KDXRIDER.NET

Hey everyone! I just picked up a 2001 kdx220 for my daughter. It’s in good condition just needed a very deep clean and I am going to replace normal bearings to freshen it up. My question is this tho.

One being - is the conversion really worth it for my 15 year old 110lb daughter.

Two being - what year forks are best recommended. I found a 2001 set very nice shape, and also a 98 set also nice.

The 98 is much cheaper and I’m leaning that way because If I go with the conversion I will have the forks setup for her weight and riding style. Mainly just good trail riding with some mild enduro stuff when she is comfortable.

Any insight would be great. I considered buying the forks and just hanging on to them until the time is right than sending the tripper clamps out for stem swap.

I think I would just wait on the conversion. You'll want to make sure she takes to the lifestyle before investing too heavily. Plus, the stock forks can be made to work pretty good. They can be very plush and capable in rough sections when speeds are kept reasonable. Only if she really started to become a more aggressive rider/racer would I say the fork upgrade would be worth it.

Now, with that said, either of the forks you listed would be good with the right tuner setting them up. I ran some '98 KYB's from a KX125 on my old KDX and I loved them. IMO, pretty much any KYB or Showa fork from about 1996 and up are all good candidates for a swap except for the Showa SFF forks found on later model KX450F and 250F bikes but that's just my opinion.

I agree with KDX rider, stock forks work pretty good for reasonable speeds. My front end conversion required new forks, clamps, front wheel and caliper. Performance was better for high speed desert. In the woods the stock forks worked pretty good once sprung correctly.

Ok hey thanks for the reply’s. She has been riding since she was 3 or 4 and can ride a bike pretty well. This is hopefully her long term ride. I will just wait on the conversion. We will be riding much more woods, rooty and some rocky trails. I have a suspension tech we use here that is going to tune the stock shock and fork for her weight and riding style. That should at least save me some bucks also.

Welcome.

I would just keep the stock forks.

For slow singletrack, rocky, rooted trails, the stock forks are primo.

Ok awesome thanks for the insight everyone. I will get the stockers setup for her and roll with em.

How do I post pictures here? I know every forum is different. I am in the process of tearing this bike down and giving it a super deep clean and would like to start a build thread but don’t know how to add photos

I use imageshack. It’s cheap and allows embedding and direct linking, have had it for ages and my images from 15 years ago still work.

link in my signature


To post pictures from a device: viewtopic.php?f=88&t=24128