KDXRIDER.NET

Hello,

First post here. Just picked up a 2004 KDX 220R. Looks stock w/ a FMF Gnarly woods + Powercore silencer. My first real bike (after a kx80) was a 1990 KDX 200, which I freakin loved (14 years ago). As far as riding, I am no racer, however I am decent in the trails (probably a C rider). I weight 175 lbs and am 6 ft. tall. I live on the east coast and would mainly be riding tight rocky singletrack (Virginia, PA, MD, NJ...).

My question is on the suspension for the '04 220. Is it worth it to respring + put new valving in it ( I would probably send it out to get it done right w/ the shock). Or should I be looking to purchase KX125/250/500 forks and do a swap (including a spring + revalve)? I basically want to know if the stock forks are ok when they are properly setup.

The stock forks are not bad when set up.
It was a night and day difference when I put XR400 springs in my OEM forks and changed to a 7.5 weight oil.
I rode it that way very happily for a few years.

I finally put '95 KX125 forks on and it was again a BIG improvement

Upgrade your OE kdx forks with some XR springs & different fork oil & you will probably find that works really well for your type of riding. The kdx forks are good enough for what they were designed for...a play bike...once you start to get used to the bike & ride faster/harder then the forks struggle to perform & things get out of shape quite quickly. Most people on here have owned their kdx for some time & like to do various `mods` the kx front end is popular one yet can prove to be expensive & a little time consuming ( I know because I`ve done it )..fine if you have the time & know how & fancy a little winter project to keep you busy....so my advice is if you ride single track & you aren't planning on racing etc then just run what you have & fit some new springs for now & see how things progress.

I just recently got springs and gold valves from Jeff Fredette. The forks are really good now for being conventionals. Way better in my opinion!

JasonK94Z wrote:I just recently got springs and gold valves from Jeff Fredette. The forks are really good now for being conventionals. Way better in my opinion!

May I ask how much that cost you? That is likely what I will try.

tx

The KDX is unbalanced from the factory, so do your forks first. The stock rear spring will be fine for your weight, but the stock forks are too soft. Racetech has the springs for about $115 for the front pair. That and fresh oil will have you grinning, and will be a marked improvement over stock. I wouldn't bother with the Gold Valves on the stock fork IMO. If that's the route you want to go I'd just go with a KX front end from the start. You can find complete setups on Ebay for <200.

bufftester wrote:The KDX is unbalanced from the factory, so do your forks first. The stock rear spring will be fine for your weight, but the stock forks are too soft. Racetech has the springs for about $115 for the front pair. That and fresh oil will have you grinning, and will be a marked improvement over stock. I wouldn't bother with the Gold Valves on the stock fork IMO. If that's the route you want to go I'd just go with a KX front end from the start. You can find complete setups on Ebay for <200.

+1 to everything!

IMO, the stock forks, when properly sprung, are the best (over KX forks) for gnarly, slow, technical riding and general trail riding. However, once you start wanting to ride faster with your buddies or blazing down fireroads and the like, the stock forks really show their limitations and can get you hurt. As a B-rider I will never go back to the stock forks. I have my KX forks revavlved to work great for both the technical and the fast stuff. Just decide what you really think you will do with the bike and go from there.

Thanks for the input. I will try the springs + new oil route. A lot of people suggested XR springs....Should I be looking for XR springs or racetech springs???????

A lot of folks used XR400 springs in the past because they were heavier than stock KDX (0.35kg/mm). The 1996-99 XR400 springs are rated at 0.38kg/mm and the 2000-'04 XR400's are rated 0.40kg/mm. Both of these can be used in the H/A series conventional forks. Use the spring rate calculator on Racetech's site but it sounds like you would need between a .40 and .42 kg/mm setup for your weight. If you can find a cheap pair on ebay go the XR route.

1996 - 1997 XR400R is .38.

1998 - 2004 XR400R is .40.

If you can do the springs yourself, try those first.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eibach-Fork-Spr ... 35&vxp=mtr

So these will work? Is that a good price (I don't see any used ones)

Also, does anybody have some used ones they might want to sell????

TX

Sure, the KX forks would be great at under $200. Lets not leave out the fact that you still need the proper springs for your weight, plus the forks need to revalved for off road riding. New forks sound like a bargain until you start adding all that up.

JasonK94Z wrote:Sure, the KX forks would be great at under $200. Lets not leave out the fact that you still need the proper springs for your weight, plus the forks need to revalved for off road riding. New forks sound like a bargain until you start adding all that up.

Don't forget that it is also ideal to have them lowered 1" to match the KDX ride height. Suspension gurus can do this w/o permanently ruining the forks.
IMO, Well worth the $$ if you are planning on keeping the bike for years.
I had my 94 USD forks built, was about $250 and made the forks worth GOLD! KX forks would be like platinum with a few $$ invested!