What parts should I machine for the 220?

[whocares191]

Hello,

I have been creeping around this website for many years and finally decided to sign up. I work for a fabricator in southern California and I do all of the part modeling and cnc programming/machining. I have (x2) 2-axis lathes, (x2) 3-axis mills, and one large 5 axis mill all to myself.

I would like to make some cool parts for my 04 KDX220r that I use for trail riding but don't know where to start. I know the head needs modifications but not sure exactly what is done by people like RB Designs to make it better. Tons of billet guards to make all over but i see plenty online by companies like Tusk. I don't see any ignition, clutch, water pump, or KIPs covers. Maybe a complete head like Phathead makes for other bikes, or something similar to a boyeson rad valve that would replace the rubber boot and make it easier to fit a Lectron carb up? Triple clamps?

Any suggestions on billet parts you would like to see made for these bikes in the USA for a reasonable price?

Here are a couple parts that I made from scratch:

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[Slick_Nick]

Welcome! Do a flywheel cover to replace the stock plastic one.

“Blingy” stuff like engine plugs, case savers, etc would probably sell too, although there’s already a lot of that stuff out there for the KDX made of chinesium. Protection parts like rotor guards, etc.

Maybe some new aluminum dogbones.

[whocares191]

Here's the 220 flywheel cover i just drew up, it looks a bit bulky but there's not a whole lot you can do with it. What do you think? I'll 3d print one out once i'm done to double check the fit.

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[SS109]

I like the stator cover idea.

Hmm, just spitballing here... maybe some billet brake line guides front and rear, countershaft sprocket cover, air filter cage, an aluminum kickstand that mounts like factory but the leg has an adjustable length, some billet radiator guards like Bullet Proof Designs or Enduro Engineering makes for every bike but KDX's, the duct to air box support (OEM part# 13183-1046), a stator plate similar to the SR KDX's that would hold two of Slick_Nick's stators for converting to DC voltage and/or so you can run some serious LED lights, a water pump guard, and a rear foot brake lever with a larger folding tip with more grip.

Can you tell I've thought about this stuff? Now, I don't think any of those would sell very well except maybe the CS cover or other parts you can easily see and add bling. Anyway, there ya go, some ideas!

[doakley]

Are you limited to aluminum? How about KIPS valves? (I don't know much about machining I'll admit.)

[Slick_Nick]

Damn that's awesome! What can you cut in terms of logos onto the flat?

What are your billets? 6061? I do my own anodizing, I bet that cover would look awesome with an etched satin finish anodizing. I'm just thinking in terms of longevity. The machined billet finish looks great, but after a couple of rides, wouldn't take long for some boot scuffs and stone chips to take their toll.

That cover looks so good. Probably have to remove a lot of material though, eh?

I second the KIPS gears also. Can you cut module 2 teeth right on your CNC? I've only ever cut gear teeth manually with a spindexer, but if you can do them quickly, man you'd sell lots of those KIPS valves and gears I bet.

[whocares191]

@SS109 Those were the ideas I was looking for, I don't really plan on selling a ton or making money off of the parts. It's more for my own bike but once I make one part its easy to make 5 or 10. I want to keep this bike forever and parts are only going to get harder to find.

Brake line guides is a good idea i didn't think of that and only a couple bucks of material. I see some Devol radiator guards but they seem to only protect the front from stick pokes but no structural side support for dropping the bike, easy to machine and I think I can make it out of 3/8" flat plate with the side pieces bolted on instead of one huge chunk of material. The air box thingy (OEM part# 13183-1046) is something that needs to be laser cut or water jetted out and the kickstand would be pretty expensive and time consuming to make well. The brake tip I can definitely make but the lever needs a to be broached to have the splines put in and would be a pain to make. Doesn't the skid plate protect the water pump mostly, or do you mean side protection?

I'd be interested in that stator idea, I was planning on rewinding mine so I can run a small Trailtech Endurance along with the lights. I don't know anything about electricity but it would be cool to add a battery that recharges faster than it drains when the bikes running with a nice headlight. I'd for sure make a mount for that.

@doakley I can machine any material but aluminum is like cutting butter and the machines are usually filled with aluminum chips so no need to deep clean them for steel or whatever. I see some aftermarket KIPS valves online, can't believe people make those. They are pretty complicated and require a pretty expensive live tooling lathe to make. I'm not sure what the different shape in the slot does compared to the OEM version.



Parts on my list to make:
-Flywheel Cover
-Case Saver
-Brake Cable Guides
-Radiator Guards
-KIPS Covers (both sides)
-Shock Linkage (keeping stock or shortening a bit)
-Linkage Guard

Maybes:
-Triple Clamps
-Front and Rear Caliper Guards
-Rear Disc Guard (front would be to costly to make)
-Stator Mount for that dudes DC conversion (gotta ask him about it)

[whocares191]

@Slick_Nick I can engrave anything onto it, pictures can be traced but its easier if you find a font you can download like a microsoft word font. I just type it out, eyeball it in and I can extrude a cut into it and machine off of it. I think a hard anodize lasts longer but anything is going to wear from boots eventually. Material removal is my favorite part, I just got some 3/4" Kennametal KOR5 endmill i'd love to try. KOR stands for king of roughing lol, we will see. Normally hogging out the inside would take about 2 minutes id say. 2 Operations to complete the part and probably 20 minutes of machine time total to end up with a nice surface finish and no burrs at the end. Then it get anodized then i throw it back on the fixture and engrave it, or it can be laser etched for a couple bucks.

I can make the body of the KIPS valve on our lathe but the teeth and lining the teeth up with the cutout flat in the mill will be hard. I can copy the original but i'm no engineer haha.

[MoonStomper]

I’d second desire for a custom stator cover with expanded capacity for increased electrical power generation.

I’d also guarantee a market for a clutch actuator that is 3/8” longer on the foot to enable easier clutch control. Kawasaki no longer manufactures the original part, and it is usually modified by the end user for the performance enhancement. They wear out a groove at the cover’s seal below the spring and will leak oil all over your cover and boot.

Devol Racing does a nice water pump cover that goes with their belly guard for the KDX. Their radiator guard is nice too. Not sure anyone is making radiator braces anymore though. I’m lucky to have the old Works Connection braces on mine.

You should call Jeff Fredette and ask him what he can no longer get, bet his list is getting longer by the day.

Clutch actuator OEM vs modified …

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Devol Water Pump Guard…

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[whocares191]

@MoonStomper The clutch actuator doesn't look too bad to make, looks like 3 pieces of steel. The shaft I can machine but the L plate and the u bracket for the cable need to get lasered/water jetted and then bent on a press. I have a tiny press but nothing to cut sheets of metal other than a big bandsaw.

I see what you mean by waterpump guard now, I can definitely make a better looking one. I'll model that up next. I have to take my head off today so I can send it to RB to have it modified and get the stock piston out so ill pull off the pump case and get the hole locations. I'll post a picture later when i'm done designing it. Probably by tonight ill have it finished.

I just learned about Fredette a few weeks about, love his website. Once I have a few things finished/tested and ok for production I'll get in contact with him. I really need to find a 200 so i can check the differences in clearance and fitment of everything.

[MoonStomper]

One note on Fredette’s website… if you don’t find what you are looking for just call him, he probably has it.

[DonnyV]

Wow very cool, following this for sure, great work.

[SS109]

...I don't really plan on selling a ton or making money off of the parts. It's more for my own bike but once I make one part its easy to make 5 or 10. I want to keep this bike forever and parts are only going to get harder to find.

I hear ya. I'm making adjustable CDI's because I want one for myself and figured with all the time invested I could make them available to others as well so why not?

I see some Devol radiator guards but they seem to only protect the front from stick pokes but no structural side support for dropping the bike, easy to machine and I think I can make it out of 3/8" flat plate with the side pieces bolted on instead of one huge chunk of material.

The ones like I mentioned are pretty thick so they do provide some protection when dropping a bike. Do wish there were some strong braces to go with them for a bulletproof setup.

The air box thingy (OEM part# 13183-1046) is something that needs to be laser cut or water jetted out and the kickstand would be pretty expensive and time consuming to make well. The brake tip I can definitely make but the lever needs a to be broached to have the splines put in and would be a pain to make. Doesn't the skid plate protect the water pump mostly, or do you mean side protection?

Yep, expensive to make but both would be nice in billet!

The brake tip I can definitely make but the lever needs a to be broached to have the splines put in and would be a pain to make.

No splines on the brake lever as it pivots on a steel shaft welded on the frame. If you could just make a tip that could be bolted on in place of the original tip (by grinding out the rivet the OEM tip is held on by) then that would be good enough. I actually have been considering making this part myself but, if you can do it, please go for it! I'm tired of my boot slipping off the rear brake when it's wet out!

Doesn't the skid plate protect the water pump mostly, or do you mean side protection?

Yes, side protection is what I was thinking. The KDX frame and skid plates protect ok but a little better side impact protection would be nice and imagine even more so for those that have hybrids built on MX frames.

I'd be interested in that stator idea, I was planning on rewinding mine so I can run a small Trailtech Endurance along with the lights. I don't know anything about electricity but it would be cool to add a battery that recharges faster than it drains when the bikes running with a nice headlight. I'd for sure make a mount for that.

Yeah, a KDX SR type stator plate setup would be awesome. It would have a much higher output and then you could add the rectifier to it for DC voltage. That would be the setup for those that like to dualsport and/or do night rides. I don't know if the lighting coil dimensions are the same as US spec KDX's or not. I know a member here has one but I can't remember who.

Parts on my list to make:
-Flywheel Cover
-Case Saver
-Brake Cable Guides
-Radiator Guards
-KIPS Covers (both sides)
-Shock Linkage (keeping stock or shortening a bit)
-Linkage Guard

Maybes:
-Triple Clamps
-Front and Rear Caliper Guards
-Rear Disc Guard (front would be to costly to make)
-Stator Mount for that dudes DC conversion (gotta ask him about it)

Nice list. If you were to really think about the triple clamps I would probably only consider the upper. You could make it like most of the modern versions available that have 2 or 4 different bars position, spec them to use aftermarket bar clamps for either 7/8" or 1 1/8" bars, and be pretty sweet looking to boot!

Keep us posted on what you decide as I'm sure some members would be eager to buy some from you. Oh, and remember, we all love seeing parts porn!

[whocares191]

@SS109 Radiator guards are going to be tight to fit between the fender but i think its possible after looking at it. A new blackbox would be cool, sounds complicated to fool around with haha. What are you changing on it? Now that i think about it oem replacement top clamp would be easy because i don't want to make steer tubes. Wondering if a USD fork swap is worth the hassle? I'm not racing it and these oem forks are super simple and probably more reliable. I see fastway makes a linkage with a build in skidplate that's threaded to mount some plastic too, i think that'd be pretty cool. Would feel better trying to ride over jersey barriers hahaha.

[whocares191]

Here is a water pump guard that wraps around the front and bottom a bit while being sunk around the pump case nubs that the bolts sat on. I'm not sure about the slots I just threw them in for some style, might look better with some sort of pocket. I was hoping to grab a hole location from somewhere else but it has to be from the pump cover bolts to fit inside a decent size material while being strong. I could also make it a 2 piece since the cover itself is 2 pieces, it would be much stronger than this hanging all the way to the front and wrapping around. There's two bolts on the front piece but its another gasket to deal with so i left it like this. What do you think?

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[KDXGarage]

Good luck on your endeavor, and ... THANKS!

I think the water pump guard would be the best seller of the various ideas mentioned.

On the other bling pieces. Some people would prefer a made in the good old USA part instead of Tusk (as far and cheap away from USA as possible).

[Molly's 70]

That water pump guard looks fantastic & so does the flywheel cover. I would buy both today. I always wanted a cool head, but that would take a lot of engineering.

http://www.prodesignracing.com/honda_cool_heads.htm

https://atinno.com/yamaha/billet-cilind ... 2019-hprkr

[SS109]

Loving that waterpump guard! I would definitely be down for one.

A new blackbox would be cool, sounds complicated to fool around with haha. What are you changing on it?

Let's just say it's been "fun" designing it. I have so many hours in to designing it, and still haven't built a single one yet, that I would never be able to break even. Good thing I won't be including that in the price. Ha! It will be an adjustable unit having 16 different timing curves total. No computers or apps. Just (kind of) old school analog switches, no covers on the box to remove, and IP68 rated water and dust proof.

Now that i think about it oem replacement top clamp would be easy because i don't want to make steer tubes. Wondering if a USD fork swap is worth the hassle? I'm not racing it and these oem forks are super simple and probably more reliable.

Not saying it's for everybody but I've done two USD fork conversions and they are totally worth it to me. If you like to ride fast (I live in the desert so speeds tend to be higher) then the greatly reduced flex and extra adjustability of USD forks pays huge dividends. The USD forks are also way better if you like to hit big jumps or blitz whoops. Each person has to decide what works best for their needs and riding style.

[whocares191]

Sorry for the delay guys, work has been busy and my printer at work doesnt work (chinese junk). however i have a better chinese printer at home lol. hoping ill get something tomorrow morning that fits, we will see.

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[SS109]

Nice!