KDXRIDER.NET

Picked up a hybrid KDX220/200 this week from a farm on the far eastern plains of Colorado - stunk up my garage like a honey wagon from all the field rippin' it did in it's previous life. I say hybrid because if you check the VIN it's a 2000 KDX220 (and the engine case serial number agrees). But the top end is stamped as 0.198ℓ - and the head seems to match the KDX200 microfiche parts number as well. I believe this bike suffered a 220 top end failure and it was rebuilt as a 200. One downside is that it still has the 220's PWK33 - not for long though...

I'm planning on basically doing a nearly complete tear-down and rebuild so that it will better serve as a mountain ready dirtbike for the central rockies of Colorado (5,000 to 13,000 ft, 40* to 90* Fahrenheit and plenty of rocks!).



I've done a good bit of research on this site and here's my current build list (Everything is purchased and on it's way):

Engine

• FMF Woods Pipe (Came with bike)
• FMF Turbinecore II S/A
• Keihin PWK35 air striker
• Vforce 3 Reeds
• Silicone Radiator Hoses and Engine Ice
• Devol Extreme Radiator Guards
• Straighten Radiators

Driveline

• New sprockets and o-ring chain
• New chain rollers
• Replacement chain guide plastics
• Front and Rear wheel bearing kits
• Front Tire - Shinko 216mx 80/100-21
• Rear Tire - Tusk Recon 110/100-18
• 3mm Tubes front and rear
• New sintered metal pads front and rear
• Solid EBC front rotor
• Galfer braided front brake line

Controls

• 1-⅛” Handlebar risers with Tusk Chub Bar
• ODI Lock on grips
• Hand guards
• Rear brake switch (OEM style, connected to rear brake pedal)
• New front brake lever
• IMS folding shifter
• New Clutch lever and perch
• Motion pro throttle and clutch cables

Body

• Rear UFO brake light fender
• Repaired OEM headlight & Halogen bulb

Suspension

• Front Fork - OEM Kawi Oil Seals and Dust Seals - rebuilding it myself with 5wt oil - Adding Polisport fork boots
• Rear Shock - Standard rebuild by Endurospec here in Denver

If anyone has any other recommendations let me know - I've already gone above my original budget ($1000) by about $500 though haha. Basically I'm just trying to build a reliable and "fresh" feeling KDX200.

I guess you could say I like repairing older vehicles, or maybe it's the covid effect of working at home haha. I had a H series KDX for a bit in the past, can't remember if it was a 200 or 220 because it was a loaner and I didn't ride much at the time but one thing I do remember is it was FUN!

I currently have a 2020 Beta 200RR and it's ridiculously fun riding all around the high alpine of Colorado on the pipe. Unfortunately the Beta has succumbed to an electrical issues which requires an ECU replacement - so I figured while it's awaiting that repair this would be a fun project that I can eventually keep as a loaner bike or a bike to ride and put less hours on the Beta while trying to be a better rider with less bike - a training method that I think is severely underrated

Sounds like the PO experienced the dreaded OEM 220 piston failure and slapped a 200 head on. That's fine as the 200 and 220 have the same bottom ends and cranks. Can't tell from the pic, but if it doesn't have a bash plate I'd highly recommend it, same for a pipe guard, and a front fender would be useful as well. Congrats on the new project!

just a suggestion try 7.5 weight By mixing equal amounts of 5 and 10 weight the front end wont unload nearly as bad keeping you in the same rut and direction you wanted to go in the first place, Suspension is always the best bang for the buck, And will allow you to be a better rider Have a great time riding in the Rockies im headed there again in August for the second time this year that is one of the most beautiful places on earth to ride.

bufftester wrote: 09:48 pm Jul 23 2020 Sounds like the PO experienced the dreaded OEM 220 piston failure and slapped a 200 head on. That's fine as the 200 and 220 have the same bottom ends and cranks. Can't tell from the pic, but if it doesn't have a bash plate I'd highly recommend it, same for a pipe guard, and a front fender would be useful as well. Congrats on the new project!

I got a box of parts with it - in it where a faded OE front fender and a KX fender of some sort - the KX fender is on now and actually looks good. It also came with a basic aluminum bash plate with 3 1" pipe holders for attachment - there are quite a few dangly bits on the KDX's motor so I'm not sure if that's the best protection I can find - I would love to protect the water pump and provide a more bowl shaped bash guard if possible for cruising through the rock fields out here.

I'm pretty excited to start on this one - motor sounds great and the KIPs knock sounds very consistent with a healthy KIPS system, but I will see if the PV's need some carbon knocked free so they can operate at 100%.

bikeman2502001 wrote: 10:25 am Jul 24 2020 just a suggestion try 7.5 weight By mixing equal amounts of 5 and 10 weight the front end wont unload nearly as bad keeping you in the same rut and direction you wanted to go in the first place, Suspension is always the best bang for the buck, And will allow you to be a better rider Have a great time riding in the Rockies im headed there again in August for the second time this year that is one of the most beautiful places on earth to ride.

Good call - I have 1qt of Silkolene pro RSF 5wt so I'll get a quart of 10wt when I do the fork rebuild.

Where will you be headed out here in August - I ride all over the state so feel free to ask for any trail recommendations if you have a general area in mind.

Question? (I just bought a 96 KDX200, and it’s my first bike. It rode well first trip, but has lots of small issues)

Did you purchase all that stuff from one or two sources? Or from all over the place?

I need, (and I don’t know the appropriate terms yet)
-clutch handle shifter
-standard plastic attachment bolts of both large and small sizes (small for plastic, large for missing bolt for muffler)
-whole headlight assembly
-probably wires to redo head light wiring

I guess I am asking for recommendations on the best sources to order KDX items easily for a beginner who’s never worked on a bike. (Thank got for YouTube)

“put less hours on the Beta while trying to be a better rider with less bike - a training method that I think is severely underrated ”

Good luck on the renewal project. You may find you don’t have “less bike” after all

We ride in Telluride and often go to Moab from there as its only 2.5 hours from Telluride Both places are phenom able but very different from im used to here all we have is sand and mud and roots. Its a totally different type of riding there, Im trying to decide weather to take my 4 stroke or my 2 stroke , my first choice is 2 stroke but mileage and range are of utmost importance, Im getting pretty fed up with this 4stroke business.
Good luck with your build there, Im sure you will be happy for many years to come

All my bike needs is a better Rider.

Depending on the terrain if it's slow and technical I would save your money and not go to the pwk 35. Just stick with the 33. Another guy mentioned heavier fork oil, that's very dependant on your weight and terrain, so he could be completely right or completely wrong

mobile chernobyl wrote: 10:26 am Jul 24 2020 It also came with a basic aluminum bash plate with 3 1" pipe holders for attachment - there are quite a few dangly bits on the KDX's motor so I'm not sure if that's the best protection I can find - I would love to protect the water pump and provide a more bowl shaped bash guard if possible for cruising through the rock fields out here.

I use a Hyde skid plate on mine, and it protects the water pump as well.

Awesome KDX GATOROC

Tear down complete. Dropping the rear shock off to get rebuilt tomorrow then I certainly have my work cut out for me!
With the engine out now I'm going over it a little more. I'll do a high-level inspection of the KIPS and PV parts in general. Also noticed the ignition cover is plastic? Do most replace this with the boyeson magnesium cover or is it not as bad as it would seem (i.e. weak against impacts).

The PWK35 air striker was already ordered - I ride everything from 1st/2nd gear only technical stuff in the off season to 6th gear wide open overrevved desert in the spring and lots of on-pipe mountain singletrack in the summer - so I wanted the full powerband to be available. I also have v-force 3 reeds to install. Excited to see what this bike will do!

Good job!

Most keep the plastic cover. If you are worried about impacts, then go with an aftermarket aluminum cover. I don't think the Boyesen cover is made from magnesium, just "magnesium-ish" colored.

Some painting was done - swingarm to follow! My (ambitious) goal is to have it back together this weekend.
For those that haven't used it - the PJ1 frame paint is a dead ringer. Effortless to apply (the head does take some force to depress actually haha) and it really makes the frame look new again.

LOOKS GREAT!!

I am so glad they started making it again after about ten years without! I once had a guy in Canada mail me his helmet visor to paint so it would match his helmet he painted a stripe on. When he tried to find it locally, he couldn't get any.

Okay being done by this weekend has been deferred haha.

Started working on the forks and realized I never ordered bushings or slide/glide wear items (only dust and oil seals). So they're all on order now along with FRP .38 kg/mm springs (I hope he still makes/stocks them!). I figure while the fork is apart im going to rebuild it right and probably do the base valve shim mod too.

On the topic of base valve - I came up with this clever holder rig to disassemble my forks. Basically 1" pvc with 6x cuts, heat gun it then jammed it into a 1-1/16" socket (basically 27mm). Worked perfect!

HA HA! Nice! I was wondering what material that was. Good job.

Speaking of slide bushings, if you are willing to go a little deeper into rebuilding, I have an extra pair of KYB (Kayaba, original maker of the forks) damper rod bushings that go inside the cartridge head (where that tool goes). Price would be somewhere around $20. If you might be interested, let me know. I can post an ad in the For Sale subforum.

Thanks.

KDXGarage wrote: 01:58 am Aug 05 2020 HA HA! Nice! I was wondering what material that was. Good job.

Speaking of slide bushings, if you are willing to go a little deeper into rebuilding, I have an extra pair of KYB (Kayaba, original maker of the forks) damper rod bushings that go inside the cartridge head (where that tool goes). Price would be somewhere around $20. If you might be interested, let me know. I can post an ad in the For Sale subforum.

Thanks.

Forgive me but I feel like it's a slippery slope of where to make the call on what should be replaced and what can stay. Granted this is a 20 year old bike and the oil that came out of the forks smelled like the Differential oil that came out of my 2000 Wrangler TJ rear diff - stinky!

Is the damper rod bushing an essential replacement part for normal rebuilds? Is it a critical oil pressure part for damping hydraulics to work correctly or is it more just a dynamic friction aid wear item?

In looking at this post - viewtopic.php?t=23247&start=60#p199981 - I think I know which part you're referring to.

I would be willing to purchase it but I just want to avoid going off the cliff with these OEM forks in terms of spending $$ to build them vs. just riding the damn bike haha.

Hopefully that comes across as me just being in the trough of the rebuild process and pulling a few hairs out thinking of the fact that I'm going ot miss another weekend of riding...

Look at the picture where the cartridge is on the white towel, with the tool. The silver piece on top of the cartridge has a bushing inside it. It keeps the rod from contacting the cartridge head metal. It is like a small version of the outer fork bushing (with the slick surface on the inside).

Put some plumber's tape on the thread ends of the damping rod, then pull it out of the cartridge. You can see the bushing inside at that point.

The cartridge head has to come off to swap out the bushing from the bottom. Some gentle heat gun or propane torch work (or a gallon or so of boiling water) will loosen the Loctite. Some light taps from a hammer can help break it free. Also, the cartridge must be held securely without crushing the tube.

On second thought, it is a bit of work. :-)

New wheel bearings, tires and tubes, front solid disk and rear sprocket installed tonight. Even scuffed up the rear oem rotor to help it bed in better if that's a thing.
On the front wheel I removed the plastic worm gear inside the odo dealy. Im not going to reinstall the OE odo so I figured that would be only beneficial, i.e. less mechanical drag. I replaced the large seal and packed the odo deal with a nice layer of grease then put it back together.

It shouldn't cause an issue not having that worm gear should it? I plan on doing the plug mod up at the cable connection to seal that off as well.