Supporting the "hockey stick"

[dingerjunkie]

Hello ladies and gents. I have a fender/brace/mount question for all of you who have used rear fenders other than stock.

My stocker has seen better days, and I don't trust the "on backorder" status for an OEM replacement at BikeBandit. Most other sites have the unit listed as completely unavailable. I've read that 1990-ish KX rear fenders will work with minimal modification, so I'm exploring options.

It is obvious that the rear hand-holds/fender supports won't work with anything other than the original fender. I'll be using a webbed strap for pulling/lifting the bike if ever stuck. My biggest concern involves the silencer.

Both stock and the FMF unit currently on my project are huge "hockey stick" units that rely on two mount points; one on the frame and one from the fender support...which won't be there with a new fender. I'm not super-happy about using only one of the mounts for such a large/heavy silencer given the position of the one to be used and the leverage that would be applied to the location.

Can any of you who have put KX rear fenders on the KDX250 provide pics of your installs? How did you handle the missing silencer mount point? Did anyone fabricate an extension brace? Is there a different spark-arrester that will fit/work with just the single bolt point?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[dingerjunkie]

I haven't really come up with my own answer on this yet, but I have found some pictures of rear-fender conversions to share/discuss. Some of the fenders used look far more contemporary than a 1990 KX replacement. The "straigher" ones may still actually work with a fender support in place on one side.

The first has fender profiles that I like, but the colors are wrong, which makes me think they are from a more modern KX (didn't they go to the "duller" green in the early 2000's?). It looks lie a non-SA "shorty" type silencer is being used.



This is smaller than the 1990 KX fender, for sure, and you can see that there is room for the fender support, as they have bolted a silencer to it...or did they fabricate their own extension?



...even better, but it looks like the "shorty" is used once again. It doesn't really look like '90s KX stock. Perhaps UFO?



Okay, I really like this setup, even with the number plates overlapping the fender. I'm almost sure that is straight & "up" enough to allow the inner support/mount. Any guesses on the make/model?


Final share...this one looks absolutely beautiful. The shaping seems to match the second picture. Any real bike-geeks who may have idea of the source? Perhaps someone recognizes the bike as belonging to a board member?

[Gotanubike]

The kdx250 has a perimeter frame like 95+ kdx200's I think. Unfamiliar with those frames but I can say with some amount of certainty that the 4th and 5th pic is a kx125 fender. The Acerbis 99-02 fender can be purchased on amazon/ebay for 25 bucks. I have one on my '90 200 and took some modification to the seat, and the fender itself to fit. It fits but tipped around due to the only mounting points being on the two sides. To fix that, I just tightly wrapped some tape across the frame and wheel arch to prevent it from lifting and subsequently the fender drooping.

[dingerjunkie]

Thanks, Gotanubike. I'll pick up a KX125 fender for experimentation. With the shaping of that fender, I'm hoping that I could still run one of the fender supports underneath that doubles as the silencer mount bracket. If so, that will eliminate any possibility of tipping.

Does anyone have ideas on the source for the fender in the first & last pic?

[KDXGarage]

Do you think you could make a bracket for the second spark arrestor / silencer mount?

What silencer or spark arrestor do you plan to run?

Are you opposed to the 1990 - 1991 KX125/KX250 rear fender? I had one on mine, but it did not have the fender supports. I can not remember about the silencer / spark arrestor mounts.

[KDXGarage]

I forgot to mention, the lighter shade of Kawasaki lime green is 2005+. 2004 and on back to whenever is -6W and the newer is -259, I believe, as far as part number color codes go.

There were several spark arrestors or silencers available for the KDX250, but I think all that is available now is a silencer from Pro Circuit (304, not the shorty R-304) and the FMF Turbine Core spark arrestor. I think Pro Circuit made a spark arrestor (Nature Friendly, I think). Answer made the S/A-Pro and the S/A-Pro 2. Somewhere, I have a new one of the Answer S/A-Pro 2's. It looks very nice.

EDIT: (instead of a 3rd reply)

I will go out on a limb and say the one in the middle with the four dots is a KX85/100 rear fender.

[dingerjunkie]

I currently have the FMF TurbineCore-II/ISDE with the project...same "hockey stick" shape as the stocker. I have no reason to eliminate it if I think I can support it.

I'll either fabricate a mount in place of the fender support, figure out what good looking fender works with one (or both) supports in place underneath, or go shopping for a different silencer that won't have so much mass hanging away from a single, front mount.

I'll bet you're right about the mini-fender, Jason. I just may see about picking up some abused/scrap fenders to play with before ordering new, and I'll make sure than an 85/100 is thrown in there for "testing." I'm really hoping I can find something that matches the shape of the last picture...much less "pointy" than the turn-of-century fenders, but "shallower" and smaller than the fenders from the 1990 period, from what my eye is telling me.

Yes, I was aware of the color change, so I was relieved to hear that the (likely) KX125 fender was from a 1999.

SEARCH UPDATE...to avoid another post...

From looking at the years on BikePics, I think that last bike in the series is using the fender from a 93-95 KX250...smaller and "shallower" than the 89-92 unit. Seems close, anyway. I'll snag one and see.

[KDXGarage]

As far as KX fenders go, here is a timeline on the two-strokes:

Remember, anything 2005 and newer is not the same shade of lime green as 2004 and older.

2003 - 2008 KX125/KX250
1999 - 2002 KX125/KX250
1994 - 1998 KX125/KX250
1992 - 1993 KX125/KX250
1990 - 1991 KX125/KX250
1988 - 1989 KX125/KX250/1988 - 2004 KX500
1986 - 1987 KX125/KX250/KX500