KDXRIDER.NET

Hello all and thanks in advance for the inf.
I am 40 years old looking to start some enduro racing. Will this bike be Competitive? I know the hop up ability, but I do not want to "outgrow" the bike within a year. I have never raced but have ridden before. I am not looking to be a wildman on the circuit but want a bike I can grow with and hopefully place well.
Cost is also a factor . Opinions please

Yes, with some susp work it'll be great. COncentrate on that before motor mods. Mr KDX Jeff Fredette still races one in the ISDE every year.

It's a very competitive enduro bike. I race mine quite a bit. It's also very cool to kick all that KTM butt. They always brag but I point out that thier claim is with the bike and not the rider; therefore, I'm a better rider!!! Ha!!

Now get out there and kick KTM butt!!!

The bike is very capable.

More capable than most riders and one of the reasons people switch to a KTM is due to the riders lack of ability and looking to the bike to make up for lack of skill.

This is not always the case but more so than not.

Work on your skills and don't worry about the KDX keeping up.... it can.

Competitive? dont make me laugh!!!! This bike is a DOMINATOR...consider this...the KDX has gone on largly unchanged throughout the years...while KTM revamps there enduro models on a yearly basis...and The Green Hornet still keeps up, and wins steady, based on rider skills of course.

Next, if price is your concern then...KDX wins it again, the KTM EXC or whatever it is, will cost mountains more than a Kawasaki KDX ever will. Further more, any other brand Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, etc..MAY cost less and i mean big MABYE, but the model will NEVER compete with a KDX. DRz's, XR's, WR's, all four Stroke, all heavy, all crappy red blue and yellow garbage...Stay, (or Go) green and destroy the competition, in the bush, on the trails and even on a track...

Finally, I ride will all MX bikes, all KX's, YZ'z, and big fat heavy 4 stroke monsters, that never keep up in the bush...the KDX is the king of ALL the trails PERIOD.

Hey, I'm not dissing on the KDX 200's, they haul some serious a$$, but if i had the choice, I would probably perfer the new CRF 450X. But like you said, it will keep right up with them. it's all about being able to RIDE it faster than you could a 4 stroke. i personally could probably ride a 4 stroke faster though. take it easy on the 4 strokes though!!! they can still haul. I would suggest the KDX 200 though. alot easyer to ride with less weight (besides the loss of bottom end).

IMO, If you can't handle tearing down your a KDX to every last part, including motor, and reassembling it then don't bother with a modern racing 4-stroke. They are maintance pigs, and if you you don't maintain them it will cost you dearly. Even maintained some still grenade. Albeit they are heavy pigs, the 'old-school' 4-strokes still have a place in a woods bike....Again, IMO. The fact that the last GNCC race I saw the factory yamaha riders were on YZ250's says a lot. You can bet those are YZ250's with custom wide trannies in them too. For that matter, 4-strokes were in the minority period. Heck, in MX the 400, 426, and finally 450 still couldn't beat a works 250 until the AMA finally added rules to hinder the 2-stroke. Long live the 2-stroke, KDX, and any other 2-stroke enduro for that matter. Sadly I belive we are living in the final years for them.

fuzzy wrote:dearly. The fact that the last GNCC race I saw the factory yamaha riders were on YZ250's says a lot.

Several years ago I rode a nice enduro-ized YZ250 with a flywheel weight, suspension, etc. and my first thought was "Why would anyone want a 4-stroke??". It was tractable, light, slim, good handling, peppy and reliable. A couple of weeks ago, I rode my first YZ250F. It was fun and I was going fast, but my first impression- honestly- was "Now, THIS is what XR250's should be!". It still had 4-stroke-like power and pulled very well out of the corners with immediate traction. At first I thought "Hey, I'd like to have one of these!" Then, I jumped back on my KX125 and you know what? The KX was still fun. If I were going to do semi-serious enduros or off-road racing, I'd build me a YZ250 or KX250 enduro bike. For casual "fun" racing, the KDX is fine.

I rode a YZ250F a couple weeks ago. I had never ridden a high performance 4 stroke before. I was expecting a lot of low-end grunt, but I was surprised that my 220 had much more snap down low. The top end of the 250F was where it would pull away from my bike. Also, I went through some choppy bumps and ruts and the YZ forks ate that stuff up like it was nothing. My KDX still has the conventionals on it and the only way to get through that stretch at the same speed was with the front off the ground. The YZ could actually steer through there. Steering is good.

Next week I'll probably get to ride a YZ450F. I bet that'll solve the gutless low end problem. The funny thing is, the more I ride other bikes, the more I like mine. 15 year old technolgy that could use some updates, but over all, a pretty good bike.

Too bad Kawi is gonna stop making them. One of the Jap manufacturers ought to wake up and start building trail-freindly versions of their 250 2 stroke MX bikes. As in lights (with a high-output coil) wide tranny, soft seat, skid plates and good bar guards.

And a 10 year no-fault warranty!

Mike-You did not do the conversion yet????

nope. been saving up my money cuz I'll need a new Scotts damper mount $80.00, and if I get one of those, I want to convert to fat bars $80.00, and if I do that I need new bar guard mounts , and I'd rather have the triple tree inner mounts $50.00, so I'd have to go to the cycra pro-bends... $90.00...

One of the Jap manufacturers ought to wake up and start building trail-freindly versions of their 250 2 stroke MX bikes

They did, and stopped right at the millenium cusp. Well, everyone but honda. Yamaha had the WR, and that went 4-stroke in '98 w/ the new 400 . Suzuki had the RMX, and I think that stopped in '99 to never be replaced by a 4-stroke(yet). Kawi never did a MX-based enduro, but they already had one of the most sought after enduro bikes out there...KDX! And....they still make it, fortunately. Basically I think the jap enduro's just never sold. KTM/misc euros really ate into their market, and had 'better' machines. Take my WR for example. Yamaha half-assed it. They threw a lighting coil(no lights!), FWW, poorly designed large tank/seat, and Wide trans into a YZ250. No porting differences or susp valving difference. Stock this bike is almost a nightmare on the trails only saved by the wide trans and throttle control. They took off in the desert as no one cared about the lights or ergos, it would trail ride, but would still SHRED the sand and had a nearly 90mph top speed while having a granny first. I guess maybe if Yami/Zook build better enduro bikes they may have sold more of them. When the WR went 4-stoke they finally started adorning it w/ proper mods, but it has that sucky 4-stroke mill But....It sells. I think MX conversions outnumber just about anything in the enduro/HS/GNCC arena though...Followed by KTM....Followed by the KDX. Depending on where you live swap the conversion/KTM in those standings.

I've yet to ride one (really don't want to), but it's no suprise that the 'racing' 4-strokes have no bottom. I'm sure the WR's are a touch better than the YZ/RMZ/KXF w/ the wide trans, and different cam but it makes since why. You can't build a high-rpm 4-stroke and retain tons of bottom. A 2-stroke shines here with the invention of the powervalve--without it you can't build a 2-stroke like that either! The 4-stroke equivelant is variable valve timing, and got forbid if they add that **** to a bike you will never be able to work on it--Kinda acts like a variable camshaft. Think of a MX 4-stroke as a drag car....Take a small block car that runs 9's/10's and swap the 4000+ RPM converter out for a stock unit. It will never go anywhere unless it manages to spin the tires to free up the load. Why? Because it will have no bottom--it's torque peak will be something like at 75% of it's RPM range, and will have less power at 1500RPM than it did stock. These bike motors are no different. Thay are made to run wide open at the necessary sacrifice of bottom end.

Damn the EPA! Just think if they didn't mess w/ the 2-strokes. We would be getting all the newest 2-stroke technology. I don't know about you, but I'd kill for a rotary valved, direct injection, power valved, 2-cycle enduro bike! How does right-off-idleXR400-like bottom w/ factory 250 like top-end sound? How about never jetting again, and gaining fuel economy while making more usable power? Jet ski's have it, ouboards have it, well, there you have it...

Sorry, I guess I hijacked this thread w/ my 4-stroke bashing.

The fact o the matter is this...4 Stroke= Maintainance Pigs, time bombs that are a tickin...heavy...and too slow power...the ONLY reason 4 stroke are doin well is cuz the tracks are being made to suite 4 strokes, and 2-stroke bies are being hindered and constantly regulated....to compare apples to apples...2 stroke ins everyday if the week, every time hands dwon in every aspect, BUT due to conventional laws and the facts of the consumer world, 2 Stokes are produced and goverened, so that they lose consumer appeal and thus die out...but as for them Honda pigs...stay away from thos Red Devils...they SUCK!!!!

Does ya think...if the Jap compainies made BETTER enduro's then they would sell better, and thus not kill the market...lets face it...nobody save the Green Team, makes a worth while Enduro anymore, and the KDX's time is waning. So the big CEO's of the sport are seeing the "enduro" genre if you will, fade out, and so they are halting the production of these treasured bikes to save money...when in reality, they lost money because they never took the Enduro Sport serioulsy and made proper bikes to start. Now the motorcycle world is going to a "MX/Street" style market, where the MX bikes are converted and play the role of every style, and the Street bikes stay on the road, there is no medium, no in between....its a sad thing...

Does anybody not see that or am i screwed up lol?