KDXRIDER.NET

Howdy,

Just bought a 2005 KDX yesterday. Won't be able to ride it for a week while I wait on new chain, cog, sprocket, chain slider, grips, etc. The previous owner seems to have neglected quite a bit of the maintenance. Sadly I didn't notice some gear oil or the worn sprocket when I bought it so I probably paid a bit too much but from what I've read here these bikes will last a lifetime and with upgrades can grow with my skill level (I'm a dirt newb)

Motor starts up easy as can be and seems to run smooth.

This is my first 2-smoke so I am clueless on the motor maintenance. The gear oil doesn't look the cleanest so I'm going to change it out this evening.

The manual calls for 10W-40 motor oil. Is that what you guys recommend too?

Also, the manual calls for regular inspection of the piston rings every 600 miles? If I had known that I'd have stuck to 4-strokes. Checking valves seems much less intrusive than checking rings. What type of service intervals do you guys actually run?

Welcome to the site! Lots of info here...

Use a motorcycle motor oil for the gearbox. It has additives that help the clutch work. Regular auto motor oils are bad for the clutch plates.

Inspect piston rings? I have never done it in almost 30 years of riding 2-strokes. The only time my rings have seen daylight is after the compression has fallen off, felt through the kickstarter. A $20 compression tester is a good investment.

You don't say if you have a 200 or 220. The 220s have an issue with the stock piston breaking, and you probably should change it to make sure it is not the stock one. And you may want to clean out the KIPS (exhaust powervalve), if the PO neglected other maintanance. The parts start to wear when they get gummed up.

Otherwise, you may want to put a new piston and rings in for your own peace of mind, but the KDXs are very durable. I bought a 96 200 this spring, rode and raced it all summer, and will probably change the piston and clean the KIPS this winter just so I know when it was done. No clue how many hours were on it, but still runs strong.

And read throught the mods and the jetting forums. They tell how to really wake the KDX up for max performance.

Thanks for the info. I'm used to motorcycles so the clutch/oil business is no surprise.

I've also spent a lot of time working on cars so I've got a few compression testers around.

I've got a 200 so thankfully the piston flaw shouldn't be a problem.

The online manual that's shown on the top of the site... is that the actual service manual or is that the owners manual? I don't know how the KIPS system works and I was reading last night that I can really screw some stuff up if I'm not careful in there. I recon it would be best to get a manual before I goof with that stuff.

It is a service manual. Make sure you have the right year, one is for the older "E" models. You have an "H" model.

Buy a subscription and print it off. You can download the owners manual for free from Kawasaki.com.

Welcome to the site!

Welcome!