In addition, I sent the suspension to FRP for new springs and valving. Here is the bike during the tear down:
She is bone stock other than a 12T front sprocket. I also added Pro Taper bars, Accerbis bark busters and a Guts Racing gripper seat.
This is how she looks now.
During the long winter, I did lots of reading, and found out about Shane Watts dirt bike school. Me and my buddy signed up months before the class was scheduled to start. We were able to log about 70 miles prior to the school.
Finally, the weekend came, and off we went. There were about 26 people in the class. Shane brought along Brooks Hamilton to help him out. Brooks is a great guy, and a hell of a rider. Some of you may have heard of him. He is an accomplised racer, as well as a regional KTM rep.
The weather forcast was not good for day 2 of the class, so Shane changed things up a bit. He told us we were going to start with wheelies. Now I can tell you that I was a bit nervous as I have never done a wheelie on a dirt bike, and as I mentioned, I am pretty inexperienced. I followed Shanes instructions, and pretty soon, I was doing small wheelies from a dead stop. I kind of started out thinking that I just might not be able to pull this off at all. It felt good to begin to get the jist of it.
Next we were told that we were going to learn to ride over the logs that were in the middle of our practice area. The idea was to ride up to the log, and pull a wheelie and ride over it. I was apprehensive as I had just learned to wheelie about 45 minutes before this. With Shanes guidance, I was able to get over the log. It was only about 18 inches high.
Next we were told that the "lower level" riders were going to do the big log now. (Me and my buddy were the least experienced riders there.) I started to move to the back of the pack to try and hide. That does not work with Shane Watts! He called me out and made me try it. Now this log was almost 3 feet high, which was pretty intimidating for me. Here is a video of my first attemp:
It felt really good to get over that thing! Shane is a no BS kind of guy. You kind of have to man up and give it a go. To many of you, this is no big deal, but I was nervous going up to that log.
We worked on ruts and did some drag racing too. We also did some slow racing where the last guy over the finish line wins. The idea was to work on balance and clutch control. I was actually able to make it to the final heat before being knocked out. Here is a video of the race:
All in all, I would highly reccomend Shanes class. For you guys that feel that you would be bored by the above description, Shane does offer an advanced class. That is WAY beyond my capabilities.
Random thoughts:
The KDX is awesome! There were many expensive orange bikes at the school. (Brooks' bike was 15K! He told me it is unavailable to the public. Xtra big fork or something.) I was so pleased with my brand new KDX. I have 2K into the bike which includes the suspension work. She starts great, lugs great, has tons of power for me. I am totally in love!
This site and the members here have been a big help in the process of getting and sevicing my KDX. I thank you all for that. I hope to contibute something back with this post.
If you would like to be a better rider, than I think you should check out Shanes school. I am a bit of a nervous Nancy when it comes to the dirt bike. (Hey, Im 46 and self employed!) I never thought I would be poping wheelies and getting over 3 foot logs before lunch on the first day. In fact, I had so much fun that I have already signed up for his next school in Massachusetts this August. There are a few spots left if you can make it!
Thanks again everyone!
David
2001 KDX 200 (Now with almost 100 miles on it!)
