KDXRIDER.NET

So the wife and I go out for a ride today and I noticed her kx 100 smelled like it was burning coolant. It was a sweet smell so I'm certain it was radiator fluid. I haven't done anything to the bke lately other than repack the exhaust and that was two rides ago. The bike is a 2003 (lightly ridden by her) and is still on the original top end. I would guess it has around 100 hours on it. My queston is...why is it buring coolant? Could it be a blown head gasket? I checked her radiator and it's still full (right above the fins). What else could this be. I'm thinking about just ordering the weisco piston kit and rebuilding the top end. What do you guys/gals think.

Thanks,

John

I'd pull the plug and pipe to take a look.

I pulled the plug (I didn't cut it back to look at the insultor like I did when jetting the bike) and it was a light brown color. What signs am I looking for when I pull the pipe and look into the cylinder?

Thanks,

John

Smell the pipe, cylinder and plug.

Ok, you mean the expansion chamber right? I smelled the end of the silencer when she got done riding and it had that sweet coolant buring smell. I will pull the pipe tomorrow after work and check the plug and cylinder as well. What do you guys think I could possibly be in for.

Thanks for the help,

John

A leaky head gasket... try retorquing the head...

Thanks Inda, I was confused because I know the smell of burning coolant yet the radiator was still full...hopefully I just caught it early. I will pull the exhaust and plug tomorrow and smell them and retorque the head while I'm at it. Thanks for the help...I will let you guys know what I find out tomorrow afternoon.

John

Before you jump to conclusions, try tightening all of the hose clamps on the hoses...

Thanks for the tip gregp, but could a loose clamp cause it to burn the coolant? I've had leaky hoses before (not on this bike) and the coolant would spill out onto the engine and make a much different smell. I will tighten all clamps this afternoon when I get home from work...I just want to understand how this could be causing my problem.

Thanks,

John

I'd look for leakage at hoses and clamps and try tweaking the head bolts.
A little bit of radiator fluid seems to make a lot stink.

The smell always reminds me of our local Enduros - high dollar four-strokes melting in the Alabama tights

Thanks KarlP, I will check all of those things this afternoon. I know your wife has a kx100 also. Since it's the original top end and has somewhere around 75 hours of mild riding on it, would you go ahead and redo the top end with a weisco kit. The bike has been running great, but my wife has had trouble starting it on the last couple of rides. However, I can walk over kick it once and she fires right up?

Thanks again,

John

I imagine you have a bit more umph behind your kick than your wife does.....I'd look at the easy stuf first- air filter, plug, take it around the field for a good wringing out. A compression test would be good to do if you know what it was before. 75 hours doesn't seem excessive under those conditions. It might just be getting a little gummed up.

The fact that you don't have drops of water on your plug is a good sign.

Thanks guys, I checked all the hoses/clamps and they are tight. I will be cutting the plug open for a look this afternoon, but from looking at it as is...it's a nice tan (brown paper bag) color. I think I may go ahead and rebuild it b/c a friend of mine has a standard size weiso kit he will sell me for cheap. I ordered a service manual yesterday to help me with the job. Can you guys give me any tips on successfully rebuilding the top end and how I should break it in. I like the idea of warming it up and riding it like you stole it...I just don't know all the specifics of this method (oil, ratio, jetting, ect.) Any tips, methods, advice, things not to do, ect are greatly appreciated.

Tahnks,

John

support the KIPS shaft with LEFT treaded nut when removing the jug and at re-assembly

thanks scheckaet, I didn't know if the PV assembly was like the KDX...I guess they are pretty similar. Please keep the good advice coming...if I screw this up the wife will kill me

Here is a picture of the me and the wife this saturday at Loretta Lynns fall ride. She is alot meaner that she looks!



Thanks,

John

oops didn't realize you were talking about the KX100, don't know anything about their engine, sorry.
I'm sure someone with more knowledge will butt in.
I am in the process of lowering my old KDX for my GF (she's a noob and only 5'2.
how does your girl like the KX?

She loves it! It's really light weight making her very comfortable on it. And it's the perfect height...she is 5'4". KarlP gave me some really good advice on setting it up for her and it's a great woods bike now. Also, you can find them for pretty cheap right now. My brother just got his wife a nice 2006 for 1,000

It should be less complicated than the KDX powervalve assembly, but be aware of potential LH threads.

Fuzzy, thanks for the advice. Hopefully, the manual will tell me if it's a LH thread. What oil do you recommend for coating everything down and breaking it in? For the actual break in, I let it warm up on the stand for a few minutes, ride it easy for a few minutes to make sure it is at operating temp, and then give it hell? If so, when and how do I burp the coolant system to make sure I am full of fluid before the give it hell part.

Thanks,

John