Give Me A Sanity Check -- KDX200

I haven't put much time in on the bike yet, but from the little I've done, I love it also. This winter, I'm getting some wide pegs, installing stiffer springs (which I already have) and a mild street-legal kit. (Headlight, horn, brake light, and high beam.) Plating it is no problem here. The tire it came with was a little dry, and shucked some knobs on a local ledge section. I have a good Dunlop from my DRZ that'll swap on. I'd like to try the trials tire, but I'm going to put one on the DRZ first to run in Newfoundland. There's plenty of meat on my current DRZ rear, and it will spoon right on to the KDX.

Inmate Jackpiner7 has done a rack for these, and has offered to fab one up for mine. In my opinion, a rack is an absolute necessity here. It can be 80 during the day and drop to near freezing in the evening. Having a little warm gear is a must.

I'm also contemplating adding the Steahy (sp?) flywheel weight. I am not a roost monster. I like things to hook up and I like strong low-end plonk.

You may have trouble lighting up the high beam with the stock stator.

I am surprised you want a flywheel on a KDX. The KDX was geared, carb'd and ported to have a mild hit and good grunt.

When I do the flywheel, I'll slap on the Steahy stator. It seems to be the best bang for the buck. I can always take the flywheel weight off. What I'm looking for is good low-end grunt for rock-hopping. I have other bikes with good top and mid-range. If I had an unlimited budget, I'd be all over Ossa's new Explorer. http://www.motoconnectionvt.com/?page_id=514, but it's four times what I paid for the KDX.

222 is lighter then a KTM200 dry. KDX's tend to weight 20 lbs more at least over a KTM. The older KDX's were REALLY heavy,like back in the 80's/90's.
They make a great bike for someone getting into the 2 stroke game in the woods,easy to ride,last a long time.
Ride one for a while then try a KTM200,any year will do. So much skinnier lighter faster torquier it will knock your socks off.
I know us KTM loons come off as loons,its just how it is.
They are THAT good!

I see 22 hp for a stock KDX,and about 35 for a stock KTM200.That sounds about right.
Fully modified KDX makes good power though,its a lot of mods . KTM's new 150 is making almost 35hp,trick little bike.

The problem I have with KTMs is a lack of dealer support in my area. My wrench three miles down the road is an ex-Kawasaki dealership mechanic, and there are a couple of places that I can get parts within reasonable distance. The closest KTM dealer is two hours away. I've been through that grind before. I know you KTM guys are a bunch of howling fanatics, and the bikes are certainly spunky, but I never want to wait months for parts and service.

A later model model stock KDX200 makes 26 rear wheel HP off the show room floor. An uncorked one (jetted right and w/ opened up exhaust) gets you to near 30 HP. This will cost you <$200 for the Gnarly expansion chamber. One that has a RB Designs modded carb and head (another $200) gets you at 35 HP. It is alot cheaper to do this to that than to get a KTM200. The KTM suspension rocks though.

Mine's been jetted, has the Boyesen reeds, and a Pro-Circuit pipe. It makes sufficient power for my needs as it sits. If I throw any money at it, it will be at the suspension and making it capable of carrying at least enough gear for an overnight. Even if I never take it camping, it's a necessity to carry enough gear to weather just about any conditions around here. It can change from warm and sunny to freezing at just about any time during the riding season, and it often happens fairly rapidly.

Ok, I just checked out RB Designs head and carb mod.http://rb-designs.com/ That's cheap performance! If I can skate for under $250, I may just do it. I like this bike a lot. It's comfortable, peppy, and is built in typical crude-but-durable Kawasaki fashion. It's a tractor, and completely utilitarian. I understand it. Sorry, you KTM guys, I'll stick with Big Green. I know you'll kick my butt in the sprints with your larger horsepower and refined suspension.

I used to drive a series II Land Rover, slowly. When I bought her, she was a bit tender. The guys with the hopped up rigs would blaze by me on the trails. Eventually, I'd pass them in a litter of transmission parts and a pool of oil. They had all the trick stuff, but I got often home earlier than they did.

+1 on the RB mods. I did it to my KDX220.

I've got to get back in touch with Guymanbro. I messaged him about the Baja designs kit, but ended up spending the spare money and then some this month on an emergency root canal. Ouch. Jackpiner57 has already made a rack for one KDX. The subframe is plenty stout for the application, and his racks fit the Rotopax cans pretty handily. I just need to drop the bike off at his place and have him go to it. He says that he will make jigs this time, and so should be able to provide racks for KDX 200, 220, KLX300, and 650 as they have a common subframe.

Here's a pic of the bike with inmate 8GV astride.

I'm curious about the rack your buddy makes. Do you have a pic?

My 95 KDX gets a pretty steady 35mpg. I have the Clarke tank. I forget what they advertise it as but I drained and measured it at 3.5 gallons.

I also weighed it... 249 with a fairly full tank and no tools or extras except armor.

I have a KLR also...

...but the only time I ride it since I got the KDX together is to the store.

Me and a buddy were switching back and forth between the KDX and his WR 426. Even though they weigh about the same the KDX feels way lighter and much easier to ride, especially in tight soft desert washes and winding single track.

After muscling the KLR around for a couple years I went to lift the KDX onto a stand and my buddy said I had the whole bike completely off the ground:huh

I don't have one, but if you contact inmate Jackpiner57 he may. Here's a pic of my Jackpiner57 top and side racks on my DRZ400E.

The racks are very well built, of a useful size (you can actually take luggage on them!) and have a plate that accepts a mount for a Rotopax can, either 1 or 1.75 gallons. Tom is a great guy to deal with and his work is top-notch.

hi canuman, hopefully you still read this thread. friend of mine just bought a 2001 kdx200 and it has the same reeds and pipe as yours. he found it too peaky though for all the tight gnarly stuff we ride, and almost no lugging power at all. you can see him struggling away on a tough hill in this vid of his first ride...

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he does have the stock pipe and reeds from the previous owner, in your opinion would this get back a bit of lost grunt and flatten the power curve a bit? i'm trying to convince him to try this before selling it so quickly..

This thread makes me lust for another kdx I had a 2000 kdx 220R put a pro circuit pipe and silencer on it,bought v force reeds but never got em put in it.The pipe alone uncorked it alot gave it a crisp rev out then the baahhh stock exhaust. Too bad kawi doesnt make it anymore it was the best bang for the buck bike for price n performance.No one makes a 4500 buck bike anymore,the trail 4 pokes are foo foo bikes and the more expensive rides are very high strung and intensive work outs in the trail.It was my 1st bike ever much to my moms non delight when I bought it,Im getting back to my roots tho,next month I go pick up my kx 500

Heee Haw!

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Came back through the snow (grrrr!) today to find the following on the porch: Tusk dual-sport kit with a total-loss battery and full set of LED lights, all necessary switches, horns and the like to make the KDX truly street-legal. I also ordered a Pirelli MT43 DOT trials tire and an HD tube for the rear, as the meat Jackpiner57 spooned on about 5 years ago was dry and chunked pretty badly in my wholly illegal test forays last fall, although there was plenty of tread left until the knobs started peeling off.

I'm reluctant to take off the pipe, although I have the stocker. The KDX runs well as it sits. I had a good conversation with BigE, my mechanic and guru the other day. I've heard plusses and minuses about adding a flywheel weight to an already heavy unit. BigE was completely in favor of adding the weight. His reasoning was that you get to keep the horsepower that the reeds and pipe give, while the additional flywheel weight calms down the hit and makes the bike more tractable in real-world riding conditions.

Another option would be a Rekluse clutch. Hmm. The Steahy flywheel weight is around $125 shipped. The Rekluse is four times that, and I'd have to re-learn my riding style. I can feather a clutch. I grew up double-clutching farm trucks that were way beyond any reasonable service life.

I picked up a Giant Loop Coyote for luggage in the Fall. Because of the limited range, I don't think I'll take the KDX on long trips, but I'm very excited about taking it out on weekends.

I'd be interested on your thoughts about the flywheel weight on a KDX. I have one on my KX and it really helped, but on a KDX it is questionable because it already has a low first gear (unlike the KX).