I have only owned the new-to-me KDX for about a couple months now. My work is seasonal so I was getting antsy sitting around the house during the winter, like many guys... I had recently bought a ski pass to a nearby ski resort as a Christmas present but wasn't feeling very full filled by it, as there was barely any snow for the season yet. So I hopped online searching for the perfect dirt bike for me.
It had been about 4 years since I rode anything, and the last bike I (unsuccessfully) rode was a CRF450R, raced it and tried trails, but the bike was always too much for me. I'm 130lbs and quite lean. I still have a hard time picking a heavy 4stroke up off the ground after spilling it.
Any who, I have always had the deepest appreciation for all-things-dirt-bikes, with countless memories riding with the dad and bros. Tight single track woods in the pacific northwest, open riding in the Oregon sand dunes, motocross race track, you name it. There's no better place than being on a bike for me. Yet, I never had a truly suitable bike for me. Always budget-buyers. Pit bikes, KTM 85's (way too small), or 450's (way too big!)
In my winter boredum as I search for bikes, I stumble upon KDX's. Never heard of one in my entire life! But, it's like destiny or something. The minute I saw it I knew it was for me. The love of my dirt bike life!
I am so happy to have encountered this motorcycle and this awesome, unique, supportive following of riders! It's really the best thing ever. So thanks a billion to all of you.
I have read and studied up for countless hours and now it's time to get into action. I could really use some help....
I've never been a wrencher. Always taught to ride it till it died and get a new one. Why waste time fixing it? Except now I have a reason to, since this will the be the bike I keep forever. It's perfect for me! Does all the terrain: nimble and agile in tight woods, with low end for technical riding, yet all the high end needed to rip on the flats or in the sand even without a paddle.
I took it for a few spins, and soon noticed everything wrong with the poor bike that I didn't notice while buying it on a whim on a freezing pitch black night. Impulsive, but still happy to have this baby, no matter the work required.
Black sludge all over the bottom area of the engine and frame, never seen it before. Caked brown mud stains on every inch of the bike, even up to the tops of the radiators and inside of headlight plate. Airbox was just saddening
.. Like clay. And the air filter a chocolate cake.
The young dude (I'm young too but careful, not careless) who owned it prior seriously must have dumped it in a lake while mid bogging, cleaned out the internals so it could at least run, and got rid of it in a whirlwind on Craigslist. He apparently owned it for a year after buying from the original owner. And obviously rode it as hard as possible with absolutely no maintenance...
I was pissed after it consistently leaked fuel all over my garage while parked, so I pinpointed it at the carb and tore the entire thing apart. One thing leads to another....
So the carb float bowl overflow stem was broken completely, so I drilled it out and epoxied it back in and now it holds fuel fine. Hopefully it's not gonna give issues with unnecessary draining since it's placed an 1/8th inch lower than originally. New gasket so it won't leak from the bowl itself finally. New hoses and clean attachments so no hose leaks either. Yay.
Now the engine is all clean. It sucked. It was hard enough figuring out how to tear the entire bike apart and remove the engine, not having any dirt bike maintenance background, but cleaning all the sludge in every nook and cranny? All the engine gaskets seem perfectly fine, so I'm inclined to think the sludge accumulated from a slow but constant leak from the countershaft/front sprocket or shift Lever. Read a few really helpful threads here on replacing those innerds...
Other than a bunch of small annoying tidbits to fix and replace, the rest of the bike is solid. Great wheels and newer tires, suspension seems intact but maybe I could learn to rebuild it later on.... Brakes were great. I accidently hit the rear brake lever when removing the swingarm bolt and had to open up the brake caliper to reset the caliper piston, since the wheel was already apart by then. All bearings and seals in suspension, swingarm and linkage seem in awesome shape, although I should really grease all the bolts when reassembling.
TWO THINGS I COULD REALLY USE YOUR ADVICE ON! :
1. Anything I'm missing that I should quickly consider inspecting while the bike is apart? I'm trying to be as thorough as possible, but I definitely don't wanna tear open the engine since it ran so beautifully before anyway. I just wanna get to the bottom of the sludge problem, fix the fuel leak, and get back out putting some hours on the bike so that I can love my bike instead of hating it from all the garage time!
2. I really want this bike to be a dual sport. The final and most important factor of this bike being perfect for me is that it can be converted so easily into a street legal dual sport. Here is my situation: cheap is the priority, but I also want convenience. Tusk kit looks cheaper than Baja, but any advice between the two kits? I also would love to use the stock head and tail light, is there any way to do this while having a brake/stop light and a high beam function, or is it just way more practical to buy aftermarket head and tail light assemblies? I have read so many forums and threads on this topic but never get the right specific info... Also curious about stator. Bike has really dim oem lights while motor is idling - I think they brightened a bit with throttle but not much.
Other helpful info.... It spooged a ton after my first 32:1 mix with golden spectrum race oil. So tried 40:1 and no spooge, but it seemed to ride different, can't remember how though. Any advice on mixing? Will 40:1 kill the bike? I did repack the muffler now (it was so freaking disgusting before) and inspected the copper rings in the exhaust port the pipe orings which all seemed great.
Also curious about tranny oils. Will 10w-30 hurt instead of 10w-40? I carry tons of 10w-30 for other small engine equipment for my business, so would be nice to use that but would also be willing to treat my kdx with love and get the right stuff.
Thank you so much for reading my lengthy introduction message! Any advice would be appreciated so much. Thank you thank you thank you. Take care!
Oliver
