New front wheel!

[Ewbarger]

I got my new warp 9 complete front wheel in. It is a xr400r wheel. I will be installing the xr400 forks and wheel over the weekend. I found UFO plastics in Italy had a sale on plastics, so I ordered side plastics and rad shrouds and frame guards. She will be almost new! Tired to add picture of wheel, and got an error, file too large.

[Ewbarger]

20240111_141646.jpg (4.58 MiB) Viewed 1067 times

[Ewbarger]

There we go. Had to cut the photo down!
She gonna be sweet looking when I'm done!

[SS109]

Huge fan of the Warp9 wheels. Still running their rims on my KDX. Make sure and post up a pic when it's all done!

[Chuck78]

Very nice!

I was looking at the possibility of getting some Excel a60 or D.I.D. Dirt Star ST-X rims, the strongest and lightest aftermarket rims, and stumbled upon a bunch of late model KX 4-stroke wheel sets with aftermarket hubs. I was thinking about picking up a pair of them, but I'll have to make some adapter spacers on the lathe for the rear wheels since they use a 25 mm axle diameter...

I'll be running Showa suspension, so I already needed a 20 mm front axle bearing size.

Also found that a 99-02 KX axle works awesome with a '99-05 KX/KX###F front wheel in 96-98 Suzuki RM forks, so I found some titanium '99 KX axles on clearance!
The snail cam adjusters on the KDX rear axle require a longer than standard axle - same as a DRZ400, otherwise I would just look at opening up the swing arm for a 25 mm axle and running a KX 4-stroke titanium axle....

I'll be looking at getting a custom-made titanium KLX KDX DRZ400 rear axle at some point.
I'm looking at dropping almost 14 lb off of the weight of a stock KDX with all of my titanium and aluminum upgrades, but adding to that a bag or two and radiator guards plus skid plate and pipe guard etc, and longer travel Suzuki RM suspension adding a little bit extra weight. It'll be a costly venture, but will still cost less than buying a "used" but with warranty demo bike 2023 Beta 200RR Race Edition... That's how I keep justifying dropping so much money on a 25-year-old KDX 220

[Chuck78]

This is a great fork swap upgrade idea, the XR400R Showa forks and matching wheel/axle. I've been advocating pretty hard for these and/or near the identical appearing gold Showa 43mm '96+ DR350 forks, which I believe are virtually identical but just a slightly lighter spring rate @ .39kg/mm (vs .40kg was stock on the XR400R) & perhaps a subtle difference in valving (DR350 & XR400R may be more off-road oriented valving vs DR350SE '96-'98). The XR400 valving still needs some shim shuffling revisions in my honest opinion, so Race Tech Gold Valves are a good idea in my eyes, but some might find the stock Showa valving better than the KDX's stock valving.

Let us know how this all works out!



EDIT - the '96+ DR650SE forks are the same externally / visually, but use very basic damper rod internals.
The XR400R Showas use Race Tech Gold Valves # FMGV 2001 with .40kg springs, whereas the DR350/DR350SE use FMGV 2040 and .39kg springs.

[Ewbarger]

I will update with pictures and a ride review. I believe the stock xr400r forks will suit me fine without any upgrades. The xr400r stock is perfect for me the way it is. The only thing I don't have is the caliper bracket for the xr400. I will see how the kdx bolts up. I hope it bolts right up!

[KDXGarage]

Looks sharp!

Keep at it.

[Ewbarger]

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New UFO plastics came in Friday. Ordered Monday from Italy, they had a sale ,30 for side covers, 30 for shrouds, and 12 for frame guards.

[KDXGarage]

damn

cheap as hell

[KDXGarage]

How much was shipping? You have got me thinking about ordering. I am on the page checking out some plastic for my bikes. Ha ha.

[Ewbarger]

Shipping was 10 bucks. The sale ended Jan 10th. Not sure if shipping was part of the sale special too. I also got a rear fender for my xr400r. 30 bucks for it too.

[KDXGarage]

I don't see how they could ship it for just ten dollars. Which site did you use? I am on the us.ufoplast.com site, and it shows special sales pricing.

[Ewbarger]

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My order was over 100 bucks so shipping was 10 bucks.
Well, I was suppose to have installed the xr400 forks and wheel over the weekend but didn't get to it. Was on call for work.

[KDXGarage]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

[Ewbarger]

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Here is a before picture

[Ewbarger]

20240127_161317.jpg (4.87 MiB) Viewed 741 times

And after. XR400R forks, New Warp 9 XR400R wheel.

[Ewbarger]

KDX caliper bolted right on.

[Ewbarger]

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[SS109]

Looks sweet!