Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 10:06 pm Jul 05 2012
Walnut blasted.Dekon wrote:I have to ask, how did you get the engine cases to be so clean?
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Project KX: "Old School"
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Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 10:15 pm Jul 05 2012
Soda blasted the carb, then took it all apart and cleaned every little piece with MEK and an air compressor.
My shop helper Miikka
Rebuilding the carb. When I got the bike, the needle was on the 2nd clip (from top) and it had a 52 pilot and a 160 main. The bike ran hideously rich. Spooge everywhere even at idle. I ride no lower than 4000' ASL, so I decided to lean up the jetting. I went to a 42 pilot and a 155 main. (The KDX is jetted awesoime with 38 and 142.) I'll be running 40:1 synthetic Motul. This is a 125 race bike. I don't want to go too lean, but I think what I've selected will give me a great place to start.
The new jets installed and float height set:
Needle now on the 2nd clip from the bottom. Carb all done and reassembled.
My (new to me) rads installed, rad hoses all run and clamped down.
People buy "motocross carb vent hose" for like $50 for a "kit." I buy RC car fuel line in several colors. 30' spool cost me $18.
Carb installed and throttle connected.
New UNI filter:
My shop helper Miikka
Rebuilding the carb. When I got the bike, the needle was on the 2nd clip (from top) and it had a 52 pilot and a 160 main. The bike ran hideously rich. Spooge everywhere even at idle. I ride no lower than 4000' ASL, so I decided to lean up the jetting. I went to a 42 pilot and a 155 main. (The KDX is jetted awesoime with 38 and 142.) I'll be running 40:1 synthetic Motul. This is a 125 race bike. I don't want to go too lean, but I think what I've selected will give me a great place to start.
The new jets installed and float height set:
Needle now on the 2nd clip from the bottom. Carb all done and reassembled.
My (new to me) rads installed, rad hoses all run and clamped down.
People buy "motocross carb vent hose" for like $50 for a "kit." I buy RC car fuel line in several colors. 30' spool cost me $18.
Carb installed and throttle connected.
New UNI filter:
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 10:20 pm Jul 05 2012
The petcock was leaking like a sive. Took it all apart, cleaned the tank VERY well, and rebuilt the petcock with fresh seals.
Got on a roll and didn't stop for pics. Gas tank installed, shifter installed, all cables and wires run according to factory, clutch and throttle cables were adjusted for free play and lubed, and the wiring harness was loomed as per Kawasaki and run correctly.
Brand new fuel line. It fits VERY tight, I will go without clamps. The yellow vent hose looks great on Kawasaki green.
New style KX number plate installed. Had to fab up some brackets.
Right side.
Got on a roll and didn't stop for pics. Gas tank installed, shifter installed, all cables and wires run according to factory, clutch and throttle cables were adjusted for free play and lubed, and the wiring harness was loomed as per Kawasaki and run correctly.
Brand new fuel line. It fits VERY tight, I will go without clamps. The yellow vent hose looks great on Kawasaki green.
New style KX number plate installed. Had to fab up some brackets.
Right side.
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 12:12 pm Jul 06 2012
All I can say is WOW!
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 09:21 pm Jul 06 2012
She is looking great. Keep up the good work. 
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 10:49 pm Jul 06 2012
ALMOST there guys!
The kickstarter might as well have been welded solid. Of course, no bolt goes unturned, took it apart and cleaned and greased everything. Now it's smooth as silk! This is the befor pic. The after pic was pointless, just an assembled and greased kickstarter, so I'll save some bandwidth.
The stock seat cover (while very cool) had to go. The PO shaved the seat or something, you can tell by how "lumpy" it is.
Had a spare gripper cover for the KDX laying around, it fit nicely. I filed the seat foam a bit, and smoothed it out considerably from before, but it's not perfect. Probably could have replaced it. Here is the completed seat:
New UFO plastics. Couldn't find any number backgrounds in white anywhere (only black) so, I did some masking and painting. I've painted plastic before, and if done right it can last a LONG time. (See my KLX headlight thread.) Here it is masked off. After this step, it is scuffed thuroughly with a scotchbrite until no shine is left, and plastic specific adhesion promotor and paint are used.
After:
Removed the super cool flame graphics and restored the shrouds. The bike basically now has all new plastics. Seat, shroud, and side panel installed. I also installed and adjusted the chain. As for the case saver, I honestly don't know if I'll even run one. I may just grind the standoffs flat and leave it at that. I could fab something up, I'll see how bored I get... It's a good thing to have I suppose.
Crappy pic, but I cleaned the pipe inside (solvent, propane torch and the "wire brush on drill" technique.) Even got the outside shined up pretty nice! I elected not to fix the small dent. As I mentioned, someone already has tried, and it's probably more effort than its worth.
Pipe mounted up:
Tomorrow I need to clean and repack the silencer, and reset the float level of the carb. (Overflowed when I turned the gas on.) Other than that, the bike is full of fliuds. All nuts and bolts have been double checked, even the suspension clickers are back to stock and rear sag is set.
If all goes well, I'll kick it tomorrow afternoon. I'll get a video, stay tuned!
The kickstarter might as well have been welded solid. Of course, no bolt goes unturned, took it apart and cleaned and greased everything. Now it's smooth as silk! This is the befor pic. The after pic was pointless, just an assembled and greased kickstarter, so I'll save some bandwidth.
The stock seat cover (while very cool) had to go. The PO shaved the seat or something, you can tell by how "lumpy" it is.
Had a spare gripper cover for the KDX laying around, it fit nicely. I filed the seat foam a bit, and smoothed it out considerably from before, but it's not perfect. Probably could have replaced it. Here is the completed seat:
New UFO plastics. Couldn't find any number backgrounds in white anywhere (only black) so, I did some masking and painting. I've painted plastic before, and if done right it can last a LONG time. (See my KLX headlight thread.) Here it is masked off. After this step, it is scuffed thuroughly with a scotchbrite until no shine is left, and plastic specific adhesion promotor and paint are used.
After:
Removed the super cool flame graphics and restored the shrouds. The bike basically now has all new plastics. Seat, shroud, and side panel installed. I also installed and adjusted the chain. As for the case saver, I honestly don't know if I'll even run one. I may just grind the standoffs flat and leave it at that. I could fab something up, I'll see how bored I get... It's a good thing to have I suppose.
Crappy pic, but I cleaned the pipe inside (solvent, propane torch and the "wire brush on drill" technique.) Even got the outside shined up pretty nice! I elected not to fix the small dent. As I mentioned, someone already has tried, and it's probably more effort than its worth.
Pipe mounted up:
Tomorrow I need to clean and repack the silencer, and reset the float level of the carb. (Overflowed when I turned the gas on.) Other than that, the bike is full of fliuds. All nuts and bolts have been double checked, even the suspension clickers are back to stock and rear sag is set.
If all goes well, I'll kick it tomorrow afternoon. I'll get a video, stay tuned!
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 05:49 pm Jul 07 2012
Pulled apart the silencer. The packing was rock hard and caked in spooge. Took the torch to everything and burned off all the crud:
All cleaned up, ready to be rebuilt:
Silicone'd up, all done:
Back on the bike:
All cleaned up, ready to be rebuilt:
Silicone'd up, all done:
Back on the bike:
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 05:52 pm Jul 07 2012
I'm happy to report, Project KX: "Old School" is now complete!
Bike fired up first kick! The jetting I installed was pretty lean. Tweaked it for about an hour, ended up with a 50 pilot and 160 main. Bike pulls HARD and this will give me a nice rich (but not too rich, it's a 125 remember) mixture that will prolong the engine life a bit.
Bike fired up first kick! The jetting I installed was pretty lean. Tweaked it for about an hour, ended up with a 50 pilot and 160 main. Bike pulls HARD and this will give me a nice rich (but not too rich, it's a 125 remember) mixture that will prolong the engine life a bit.
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 05:54 pm Jul 07 2012
That bike isn't doing anybody any good just sitting on a stand nice and clean. Time to go ride it!
Will post GoPro videos when I'm home!
Will post GoPro videos when I'm home!
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 06:40 pm Jul 07 2012
AWESOME!!! Congratulations on not only on a job well done, but also on doing it in such a timely manner. 
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 07:49 pm Jul 07 2012
just for fun i timed this rebuild, took you less time to do this then i takes me to order a part
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 09:12 pm Jul 07 2012
Wow, once again that looks great.
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 10:04 pm Jul 07 2012
Phenomenal....loved watching this build. It was like watching a movie in elasped time. Talk about fast. How do you keep you garage so spotless? No matter what I do, I spill some sort of fluid or have rust, dirt, etc. I clean it up...but your garage floors looks like you could eat off of it.
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 10:41 pm Jul 07 2012
Shakedown run complete. Got it as dirty as I could! Only out for about an hour, I'm dissapointed it's still shiny...
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 10:46 pm Jul 07 2012
[youtube][/youtube]
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 10:55 pm Jul 07 2012
First impressions:
I haven't truly "ridden" a 125 2T before. I now know EXACTLY what everybody is talking about when they say it is BAR NONE THE MOST FUN you will have on a dirtbike! This thing is a HOOT!
It's a complete 180* style of riding from the KDX even. You steer with the back tire, and the clutch is your throttle. You keep that right hand pinned WFO and hang on! I seriously couldn't wipe the smile off my face! Heading to the track on Tuesday, today was just a shakedown run to make sure the bike was ready. Jetting appeared to be spot on. It's totally gutless on the bottom, but once you wind it out, hang the hell on!
I'm super excited to get on the '98 now. It will be a much more detailed build, don't expect another complete transformation in 2 weeks. I'm about to post this one for sale, hell, maybe I should hang onto it until the '98 is done!
I'll just reiterate one more time. EVERYONE NEEDS TO RIDE A 125 2T at least once. What a blast!!!
I haven't truly "ridden" a 125 2T before. I now know EXACTLY what everybody is talking about when they say it is BAR NONE THE MOST FUN you will have on a dirtbike! This thing is a HOOT!
It's a complete 180* style of riding from the KDX even. You steer with the back tire, and the clutch is your throttle. You keep that right hand pinned WFO and hang on! I seriously couldn't wipe the smile off my face! Heading to the track on Tuesday, today was just a shakedown run to make sure the bike was ready. Jetting appeared to be spot on. It's totally gutless on the bottom, but once you wind it out, hang the hell on!
I'm super excited to get on the '98 now. It will be a much more detailed build, don't expect another complete transformation in 2 weeks. I'm about to post this one for sale, hell, maybe I should hang onto it until the '98 is done!
I'll just reiterate one more time. EVERYONE NEEDS TO RIDE A 125 2T at least once. What a blast!!!
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 11:03 pm Jul 07 2012
?Slick_Nick wrote:[youtube][/youtube]
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 07:31 am Jul 08 2012
Slick_Nick wrote:
I'll just reiterate one more time. EVERYONE NEEDS TO RIDE A 125 2T at least once. What a blast!!!
then maybe you ought to hold on to this one and make it the "dedicated forum bike" and give us ALL a chance to ride it
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 06:57 pm Jul 08 2012
Nice! I love my CR 125, in fact I ride it more often than my KDX (also because there are more MX tracks than trails where I live)
Project KX: "Old School"
Posted: 09:48 pm Jul 10 2012
Was out at the track tonight. I'll upload the footage later.
HOLY CRAP WHAT A TON OF FUN!!!
Took me a few laps to get used to how to ride it, and it was basically always WFO!
My fun was short lived however. Noticed my rear brake stopped working, looked down, it was covered in oil. Somehow a rock from someone's roost punched a hole in the clutch cover.
I'll weld it up tomorrow. There was barely any fluid left in the trans, I didn't do any damage thankfully, but it's good I noticed it before I burnt the clutch to shreds!
HOLY CRAP WHAT A TON OF FUN!!!
Took me a few laps to get used to how to ride it, and it was basically always WFO!
My fun was short lived however. Noticed my rear brake stopped working, looked down, it was covered in oil. Somehow a rock from someone's roost punched a hole in the clutch cover.
I'll weld it up tomorrow. There was barely any fluid left in the trans, I didn't do any damage thankfully, but it's good I noticed it before I burnt the clutch to shreds!