babo89 wrote: 01:59 pm May 02 2024
I have a 1997 220.
I have a manual, but a lot of the parts I find on google all say 98-05 220 and im just not sure if it's because of the year they came out or if there is actual difference in any if these parts.
You will VERY often find that aftermarket parts suppliers will have incorrect interchange info on their websites regarding models, years, etc.
All North American market 1995+ KDX models, 1995-2006 KDX200H & 1997-2005 KDX220R, basically share almost all identical components.
Internationally the SR models which were street legal dual sports, are based on the same platform but have a lot of differences in their tune, electrics, gas tank, shrouds, etc.
The primary differences between the models are found in the carburetor size (PWK35 on 200 vs PWK33 on the 220), cylinder porting and bore size + corresponding cylinder head diameter with all the above tuning characteristics on the 220 being catered more towards low RPM torque and a milder power delivery for maximum traction & tractability versus more focused on high RPM peak output on the 200.
The 220 also came with a wider chain guide to accommodate the o-ring chain that was stock, whereas the 200 did not come with an o-ring chain stock and had a narrower chain guide.
There are other subtle differences such as I believe the power valve subport bushings on a 220 for some reason are a different height than those on the 200, but neither James nor myself could figure out why they would have a change in these and did not see that it would make any performance difference. 1995 - 1996 had a lighter clutch spring versus 1997 all models 200 and 220 had that replaced with a slightly firmer clutch spring set.
The last few years in the 2000s came with silver frames instead of green. Graphics of course changed frequently, 1996 and 1997 had purple tanks and seat as well (96-only on purple radiator shrouds), etc... 1999 was the only year to come with white radiator shroud side plastics. The rest - 95, 97-98, 00-06, were all green shrouds.
Generally all parts not mentioned here are compatible between the two models if not absolutely identical. Most of which are absolutely identical aside from what we mentioned.
The one big consideration on the 220, is that the pistons were made by ART Pistons, a different manufacturer to my knowledge generally only specialized in four-stroke pistons (and do a fine job at that), but unfortunately, the OEM 220 pistons are a poor design with more sharp edges, thin casting areas, and larger reliefs cut into them, which leads to them self-destructing at random, sometimes when almost brand new on a fresh cylinder, sometimes 20 years down the line. They are a ticking time bomb however, and should never be trusted...
ALWAYS run an aftermarket forged piston from Wossner or Wiseco. I prefer Wossner due to them coming with coated skirts to further improve the lifespan of both the piston and the cylinder plating.
My buddy's exploded '99 Honda CR250R piston hanging on his garage wall that I changed out a long long time ago, I just noticed was also an ART piston, & also completely obliterated itself, cracking around the skirt substantially and dropping parts into the crankcase, some of which we found in the exhaust.
There was one anomaly reported that was not necessarily confirmed, but someone was saying elsewhere that they had a 69mm 220 piston that was OEM but was not made by ART, and in fact was made by the other manufacturer whose name I forgot (SK?) that made the 1986 - 2006 KDX200 OEM Kawasaki piston... Unfortunately one other enthusiast recently ordered a new OEM 220 piston only to find that it still was the faulty design ART piston, and that Kawasaki still did not make up for the flawed design by having the manufacturer of the 200 pistons make the 220 pistons nowadays, unless of course it was remaining old stock from somewhere.
Wossner makes a 69.00mm bore A size, 69.01mm B size, and 69.02mm C size (although they may be out of stock of one of those right now last I checked), and at one point in the last year I looked up Wiseco and saw that they only offered on their website 1.0mm oversized to fit a 70.00mm bore, no 69mm A/B/C variations. The A/B/C sizes are really nice to have available to compensate for cylinder plating wear as well as very slight machining variances from cylinder to cylinder. Running the Wiseco works fine, but your piston to wall clearances maybe slightly looser than what is the absolute most ideal. I believe Wiseco may offer the A B and C sizes for the 200's 66.00 mm pistons, but I'm not entirely certain, you'll need to check both manufacturer's websites to verify either.
ONE VERY CRITICAL STEP:
If you have never disassembled a KDX top end before, the power valve governor actuator rod that connects from the clutch case up to the top side of the cylinder jug, the nut on the top is left hand thread, and also the shaft must be held with a backup wrench on the wrench flats just below the nut, otherwise you will put a strain on the pin at the other end that goes into the power valve governor / timer, which could shear the pin off immediately, or could weaken it to where it will fail and fall into the crankcase later after the engine is reassembled, which can then get sucked up in between any number of gears in your transmission or clutch area and obliterate hard to find or expensive parts.
Always heed this warning about the left hand threads and using a backup wrench. Check the pin on the other end when it is disassembled as well. You have to pull the whole clutch case, the housing not just the clutch cover, on the side of the crankcase, in order to inspect this as well as in order to disassemble the water pump to inspect the shaft for grooving or replace the water pump seals. When the water pump seals fail or the shaft gets grooved, you will have a little bit of coolant mixing into your gearbox oil resulting in a milky appearance in your sight glass a lot faster than what clutch particles would discolor/cloud the gearbox oil with.