My riding partner is a Licenced Professional Mechanical Engineer. In other words, he's anal-retentive and has to over-engineer everything. Don't take anything I repeat from him about you guys personally. He's just a perfectionist. Frankly, this is a big advantage for me. When I asked him where I could get some shim-stock for the KX conversion, he scoffed and insulted you guys for using it, calling it, "Wrapping a beer-can around a stem?!" He wouldn't let me get away with using shim-stock, so he invited me over for turkey sandwiches and beer on a 10°F night in his garage. He recently borrowed a Made In China lathe for another project, and just happened to have a hunk of solid brass laying around. Here's what he did:
The finished cut 0.001" under the ID of the KX upper triple:
![Image](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee96/Wudscrasher/KX%20Shim/HPIM0940.jpg)
Before drilling out the center of the solid piece:
![Image](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee96/Wudscrasher/KX%20Shim/HPIM0941.jpg)
Final ½" drill bit to core out the chunk:
![Image](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee96/Wudscrasher/KX%20Shim/HPIM0947.jpg)
Cutting to the OD of the KDX Stem:
![Image](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee96/Wudscrasher/KX%20Shim/HPIM0950.jpg)
The final cut for the brass shim:
![Image](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee96/Wudscrasher/KX%20Shim/HPIM0952.jpg)
End result:
![Image](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee96/Wudscrasher/KX%20Shim/HPIM0954.jpg)
On the stem, a perfect fit, w/in 0.001":
![Image](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee96/Wudscrasher/KX%20Shim/HPIM0955.jpg)
Fit and Finish? Perfect!
![Super :supz:](./images/smilies/icon_super.gif)
![Image](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee96/Wudscrasher/KX%20Shim/HPIM0957.jpg)
It's a blessing to have a good riding friend who will spend 2 hours in a freezing garage to do this, and all you have to give him is beer. I won't get to finishing my conversion until after New Year's, but all the pieces are falling into place. Special thanks go to Krazyinski and Bradf for the wheel and axle, respectively, and to my bud Jeff, for being a combined genius and dirtrider.
![Partyman :partyman:](./images/smilies/icon_pidu.gif)
--C.J.