KDXRIDER.NET

My latest project
My wife found it on the Facebook equivalent of Craig's list. The seller had posted it wrong, so it sat there for about a month. As you can see it sat in the weather for quite awhile. I ended up paying $200 for it with another $200 in back DMV fees. The thing had never been ridden, it still has the clear plastic wear strips on the frame, and no paint wear on the frames or cases. It also still had the knubs on the original tires. I took it home, flushed the fuel tank, and cleaned the jelly out of the carb, and it fired second kick. Another $500 and some elbow grease, and this is what I ended up with.
Because of the mods I did to my old bike (TM 300EN), I have to run a mixture of AV gas and 91 pump gas. So I am running about 95 octane with lead. So once I get it broken in, I will be playing with the head, porting and timing to take full advantage of the fuel I run (and of course a Wiseco piston). Not looking for top end power, but strong roll on low end torque.

That thing is beautiful

HECK YEAH!! Congratulations! Great find, great work!

Great looking bike! You were in the right place at the right time that's for sure.

Very nice!

Thanks for all of the replies. Now lets get to the mods. like I said previously, I will be running leaded fuel at about 95 octane. I know I probably can't get it in the league as my modded TM300, but I want it to follow in its foot steps. Just to give you an idea of where I have been, and want to go. On my TM, I went from a 38mm carb to a 36mm. I also created a spacer that set the reed block back 10mm. To lower the port timing, I installed the thinnest base gasket (tissue paper), and cut the head until I had 0.030" deck / squish clearance, then advanced the timing 4 degrees. It hits so hard at idle, that most people think its a 500, and you have to screw up REALLY bad to ever need the clutch in the tight stuff.

This is what I want to create in my 220. I've done a lot of experimenting with both 2Ts and 4Ts, but I prefer to not reinvent the wheel. As you can see, I am willing to take it past the norm, but only if it is in a quantifiable method.

RB mods would help you go where you want as far as the head and carb mods, transfer ports can be cleaned up by hand if you know what you're doing. A non OEM piston is a must before anything else. There are reed block spacers out there, a VForce reed cage won't hurt.

Just wondering, how come on this forum, everyone mentions RB, but no one mentions FRP (Jeff Fredette). It would seem, that with all of his time on a KDX, he would be the go to man. In truth, I know enough people that build engines, and have mills, that I could have the head done for free. However, either one charges such a small price, that the setup time isn't worth calling in a favor. Since I want an abundance of low end, I doubt that I will have the carb mod done. However, I will still experiment with a larger carb. On my son's 91 200, I had buy a new carb from Sudco, Plus he also has a RAD valve, so after I get my motor work done, I plan on doing some swapping, and back to back rides, to see which combo I like best. I've modded quite a few engines in my time. Some have turned out great (my TM), others not so good (we won't mention). Since this is a new engine to me, I am always looking for advice, especially any that will prevent me from going down the wrong rabbit trail.

Eric Gorr 225 kit is also an option. That's what I have in my hybrid. Together with the lectron carb....I really like the power that it makes low to mid. On my KDX I am running with the RB mods (carb and head)...it makes amazing power as well. Has more top end but not as much grunt as the 225. Both are/were 200s by the way.

Lots of options out there. You've stumbled onto a great find. Have fun with it.

toomanytoys2 wrote:Just wondering, how come on this forum, everyone mentions RB, but no one mentions FRP (Jeff Fredette).

I think that is mostly because FRP does port work, and RBs work is head machining(squish band primarily) which has an easier to notice change in engine response, crank rebuilding, and carb boring/divider plates. There are plenty of folks who have used FRP on here, but I know my experience was that FRP was a lot less responsive than RB when I was getting work done on my bike.

Awesome find and great work on the restore! Looking forward to see whats to come.

Good job. Something seems a little off with the side stand, though. It's not touching the ground at the correct angle.

WOW. Yeah. That is way off. You should check on that.

You are right it is bent. Part of the problem was the kick stand itself, but I have that part done. However, the baffling part is that the mount that bolts to the swing arm is also bent. Usually a kickstand of this design isn't strong enough to bend the mount without snapping, but something sure did. I can see where the little reinforcing tab's welds are semi fractured, and when I compare the bracket to my son's, it is misshapen. I just need to run down and get my oxygen tank refilled, so I can apply a little heat, some love taps, and make a new reinforcing tab.

That makes me wonder about did someone kickstart it while on the kickstand?

That would be my guess, but I'm just surprised that the kick stand itself could take the punishment. The kick stands of the 70s and 80s could support an elephant. However, I have seen people snap the two piece design (like the KDX), by standing on them. Of course I always made sure they were okay before I laughed .

Wow!! What a score! It truly amazes me how some people can have something that, probably used to be nice (and in this case, barely used), and just let it rot away. I mean I don't even consider a 2005 bike THAT old! Crazy the lack of respect people have towards a machine

Definitely glad you scooped it up though and brought her back to life! It looks awesome..... probably basically a new bike now, haha Great job on the resto!

Thanks for all the kind words. I do have a question though. Are there any voltage regulators that can be bolted on to charge a small 12V battery pack? I put one on my TM but it was three phase, but looking at the wiring diagram, it looks like the KDX is single phase. The main reason I am looking is so I can power my GPS externally. Sometime a hard hit can make the internal batteries loose contact momentarily, which is a pain. I already have the batteries ordered, they are 2000mAH, AA NIMH, 1.2V with tabs. I look for the best position for them, wire them in series to get 12V, then I can power my GPS from them. I'm just looking for a way for the bike to keep them charged, rather then using an external charger.

Also, don't tell my wife, but I have a Wiseco top end kit coming as well .

Just getting ready to finish up a week out in the southern California desert. Really like the bike, but it is a little squirrelly in the sand. In fact had a high speed get off in a sand wash and bruised some ribs. Any mods to help in this area?

Ouch! Sorry to hear that.

What have you done to the suspension before taking off at high speed in the desert??