Finally finished my fork conversion.... lots of pics

[thirdgenlxi]

Seemed like it took me forever to finally do it, but got it all done.... and I must say, I'm VERY happy with how it turned out! Did a few other things too to freshen up the aesthetics a little bit.... still have a few things left to do as well but this was most of it, lol

Anyways.... pics.... from the beginning

Before....



Came across a great deal on a complete front end on ebay..... they're older, off a 1994 KX-250, but seemed to be in great shape and came with everything



And they were cleeaannnnn...... this was exactly how they came out of the box, no cleaning done



I actually went out and bought a press, just to do this, lol (I had been wanting one for my garage anyways.... good reason to). KDX stem pressed out of the stock clamp



Pressing the KX stem out of the KX clamp



Worked like a champ



KDX stem pressed into the KX clamp..... fit perfectly, nice and tight.... no knurling required





For the little spacer for the top clamp, after trying several different things, I ended up using this..... a 1" nylon bushing (got at Tractor Supply). It fits into the KX upper clamp nice and snug



Then just used the Dremel tool to slowly shave it down to the desired thickness (which is quite thin).... worked like a champ! Fit over the stem nice and snug but easy enough you can easily install and remove it





Test fitting everything





Everything seemed good, so got my tire swapped over from the KDX wheel to the KX wheel, then put on a new 2015 KX-250f front fender and decal, and Core Moto braided brake line (which was a major PITA to bleed out). Prior to this I had already taken the forks apart and replaced the seals, bushings, and fresh fluid, so they were all ready to go





New headlight housing (old one was a little beat up from a few crashes), and new composite hand guards as well..... gotta keep her looking fresh, lol

















Next day, first dirt ride with some buddies down at Enoree, SC..... it felt GREAT! Definitely stiffer, but not bad..... way less pogo-ish like the stock forks were, bouncing everywhere



All cleaned up



A few more ride pics..... new look and new feel.... I'm loving it! I ride almost every day with my best friend Scott here and his '06 KX-250












Older picture.... but now to get my supermoto wheels mounted up with the new forks..... can't wait! They were just loose fitted here, as the front axle was too small on the KDX forks




Sorry for so many pics..... I get a little carried away with pictures sometimes, haha. Seriously love this bike though.... and definitely glad I ended up doing the swap

[6 Riders]

Nice job!
How do you like that headlight on the street?
Do you think the Core Moto brake lines are worth the cost?

[royadams]

Lookin good

[thirdgenlxi]

Nice job!
How do you like that headlight on the street?
Do you think the Core Moto brake lines are worth the cost?

It does great! The aim is a little weird, you have to have it pointed kinda down to have it aimed right, otherwise it's waaayyy high. But other than that it does real good. The stock 35w bulb is about useless..... you can't see anything at night without at least the high beam on, and even still it's bare minimum, just enough to keep you on the road, lol. I replaced the bulb pretty quick with a Cyclops 3800 lumen LED bulb, and it made a HUGE difference..... can see everything at night now, no probs

And yea I really like the Core Moto lines..... $75 for the front, but the quality seems top notch, and you can customize them just about any way you want with all the different color choices for the line, plastic sleeve, fittings, etc. Plus I always like supporting a small local guy that makes his stuff here in the US

[thirdgenlxi]

Lookin good

Thanks! I'm loving it

[newbbewb]

nice swap. very clean front end, forks, look awful high in those triples. Ride height is high compared to rear. Might help with headlight aiming also.

FWIW, dropping 1mm in fork height to triples is night and day difference in handling and turning on tight trails, as well as high speed stability.

[thirdgenlxi]

nice swap. very clean front end, forks, look awful high in those triples. Ride height is high compared to rear. Might help with headlight aiming also.

FWIW, dropping 1mm in fork height to triples is night and day difference in handling and turning on tight trails, as well as high speed stability.

Oh yea? Cool deal good to know..... I was thinking of dropping it a little bit anyways. I had just set it where the old marks on the forks were as a starting point just to get it going. I'll def play around with it though...... thanks

[dualscotty]

Nice job looks great. I am doing a fork swap myself after this riding season. Thanks for the pics and laying it all out step by step. I might have some questions for you during the process if that's ok. Does it feel like a new bike? Thanks again.

[thirdgenlxi]

Nice job looks great. I am doing a fork swap myself after this riding season. Thanks for the pics and laying it all out step by step. I might have some questions for you during the process if that's ok. Does it feel like a new bike? Thanks again.

No problem at all.... ask away Yea it made a pretty big difference...... though before putting them on I also did all new bushings, seals, and fork oil..... so I'm sure that in itself helped from what I had before, lol. But it definitely does seem more planted, though firmer. My old forks seemed to like to bounce and pogo the bike all over the place when hitting rocks and whatnot (it's very rocky here where we usually ride at). I'm not that fast of a rider by any means, but I do think it feels quite a bit better. Not to mention it looks a hell of a lot better too, haha

[Jaguar]

next... Ohlins shock :-)

[Tyl3r]

off topic, but what rear tire are you running? Is that a trials tire? I'm trying to pick out a good tire for dual sportin

[thirdgenlxi]

off topic, but what rear tire are you running? Is that a trials tire? I'm trying to pick out a good tire for dual sportin

Yea....well trials hybrid. Kenda Equilibrium..... it's the soft gummy trials compound, in a knobby layout with more side knobs, instead of just being flat on the sides like straight trials tire. I like it..... for the rocky terrain we have here, it's straight magical. Not that great in slippery mud though, and the rear brake is pretty ineffective, as it just slides. But traction climbing stuff is amazing..... you can wheelie up a wet rock

This is my 2nd Equilibrium.... I rode my last one on the road a good bit, it does good but being so soft it does wear it down pretty quick. The trackmasters are supposed to be pretty good both on and off road, and they're DOT I believe as well

[two-stroke-brit]

nice tidy conversion .
is there a plastic frame protector of some sort on the kick start side by the foot peg mount ?.
thanks mark

[diymirage]

did you install bumpstops?
because the upper tubes are so much wider then the stockers, the upside down forks contact the tank before the hit the steering stops

when I did mine, I tapped the stops and installed a few bolts in there
adjust until it no longer hits the tank, tighten up the nuts on the back and your all set

[dualscotty]

I see you do a lot of dual sporting with your kdx thirdgenlxi. I too dual sport mine a lot .i have just the one bike and use it for everything .i see from your many ride reports you have run street tires on your bike as I have thought about doing as well. How's the ride on street tired. Thanks