KDX in National Enduro Series

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doakley
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Ok, no photos but just a brief comment on the KTM demo ride today. First of all, it wasn't just putting around in a field. They opened up part of the grass track and some of the woods section that will be included in the enduro tomorrow. You were required to be in full riding gear, defined as boots, riding pants (no shorts or jeans), helmet, gloves and goggles. The loop was about 4-5 min long so you got a pretty good test of the bike.

We were allowed to ride up to 3 different bikes though I decided to ride only the 250XCF although the 250 XCW was available as were many if not most race models.

Impression of the bike....WOW! I was surprised at the power and the instant throttle response. Low end was better than I expected in a 250f. I did choke it down a lot in the tight woods but this could have been that I haven't ridden a manual clutch bike in a year now and am more than a bit rusty with the clutch. The clutch was feather light. Brakes were much stronger than the KDX. The whole bike felt really light and nimble. I liked the suspension in the faster stuff but it was too stiff for the woods for me. This is an incredibly nice bike and I can see why people love them. Add in a Rekluse, tune the suspension and maybe add 2 teeth to the rear sprocket and I could learn to love a 4S too! Of course there's that little thing about the price and the fact that it is still pumpkin orange!!

Back to braappping!

Old Guy Racin'
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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so here are a few shots from the KTM demo ride: Repeating myself but I only rode the 2020 250XC-F. For the uninitiated, this is KTM's bike built specifically for GNCC, hare scrambles and enduro competition. It is a 6 speed with wider ratio gear spacing than the motocross specific version. It also has an 18" rear wheel (instead of 19 on the MX bike) and a kickstand. The suspension is advertised as softer and more plush than the mx version and the engine power delivery is supposed to be a little "softer" as well.
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First you have to get yourself registered. They collect the usual marketing data on you. After all, this is a KTM promo event.
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The demo course used part of the enduro grass track. This was open and gave you a chance to experience the power which was quite impressive.
There were also a couple of small jumps which was fun.
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The course turned you into the woods and even a small creek crossing (more of a ditch actually). The suspension was plush but just a bit too stiff for my liking in the woods. I'm sure that was just an adjustment or two to fine tune to my preference. The 250XC-F was one of the more popular bikes to test that day. They obviously weren't taking any time to adjust suspension clickers!

Thinking back on the test, which was only a 5 min ride or so, I was impressed with the power of the engine but more so how light the bike felt.
Would I buy one? If I had the $$ to spare, probably. But I don't think I would get rid of the KDX. Does somebody make green plastic????
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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A little more report on the Rattlesnake enduro for you:
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Meals were offered in an outdoor setting at the top of a grassy hill. Full breakfast including pancakes. Dinner Saturday night was lasagna. They also had ice cream, coffee, hot dogs, etc.
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The view from the top of that hill was beautiful and gave you a pretty good overview of the enduro grounds and a large portion of the grass track.
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Here is a little closer look at part of the grass track.
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I always enjoy just walking around and taking in the event experience. You see some interesting bikes at these races; this 1989 Penton 175 autographed by Jack Penton really caught my eye. Boy! Back in the day this was the hot ticket to ride!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Beta is doing a nice promo. The BETA 125 rider with the most points, regardless of class, at the end of the season, will win a Beta 250. That's a pretty good promotion!
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Here's the 250 someone will win. Sitting on it, it had a very different feel from the KTM. The radiators felt much wider. Not sure if they actually are, just felt that way.
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Baby got some new shoes! Kenda recommended the Washougal II as the best all round tire for the remaining events in the series. I'm not sure a new tire will help me but I no longer have that excuse!
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Here's Travis putting the front wheel back on his Honda 450 after springing for a new Washougal II as well. We got a discount for buying two (they let us count it as one bike). They mount the new tires for $15 which for this old guy is a deal not to have to get on the floor and wrestle with a new tire!

Oh yes, I almost forgot....How did we do? Travis finished 8th out of 21 and moved up in the season points standings to 3rd in the 40+C class. He felt like he had a better ride but there were a lot of talented local riders in his class.
Me?? I managed to squeeze out a 5th of 8 in the 65+ class. This moved me back up to 4th in points in my class. I was happy with that actually looking at who beat me. One of the things about the 65+ class is there are no distinctions between A,B or C riders (or AA or ex-pro for that matter). That makes it tougher for an old guy who was never any better than a low ranked B rider in his youth!

I wish I could say I finished but I did not. Unfortunately somewhere along the line I managed to fall on my right side and knocked out that little glass sight window in the clutch cover on the KDX. I didn't know it until all the ATF fluid puked out the hole and the bike started sounding like it was coming apart. This was in the 5th test. I started test 6 but would not continue like it was so dropped out. Today I ordered all the tools I'll need to split the cases and spend a lot of time on this website last night reading all y'all's posts over the years on the subject. Let me interject that if you haven't realized it by now, this site is a blessing to those of us with KDX's. If you have NOT donated to help keep this site open, PLEASE DO SO!!
I'll document my overhaul in the coming weeks in the appropriate forum thread, not here on the racing thread.

While I'm here though, let me finish up with a little strategy. Why did I start test 6 KNOWING I had no intention of completing it with the bike coming apart? Simple. If you go farther in the enduro than your competitors, you get scored higher, even if you were slower doing it. So there is this one rider I really needed to beat but he is faster than I am. If you compare our times, he beat me in every test except where he had his own bike problem. He dropped out at the end of that test. However, you get credit for STARTING the next test, even if you don't finish it. So if you and your competitor BOTH drop out at the end of say test 5, but he has been faster in each test, if you start the next test and he does not, you wind up ahead of him. It's like the hare and turtle. The one that goes the farthest wins, even if he was slower doing it! It's all about points at the end of the season!

Next race is in Wellston, OH on August 25th. I've got to hustle if I'm going to get the green girl back on her feet in time!!

Y'all keep braapping!

Old Guy Racin'
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Great job on the race, tough luck on the sight glass though. Good news is you don't need to split the cases to repair it, unless you plan on doing a bottom end overhaul anyways. Loss of transmission oil doesn't necessarily mean you have to open it up. The crank bearings aren't lubricated there, just the gear clusters, and you can run them a little dry though it will wear faster, you can certainly get back to the truck without oil in there, but like you said, it will be loud and sound horrendous (kind of like the dry clutch on my old Aprilla lol).

doakley wrote: 02:59 pm Jul 30 2019 You see some interesting bikes at these races; this 1989 Penton 175 autographed by Jack Penton really caught my eye. Boy! Back in the day this was the hot ticket to ride!
Not an 89 looks more like a 72 with the KTM motor, the early Jackpiners had Sachs motors. People don't realize that Pentons were the first KTM dirt bikes. Jack Penton put up his own money to have the then bicycle/scooter manufacturer build him dirt bikes. By 78 he had sold the distributorship to KTM and the rest is history. My dad had a Penton 400 Mint in 74, that thing was scary fast back in the day!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Repping for Kawi!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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I’m sure you are right about the Penton. I thought I remarried the sign saying it was an ‘89. Come to think of it, in 89 it would have looked more like a “modern” bike of today. I did know that Jack Penton has KTM build the bikes. Thanks for the correction.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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I won’t get into the details in this thread but the clutch actually looked fine. Plates even measured well within spec. There’s a bearing inside the cases though that sounds like pure hell. Plus the rear wheel locked up on me once on the gravel road when I upshifted getting the bike back to camp. I’d rather spend the money and know the bike is solid. Too much already invested in this adventure by now and only half way through!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by doakley »

Here’s a question...How much in and out play should there be in the shaft where the clutch mounts?
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Very cool read...............what are the odds you'd break that window? of all the things that could happen! dave
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Hey, guys! Just a heads up to anyone following my woeful tale. I started a separate thread in the "General" section covering my engine rebuild, just to keep it separated from the race and event stuff.
You can find it here (I hope):Race Bike Engine Rebuild
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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doakley wrote: 09:11 pm Jul 30 2019 Here’s a question...How much in and out play should there be in the shaft where the clutch mounts?
Mine has some play. I think it needs that play for when the power jolts from the clutch to the tranny. Don’t quote me on this, someone that knows more than me might comment on this. I also have an older bike, so that probably matters.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Back up plan............or............"How would I look in , gulp, orange?

I'm concerned that it is taking longer to get my KDX back together, and tested, before the next enduro, the Little Racoon, in Wellston, OH. At this point, mid-season and holding onto 4h by only 13 points, I cannot afford to miss a race. So, my enduro riding buddy, Travis, has kindly offered up his 2013 KTM 250 SX. He prefers his Honda 450F. The 250 SX is an awesome MX bike for sure but it can be a handful in the woods and the suspension is definitely stiff. It also required some work to get it ready. Since I'm currently waiting for some parts for my bike, I decided to get the work on the KTM done just in case.

So yesterday I installed a new crank seal on it and today Travis put on the new radiators it needed. Now we just need to fine tune the thing to make it a little better for woods riding. I called our suspension guy, Jared Daniels at SR1 Suspension, and he recommended some clicker settings for for me. We are also planning on changing the spring in the powervalve to delay the infamous SX "hit" and will play with the spring preload for the power valve as well. Check the sag of course.

Not much else we can do, posssibly consider raising the forks in the clamps just a tad since I'm used to a fairly quick turning bike in the woods. Tires are new Kenda and it already has an oversized gas tank.

Hmmmmm, wonder if Travis would mind if I painted it lime green?

Anyway, I'm busting my chops to get the KDX up and going. At least now I have a back up plan!

Y'all keep brapping!

Old guy racin'
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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What’s holding you back in the kdx? Just waiting on parts?
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Yes, I missed ordering a couple of things. My fault. These are rt side items. The cases are back together and all that appears to be good. I’m going to reinstall the engine today so all I have to do is finish rt side when parts arrive Thursday. If no more delays or oversights on my part, I’ll be together in time.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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FINGERS CROSSED! Update us as you can!
Thank you for participating on kdxrider.net. :bravo:
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Friends, it is with an incredibly heavy heart that I must share some sad news with you. You will recall from earlier posts I was getting some instruction from a 20 yr old pro rider, Jonathan Mayzak. Last Friday night, outside the track at the Unadilla MX AMA/Lucas Oil outdoor motocross event, Jonathan was struck by an "impaired" driver. Jonathan was crossing a road to get his brother a pit pass for Saturday's race and I am told the driver did not have his lights on at night. Unfortunately, Jonathan did not survive.

I am nearly speechless and swing from dismay, to profound sorrow, to disbelief, to anger and back to sorrow. I had not known Jonathan long but was very impressed with the young man. I do not have children of my own, but if I did, I would hope they would be like the Jonathan I knew.
I was looking at my last txt from him this afternoon where he was so excited to learn that I had seen a noticeable improvement in my riding after working with him just a little and we were both looking forward to continuing together. I can only imagine the emotions his parents, family and fiancee must be going through right now. Incredibly tragic and senseless loss of one of the good ones.

Jonathan Mayzak, 1999-2019
May you rest in eternal peace, my friend.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Dude, what????? That's just.. wow. Rest in peace.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Unbelievable! So sorry to hear that news................20 years old! sad.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Sorry to hear, sounds like a great young person helping others. Rip.
Restore rather than replace
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