KDXRIDER.NET

Hey guys!
My name is Evan and im new to this forum.
The KDX I will be speaking of will be my first bike ever! The man who gave it to me thought it would be good for teenager with its manageable power delivery.
I recently acquired a 05 KDX 200 that is in great shape but needs a little work done on the engine, but I was given it for free and it shouldn't take much to get it running.
But my main question is, how easy is it to mount up USD forks to a KDX? I am very interested in track riding and USD forks would probably fit this style well.
Is it a simple as having the correctly sized triple clamps fit that fork? And if only takes the right sized triple clamp, does that mean you can mount up a USD fork from ANY dirtbike? Like I said, im new, just in case this a dumb question. Lol.
Thanks guys

there is one part that is attached to the tripple and slides in the frame, the steering stem
to the best of my knowlegde there is only one other bike that has the same steering stem as the KDX and that is the early 90s (not sure on the exact year) KX500
that is the only one that is a direct bolt on

now, if you can find another set of forks with the tripples that belong to them and replace the stem that came with it with the stem from your KDX you are all set

if you can find a set of forks with front wheel and brake that would make things even easier
unless you are set on keeping your stock wheel and day counter, that could become a challenge


just keep in mind that once you do have your new forks on the changes of them being set up (valves, spring) for you weight and style are slim so they still need to be serviced to get the maximum gain out of them

KLX250/300 and KX500 will bolt up without needing to swap stems. Any other conversion requires you to press the KDX stem into the donor lower triple clamp. When changing out forks, it is always desirable to locate a complete front end. Triples, forks, wheel, and brakes. We have an entire sub-forum dedicated to fork swaps. Take a look through there and you should find answers to any questions you could think of.

Ok guys. Thanks. Will any klx250/300 forks bolt right up or only certain years etc? So the steering stem off of the kdx should swap on to any set of triples? @diymirage

The best thing I can recommend is spending some time in our MX fork conversion section, and see what other members have done. Going with a setup that has been done before is sure to save you some headache.

Ok. I will. Just don't want to have a big headache trying to put on some forks. Lol. I'll probably check getting some of a klx unit or someone. Thanks again. If anybody else has input id appreciate it.

Think I'm going t go with a klx unit. Is everything interchangeable on the klx forks. Like if I find cheap forks and a cheap triple but there from different year models will they still mate up fine? Thanks.

Do you already have the KDX?

Are you intending to take a KDX to a MX track?

Is a MX track going to be your main riding area?

By the way, steering stems very rarely will be the same dimensions between models, and especially manufacturers. This is why you see a lot of KDX-KX front end swaps.

No, I will be picking the kdx in about 10 days. This is basically a to do list. I really want to be able to track ride as well do some occasional trail riding. Besides use forks stiffer setup, the just plain make lookgood. Lol.
But some kdx and klx models still share the same stem even tho there different models right? @Jason
Thanks

Last questions (in addition to the last one) is are there any USD fork tubes that will bolt right on the stock kdx triple clamps? Thanks again guys.

Evanlouie wrote:Ok guys. Thanks. Will any klx250/300 forks bolt right up or only certain years etc? So the steering stem off of the kdx should swap on to any set of triples? @diymirage

there is only a very limited window of KLXs that are a direct swap but i am not sure on the exact years

as for the stems, i have heard of people using CR forks, KTM forks and even husky forks
but by FAR the simplest would be to keep it in the family
i run a set of 99 KX 125 forks on my KDX and i had Ron Black do the machine work
(he is a member on here and our go-to guy for machining)

i cant garantue that the stem would fit into say a yamaha tripple and thats why its best to stick with the kawasaki units (or those suzukis that overlapped)

i guess if you find a set of tripples from a 93 KX500 and a set of 43 mm forks from a KTM it should fit
then all you would need is a front wheel and brake but why make it harder on yourself?

in this case i would advise you to stay on the beaten path and find a front end from a bike that you KNOW will fit or will fit with just a stem swap

here is our fork swap forum http://kdxrider.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=104
everything we know and have done is on there, and just for kicks and gigles, here is my conversion http://kdxrider.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... ge#p118131




as for other forks fitting the stock triples...no
look at it this way, with the stock forks the part that bolts into the tripples slides into the bottom of the fork
with the inverted (or upsidedown) forks the bigger part is bolted into the tripples so the hole in tripples is way to small

Ok. Where do they measure fork diameter from anyways? The inside tube?

Evanlouie wrote:No, I will be picking the kdx in about 10 days. This is basically a to do list. I really want to be able to track ride as well do some occasional trail riding. Besides use forks stiffer setup, the just plain make lookgood. Lol.
But some kdx and klx models still share the same stem even tho there different models right? @Jason
Thanks

Have you considered getting the bike and riding it before you worry too much about it??

Triple clamps mount to the frame and hold the fork tubes. You must have triple clamps that meet both requirements.

The stem presses into the bottom of the triple clamp. Stems from different models have different dimensions.

If you are about to start doing medium or large jumps, then swapping to a KLX front end won't be a lot better than the stock KDX front end. Either way, you are wanting to swap trail bike suspension for trail bike suspension.



To me, it sounds like you don't have a bike at all. Someone is giving you one, and you are going to use it as best you can. You sound like you are headed to a MX track, more than the woods. Depending on your height, it sounds like you need a KX85 or KX125.

"i guess if you find a set of tripples from a 93 KX500 and a set of 43 mm forks from a KTM it should fit
then all you would need is a front wheel and brake but why make it harder on yourself? "

WRONG.

Why do so many people keep getting this wrong???????????????????????????????????

Yes, I am being given the bike and he has given me the option of selling, so will see.

Evanlouie wrote:Ok. Where do they measure fork diameter from anyways? The inside tube?

There are always two tubes, inner tube and outer tube. Conventional forks have triple clamps that clamp onto the inner tubes. Upside down (USD) forks have clamps that clamp onto the outer tubes.

Here is an example.

The 1995 and newer KDX's have conventional forks. The inner tubes are 43mm. The triple clamps clamp onto tubes that are 43mm.
KX125 forks from 1996 have 46mm inner tubes. These inner tubes slide up into outer tubes which are around 52mm in diameter (I don't have a pair handy and am only going by memory of measuring them 7.5 years ago) in diameter. The triple clamps clamp onto the 52mm outer fork tubes.

On forks, the inner tube diameter will remain the same along the length of the tube. For the KDX in question, it is 43mm all the way from top to bottom.

On USD forks, the outer tube may have different dimensions for where the lower triple clamp mounts and where the upper triple clamp mounts. This is a great reason to get the triple clamps and forks from the same model instead of trying to ask around on the internet to hear some guy say, "I think", then you spend your money on something that doesn't work.

Ok. Thanks for the info. Like I said, a friend is giving the bike, to me. But he left me free to sell it for something more suitable. But we shall see. Thanks again, y'all been great.

Jason wrote:"i guess if you find a set of tripples from a 93 KX500 and a set of 43 mm forks from a KTM it should fit
then all you would need is a front wheel and brake but why make it harder on yourself? "

WRONG.

Why do so many people keep getting this wrong???????????????????????????????????

the way i ended up there was by looking up what size forks the KX500 had (internet claimed 43mm) and then found a second bike with the same size forks (internet claimed KTM)

iether way, the point i was trying to make was that even though it MIGHT be possible to piece the whole thing together, it would not be the best way to go

OK, let me try it this way.

The triple clamps of USD forks clamp onto the outer tubes, which vary in size, depending on model and manufacturer. 43mm has NOTHING to with where the clamps "clamp".

For example, 1996 -2001 KX125 / KX250 all have 46mm inner tubes. Using your thinking, all the triple clamps and foks for those six years will swap together, right? WRONG. There are three different sets of clamps to clamp onto the three different sets of outer tubes.

Hopefully, that clears it up.

For the original poster:

If you want fork technology that is newer than (currently) 17 years old, that is when you get into machine shop work of a hydraulic press to swap stems that will fit with all the necessary parts. If the stems aren't almost the same, that is when you get into machine shop work or half-quality workmanship to "slap 'er all tugethur."

thats what messed up my reasoning, i presumed that all 43 mm forks were eqaul and took eqaul mounting sizes