The World's worst 93 KDX Rebuild

Post by **bufftester** » 04:13 pm May 30 2015

I think he meant they are Chinese copies of real Acerbis guards since Acerbis is out of Italy (with also a US distributor)

Bitteeinit · Post by **Bitteeinit** » 01:24 am May 31 2015

Haha yeah... I also have some copies on my KDX (no name on them, but same model). My other bike has similar ones on as well. They cost me around 25-30$, but they're great (aluminum inside and rugged plastic). For some items it males sense to go for the Chinese-made stuff. Not sure I'd trust them for running into a tree at 50km/h, but for your average branches/small trees they're great. The ones on my daily commuter took a hit during a fall on pavement going down a mountain in Laos after hitting an oil slick (previous owner). They didn't even get bent. Plastic got nicely scratched up though... So the higher grade Chinese stuff is pretty well-made.

ced64k · Post by **ced64k** » 05:05 am May 31 2015

bufftester wrote:I think he meant they are Chinese copies of real Acerbis guards since Acerbis is out of Italy (with also a US distributor)

I'm not sure that Acerbis/UFO/Polisport/etc are still made in Europe.

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 07:02 am May 31 2015

wolfracing38 wrote:Those arent exacly "fake brand name" bark busters, Acerbis makes the best handguards money can buy, all the pro enduro guys use them....

Yes, my meaning was that they are fake acerbis, because I can buy the same ones unbranded for the same price, I've used them before and they're great!

Post by **KDXGarage** » 02:46 pm May 31 2015

ced64k wrote:
bufftester wrote:I think he meant they are Chinese copies of real Acerbis guards since Acerbis is out of Italy (with also a US distributor)
I'm not sure that Acerbis/UFO/Polisport/etc are still made in Europe.

UFO and Acerbis ARE made in Italy and have been for over 25 years.

Polisport is made in Portugal, I believe.

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 06:47 am Jun 01 2015

Soooo... when taking out the engine, I noticed this huge chunk was cracked off the engine case.... fml...

POS, look at the bottom of the engine..
Chinese bondo concealing leaky bits....

This engine is toast... but I'll make an effort!

This is all that's left of the KIPS valve system, I'm sure it's all toast...

POS can rest....

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 08:36 pm Jun 05 2015

Good news! One of my YouTube subscribers (I have a fairly popular YouTube channel about China etc, 40k subs) who is a Hong Kong resident has offered to help me order parts from eBay! That's awesome!

I'm going to pull apart the bottom end this coming Tuesday and make a list of all the parts I need, then I'll hit this guy up with a shopping list!

Post by **KDXGarage** » 02:19 am Jun 06 2015

Good going!

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 04:46 am Jun 06 2015

Thanks man, look what arrived in the post today, all the way from the states!

Now the fixing can start!

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 01:50 am Jun 08 2015

Clutch cover looks OK

Clutch springs and plates look good

Hmmm... somethings aren't right...

More opportunity to use JB weld!

This gear on the KIPS jobbie is a bit damaged, but not too bad, worth keeping?

The KIPS actuator arm jobbie is toast...

Gross... seen cleaner pit toilets

And of course the sprocket is missing a tooth... how the hell did I manage to ride this thing all the way back to the shop?

....

sir phily · Post by **sir phily** » 02:06 am Jun 08 2015

Just goes to show how tuff the kdx is if that bike kept going
good luck mate

Post by **bufftester** » 04:12 pm Jun 08 2015

Looks like you're getting things sorted nicely. On a side note, does the SR have an electric start? IF so, can you get a few pics of the starter mount and the idle gears? (4th pic above)? Your pics have created an itch in the back of my brain regarding an e-start mod...

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 11:56 pm Jun 08 2015

bufftester wrote:Looks like you're getting things sorted nicely. On a side note, does the SR have an electric start? IF so, can you get a few pics of the starter mount and the idle gears? (4th pic above)? Your pics have created an itch in the back of my brain regarding an e-start mod...

Hey there mate, that's the Autolube pump gear thingie, although you have a pretty good idea! I think that it may be possible to arrange some sort of e-start as it connects to the starter gear, not sure how, but it's a possibility! I'll take a few more detailed pics for your reference in any case!

Dekon · Post by **Dekon** » 09:51 pm Jul 06 2015

Any updates on this? I enjoy reading this rebuild thread.

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 10:38 pm Jan 14 2016

So I'm back! The World's worst KDX has been sitting quietly aside gathering more rust and dust whilst I was away doing my Conquering Southern China adventure Documentary (Hopefully we can get onto a big TV station once it's complete). Please check out the trailer and let me know what you think, 5200kms on my hand built 125cc bikes:

[youtube][/youtube]

So I was really getting depressed having a pile of broken KDX parts and a usless bike hanging around, so I changed my mind,
1) I am not going to do a full restore (I wanted to make it look pretty and original again), I found it impossible or incredibly
expensive to make her cosmetically nice again.
2) I want her to be mechanically sound, but that's going to be a bit of a process, first I have to get her back together!

It will look like Mad Max trash, but will hopefully have all the go and vigor of the KDX I've always dreamed of owning!
(If my documentary makes it big, I promise to spend as much as needed to fully restore this bike).

So I pulled out all the bits and got to work!

First thing was to get the years of oil and dirt off of the frame (it involved a lot of scraping, carb cleaner and the friendly car wash guy who spent about half an hour trying to blast all the crap off of the thing)...

This is about as good as it was going to get, so after finishing my work on a nice clean new bike build (one of our Moriarty 125s) I shut up shop and started burning the midnight oil:

From memory, I more or less re-assembled the kickstarter and clutch assembly (hope I didn't leave anything out) and set about fixing the broken parts of the engine casing with JB-Weld (I'm not sure how well this will work, but I have no other option)...

I then lumped the engine back into the frame (without side covers as I don't have gaskets, and will have to try and make some next week out of cardboard or silicone), I noticed that the rear swingarm bearings were completely destroyed, so luckily I found a place that makes them here, so ordered a new set. I was getting seriously depressed by this point as I kept finding new problems (the KIPS pin is sheared off, the whole KIPS assembly is garbage and I mean every single part of it), the over all state of the engine casings is dire and well the entire engine is a pile of garbage... I decided to lift my spirits, I'd start fitting some of the new parts I'd ordered all those months ago...

First up, new handlebars, bark busters, grips and levers? .... Fail! The handlebar is great! Fits perfectly, the bark busters... needed a 12pound hammer to knock in, but work well, the levers... not a chance, the original lever assembly is obviously somewhere in the Chinese countryside contributing to the Chinese pollution levels... I had to make do... Firstly, the clutch lever assembly, I managed to find bits lying around my shop from an old Chinese made offroad bike, and managed to get that on the bike (it has a cool little choke lever, but that's useless for the KDX anyway), at least it fits and looks good) Brake lever? Not a chance! The original master cylinder is long gone, and in its place is a Yamaha one from probably a street bike, as it's not an offroad config, the lever is broken and bent... but none of the bits I could find around the shop fit... so I took the lever off, smoothed the end off with a grinder and hammered it straight with a rubber mallet... functional but ugly :) ...

New grips! Yay... not... clutch side, great! Accelerator side... disaster, the plastic accelerator was snapped in half, and some genius had used a plastic bottle neck glued to the broken end to extend it (sorry I forgot to take a pic), I found an old accelerator and did the bodge job properly, but in the process got the new grip filthy with oil and crap, may as well throw it away now... but at least it's functional!

Okay, so what could I do to make myself feel a bit better... I know! Decals!

Wow, even on these destroyed, cracked, half painted rubbish plastics, those decals make things look 1000x better!

I had to see what they would look like on the bike, so I popped the tank on and held it in place... Ahh now I'm feeling a bit better about this pile of garbage!

Yes, there is a tonne of overspray, but that plastic is destroyed in so many ways, I'll sandpaper the excess off... but at least it's looking a little better!

For fun I balanced the other plastics and the seat back on (Of course it all has to come off next week again)..

And that's how she stands... Next week the saga continues! By the way, anyone want to throw any old KDX parts my way, I'd be super super appreciative (and I'd pay too), shipping to China may be a ballache, but I'd pay for that too...

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 10:39 pm Jan 14 2016

Dekon wrote:Any updates on this? I enjoy reading this rebuild thread.

Yes, finally an update, sorry for the long hiatus! I'm back and hopefully will have weekly updates from now on!

6 Riders · Post by **6 Riders** » 10:53 pm Jan 14 2016

1) make a parts list. I know I have some # plates that I "wanted", but don't really want now....they are better than nothing, but have some bondo? and for sure are painted. I also have a ton of "****" from my bike that needs a home, including a front brake master cylinder.....Maybe we 'mericans can put together a K(dx)arepakage and get your bike in at least a little better shape...no promises though.

2) Those KDX stickers are awesome...can you provide a link to where you got them?

3) Great write up...I love seeing this stuff...even if the bike will be junk when you are done, at least you are trying to get her running!

4) Good luck with the movie!

6 Riders · Post by **6 Riders** » 10:55 pm Jan 14 2016

Oh, and since I'm listening to a "liberty mutual" insurance ad.....I think you should name this bike "Brad"

oh, and tell the car wash guy that his "rubbers" are sexy

SerpentZA · Post by **SerpentZA** » 11:14 pm Jan 14 2016

6 Riders wrote:Oh, and since I'm listening to a "liberty mutual" insurance ad.....I think you should name this bike "Brad"

oh, and tell the car wash guy that his "rubbers" are sexy

Haha! Awesome mate! Honestly, every single part on this bike broken, so any old bits that still sort of work are welcome! Brad is a funny nickname! I'll write it on the bike next week! link to the decals: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=20 ... d28aa39612

6 Riders · Post by **6 Riders** » 11:25 pm Jan 14 2016

Just so you understand the "brad" thing http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=lib ... FORM=VIRE1

Oh...Read my signature....

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