Hatfield McCoy C Series Ride Report
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Hatfield McCoy C Series Ride Report
I just returned from my second trip to the Hatfield McCoy trails system in West Virginia. This is a trip that ten or so members of my enduro club (South Jersey Enduro Riders) take annually to get a flavor of some rocks riding. It's always a good time. Last time I took my 2003 KX125 E series hybrid as well as my Husky CR125. This year, I decided to bring the hybrid again, but to also try out my basement find and newly-reassembled 1987 KDX200 C2.
This is my first C series KDX, and until this trip, I had only ridden it a little bit around my back yard. In the back point-forty it seemed to have very good low end snap, it turned okay, and the forks and shock seemed to damp reasonably well over my 1-foot log hop. The brakes seemed borderline adequate in the yard--the rear drum took a lot of effort to lock up and had virtually no feel. Very wooden. The front required a lot of lever movement to get any power, and that power wasn't very strong.
In my pre-trip preparation, I discovered that the front brake had ruined pads--unevenly worn from a past life on a mis-sized rotor--so they were effectively making only 30% contact with the rotor. A new set of pads, bleeding the line, and adjusting the lever further from the bar yielded a decent front brake. Not a one-finger stoppie machine, but good enough to keep me from racing uncontrollably down a mountain.
So how did it perform?
I have to say that I'm very impressed by this little machine. And when I say little, I mean LITTLE. The bike is almost 20 pounds lighter than the hybrid, and it sits low. The ergos on this bike are very old-school. The bars are narrow, with a lot of sweep, and they feel like they sit in your lap. Totally different than the high, wide and forward bars of the hybrid. Also, the seat height feels two or three inches lower than the hybrid, which made low-speed rock crawling very easy. The ground was always close by for a quick dab when balance was lost. The seat is wide and SOFT. This is a bike that was made for all-day sit-down riding.
Suspension-wise, the front and back soaked up the rocks and roots very nicely. They were very compliant, allowing the wheels to stay in contact with uneven surfaces and preventing deflection. Great at low speeds in technical terrain and climbs. At higher speeds, there was not enough damping to control the chassis adequately. I didn't really feel comfortable pushing the bike much beyond 7/10.
Hatfield McCoy isn't really about jumps, so I can't comment there, but I will say that the little C climbed EVERY hill I pointed it up, and it did it very easily. The power is excellent for chugging up long, technical, rocky ascents. There is so much flywheel, that the clutch is almost unnecessary once you drop down to first gear (13-48 gearing).
ONe of my club's trail bosses raced a C series KDX back in the '80s, and he did NOT have very good things to say about it. However, he threw a leg over it and proceeded to clean a VERY difficult piece of single track on the first try. His comments were that this bike's suspension was made for rocky technical trail, and it worked excellent in those conditions. He thought his troubles in the '80s probably had a lot to do with running it primarily in fast, whooped-out NJ sand. In those conditions, the fork just isn't good. But rocky, rooty slop is its forte.
So, I have to say that it's a great companion to the hybrid. Where the hybrid is great at 10/10 riding, as fast as possible, the C is a comfortable and capable relaxed explorer.
This is my first C series KDX, and until this trip, I had only ridden it a little bit around my back yard. In the back point-forty it seemed to have very good low end snap, it turned okay, and the forks and shock seemed to damp reasonably well over my 1-foot log hop. The brakes seemed borderline adequate in the yard--the rear drum took a lot of effort to lock up and had virtually no feel. Very wooden. The front required a lot of lever movement to get any power, and that power wasn't very strong.
In my pre-trip preparation, I discovered that the front brake had ruined pads--unevenly worn from a past life on a mis-sized rotor--so they were effectively making only 30% contact with the rotor. A new set of pads, bleeding the line, and adjusting the lever further from the bar yielded a decent front brake. Not a one-finger stoppie machine, but good enough to keep me from racing uncontrollably down a mountain.
So how did it perform?
I have to say that I'm very impressed by this little machine. And when I say little, I mean LITTLE. The bike is almost 20 pounds lighter than the hybrid, and it sits low. The ergos on this bike are very old-school. The bars are narrow, with a lot of sweep, and they feel like they sit in your lap. Totally different than the high, wide and forward bars of the hybrid. Also, the seat height feels two or three inches lower than the hybrid, which made low-speed rock crawling very easy. The ground was always close by for a quick dab when balance was lost. The seat is wide and SOFT. This is a bike that was made for all-day sit-down riding.
Suspension-wise, the front and back soaked up the rocks and roots very nicely. They were very compliant, allowing the wheels to stay in contact with uneven surfaces and preventing deflection. Great at low speeds in technical terrain and climbs. At higher speeds, there was not enough damping to control the chassis adequately. I didn't really feel comfortable pushing the bike much beyond 7/10.
Hatfield McCoy isn't really about jumps, so I can't comment there, but I will say that the little C climbed EVERY hill I pointed it up, and it did it very easily. The power is excellent for chugging up long, technical, rocky ascents. There is so much flywheel, that the clutch is almost unnecessary once you drop down to first gear (13-48 gearing).
ONe of my club's trail bosses raced a C series KDX back in the '80s, and he did NOT have very good things to say about it. However, he threw a leg over it and proceeded to clean a VERY difficult piece of single track on the first try. His comments were that this bike's suspension was made for rocky technical trail, and it worked excellent in those conditions. He thought his troubles in the '80s probably had a lot to do with running it primarily in fast, whooped-out NJ sand. In those conditions, the fork just isn't good. But rocky, rooty slop is its forte.
So, I have to say that it's a great companion to the hybrid. Where the hybrid is great at 10/10 riding, as fast as possible, the C is a comfortable and capable relaxed explorer.
Last edited by dfeckel on 03:20 pm May 01 2018, edited 1 time in total.
David Eckel
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Here's a nice single track loop we were running. I'm new to the posting of helmet cam video, so forgive the poor quality. I may have to look into a YouTube account for better hosting. PHotobucket seems to suck.
Sorry about the double post--mods, you can delete the 'Guest' post above.
Edit--I tried Youtube hosting, and the result is much better.
Last edited by dfeckel on 09:04 am Apr 14 2012, edited 3 times in total.
David Eckel
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You should! I'd like to see more.dfeckel wrote:I may have to look into a YouTube account for better hosting.
I don't think you mentioned what part of the HM trails you were on? Which system?
In the stable: '00 KDX220R, '02 XR250R
Gone but not forgotten: '80 XR80, '87 XR200R, '94 KDX250, '01 YZ426F, '86 XR220R
Gone but not forgotten: '80 XR80, '87 XR200R, '94 KDX250, '01 YZ426F, '86 XR220R
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- sped66
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- Joined: 11:29 am Oct 09 2010
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Forget the youtube imbed code. Just paste the url into your reply, highlight it by left clicking & dragging your mouse over it, then click the "youtube" button. Click "preview" (next to submit) to make sure all is well.
In the stable: '00 KDX220R, '02 XR250R
Gone but not forgotten: '80 XR80, '87 XR200R, '94 KDX250, '01 YZ426F, '86 XR220R
Gone but not forgotten: '80 XR80, '87 XR200R, '94 KDX250, '01 YZ426F, '86 XR220R
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Hatfield McCoy C Series Ride Report
Great description of the capabilities and overall feel. Patiently waiting for my '86 to be completed.
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Hatfield McCoy C Series Ride Report
Great posts guys. Glad to see some of us are keeping these old girls running. I just put one back together and I was debating selling and getting something newer but after these posts I think I'll keep it.TrophyHunter wrote:Great description of the capabilities and overall feel. Patiently waiting for my '86 to be completed.
It's really hard to find info on these bikes so this forum is great.
What kind of oil you guys using for these old air cooled.