Another KDX in the family
Posted: 02:20 pm Dec 24 2013
A couple of months ago I picked up another KDX200 project. This time it was for my son in law. It is a 92 model E series that had less than 1000 miles on it. However, the crank seals had failed a few years ago and damaged the engine. The jug was replated and top and bottom end were gone through by a local shop. Then the owner installed heavy springs front and back, rode it a couple of times, and then it sat in the garage for a few years. Finally, it ended up on CL and I snapped it up.
I don't have a pic of when it was first purchased but it looked to be in very nice shape. It wouldn't start because the gas was expired so I used that against the owner during negotiation. It also came with a ton of spare parts:

This pic doesn't do it justice and not everything is in this box but it came with:
(all new in package)
4 new 13 tooth countershaft sprockets
About 7 new rear sprockets
1 new chain
front and rear All Balls wheel bearings and seals
All Balls suspension rebuild kit
2 packages of silencer packing
grunge brush
OEM clutch cable
2 Motion Pro clutch cables
Motion Pro levers
Twin Air filter (new spare)
Twin Air air box plug for cleaning the air box
MSR shift lever
Brake pads front and rear
FMF Fatty and Turbine Core- already on the bike
Extra parts that aren't new in package include:
Stock pipe and silencer
headlight bucket and light
stock fork and shock springs
You get the idea. I'm sure I'm forgetting several items but overall I was very pleased with the purchase. I ended up handing him $1,000 and he delivered it to my house about 4 miles away.
So I got it home, dumped the old fuel, took the carb apart and cleaned it up, serviced the ait filter, and dumped in some fresh 40:1 and it fired right up. Lighting worked well, and it shifted perfectly through the gears. It then went into my garage for some service to get it ready for the trail.
The rear shock was my biggest concern. It didn't feel right at all so I took it off and removed the spring. I had to take it off anyway to switch back to the factory spring so while I had the shock in hand, I decided to take it to the shop to get it serviced. I told the guy at the suspension shop that I use what I needed for my son in law and he knew exactly what to do with it. He did a revalve on it, new seal head, new bump stop, new oil, and a new nitrogen charge. He aslo set the preload collars and it was so close to being perfect for my son in law that I didn't even bother changing it. $150 spent.
Here's the settings and specs that he wrote on the shock if anyone is curious:

I also had to take the forks apart for a thorough service, to change back to the stock springs, new fluid (7.5wt), new seals, and new Daystar boots. I also went ahead and serviced the steering head bearings while the forks were off.
Other than that, I just lubed the cables, cut the bars down about 7/8" on each side, cleaned and greased the throttle assembly, flushed, cleaned, and greased the front brake. I also ended up having to replace the spokes on the rear wheel. It was horribly out of true and several of the nipples were seized. I decided to treat myself to outsourcing the job and dropped it off at a local shop for new spokes. $200 well spent and I got the rear wheel back ready to install:

So once it was back together, we finally got to go riding. My son in law has some street riding experience but had never been in the dirt. It was muddy the first day and the trail was slick as hell. I was on my XR350 following my son on the 87 model KDX that I rebuilt for him last year and my son in law. I should have taken my Go Pro. He went down at least a dozen times and some of hiswrecks were really awkward. I was laughing my ass off most of the day watching him slide around between crashes but he did great for his first time out. There was a few times that he was very frustrated and I thought he was going to abandon the bike and hike back to the truck but every time he had some trouble it would be followed by him doing really well and he'd start having fun again. I told him before we left that I was going to make a "grisly old trail rider" out of him and he just laughed. Afterwards, he told me he thought he was grisly now but I assured him that it would take at least a couple of years before he would reach that status. I didn't want to discourage him though, so I told hem he did pretty good for a pup. lol We rode again a couple of days later and he improved considerably. I would say that he only went down 5 or 6 times and he was having a great time. Unforunately, the bike took on a little damage but nothing major.
The headlight bucket and headlight have seen better days:
Luckily, the bike came with an extra headlight and bucket but I don't think I'm going to install it just yet.
The subframe was tweaked pretty good so I need to straighten that. The shifter also got bent a little but I think I'm going to straighten it then put the new MSR shifter on and use the old one as a spare.

As far as the engine goes, the bike ran great and started easily even after being routinely dropped in the mud and water. The only problem I've noticed is that the tranny fluid looked a little milky through the site glass. He was also complaining that it was hard to find neutral. I found that the shifter was bent and dragging against the case making it a little tricky to find neutral. I'm hoping that is all that was wrong. I drained the fluid and was surprised that it didn't look as bad as I expected. My initial thought was that it was the water pump seal but it could very well be water getting in through the clutch arm seal which is leaking badly. Actually, this thing is also weeping around the shift shaft and kick shaft seals as well so I have a complete seal kit and two new o rings for the countershaft. I am going to go ahead and pull the side cover and replace the water pump seals and reassemble with all new gaskets.
Here is the patient:

So anyway, that is where I'm at on the new project. I'll take some better pics when I get it back together and we are going to be doing some riding over Christmas break so I need to get busy!
I don't have a pic of when it was first purchased but it looked to be in very nice shape. It wouldn't start because the gas was expired so I used that against the owner during negotiation. It also came with a ton of spare parts:
This pic doesn't do it justice and not everything is in this box but it came with:
(all new in package)
4 new 13 tooth countershaft sprockets
About 7 new rear sprockets
1 new chain
front and rear All Balls wheel bearings and seals
All Balls suspension rebuild kit
2 packages of silencer packing
grunge brush
OEM clutch cable
2 Motion Pro clutch cables
Motion Pro levers
Twin Air filter (new spare)
Twin Air air box plug for cleaning the air box
MSR shift lever
Brake pads front and rear
FMF Fatty and Turbine Core- already on the bike
Extra parts that aren't new in package include:
Stock pipe and silencer
headlight bucket and light
stock fork and shock springs
You get the idea. I'm sure I'm forgetting several items but overall I was very pleased with the purchase. I ended up handing him $1,000 and he delivered it to my house about 4 miles away.
So I got it home, dumped the old fuel, took the carb apart and cleaned it up, serviced the ait filter, and dumped in some fresh 40:1 and it fired right up. Lighting worked well, and it shifted perfectly through the gears. It then went into my garage for some service to get it ready for the trail.
The rear shock was my biggest concern. It didn't feel right at all so I took it off and removed the spring. I had to take it off anyway to switch back to the factory spring so while I had the shock in hand, I decided to take it to the shop to get it serviced. I told the guy at the suspension shop that I use what I needed for my son in law and he knew exactly what to do with it. He did a revalve on it, new seal head, new bump stop, new oil, and a new nitrogen charge. He aslo set the preload collars and it was so close to being perfect for my son in law that I didn't even bother changing it. $150 spent.
Here's the settings and specs that he wrote on the shock if anyone is curious:
I also had to take the forks apart for a thorough service, to change back to the stock springs, new fluid (7.5wt), new seals, and new Daystar boots. I also went ahead and serviced the steering head bearings while the forks were off.
Other than that, I just lubed the cables, cut the bars down about 7/8" on each side, cleaned and greased the throttle assembly, flushed, cleaned, and greased the front brake. I also ended up having to replace the spokes on the rear wheel. It was horribly out of true and several of the nipples were seized. I decided to treat myself to outsourcing the job and dropped it off at a local shop for new spokes. $200 well spent and I got the rear wheel back ready to install:
So once it was back together, we finally got to go riding. My son in law has some street riding experience but had never been in the dirt. It was muddy the first day and the trail was slick as hell. I was on my XR350 following my son on the 87 model KDX that I rebuilt for him last year and my son in law. I should have taken my Go Pro. He went down at least a dozen times and some of hiswrecks were really awkward. I was laughing my ass off most of the day watching him slide around between crashes but he did great for his first time out. There was a few times that he was very frustrated and I thought he was going to abandon the bike and hike back to the truck but every time he had some trouble it would be followed by him doing really well and he'd start having fun again. I told him before we left that I was going to make a "grisly old trail rider" out of him and he just laughed. Afterwards, he told me he thought he was grisly now but I assured him that it would take at least a couple of years before he would reach that status. I didn't want to discourage him though, so I told hem he did pretty good for a pup. lol We rode again a couple of days later and he improved considerably. I would say that he only went down 5 or 6 times and he was having a great time. Unforunately, the bike took on a little damage but nothing major.
The headlight bucket and headlight have seen better days:
Luckily, the bike came with an extra headlight and bucket but I don't think I'm going to install it just yet.
The subframe was tweaked pretty good so I need to straighten that. The shifter also got bent a little but I think I'm going to straighten it then put the new MSR shifter on and use the old one as a spare.
As far as the engine goes, the bike ran great and started easily even after being routinely dropped in the mud and water. The only problem I've noticed is that the tranny fluid looked a little milky through the site glass. He was also complaining that it was hard to find neutral. I found that the shifter was bent and dragging against the case making it a little tricky to find neutral. I'm hoping that is all that was wrong. I drained the fluid and was surprised that it didn't look as bad as I expected. My initial thought was that it was the water pump seal but it could very well be water getting in through the clutch arm seal which is leaking badly. Actually, this thing is also weeping around the shift shaft and kick shaft seals as well so I have a complete seal kit and two new o rings for the countershaft. I am going to go ahead and pull the side cover and replace the water pump seals and reassemble with all new gaskets.
Here is the patient:
So anyway, that is where I'm at on the new project. I'll take some better pics when I get it back together and we are going to be doing some riding over Christmas break so I need to get busy!