The conversion of my 2003 Kx125/KDX is complete. It took about a little more than a week to finish. The hardest part was fighting the cold here in upstate New York. 20 degree days, and single degree nights, slowed the work in a unheated barn. The conversion was pretty straightforward. I followed the directions in ebeck's sticky section. About the only real trouble I had was getting the KX carb boot to fit the KDX carb. The boot diameter was quite a bit larger than the carb, and a bit higher too. I think the cold was making the rubber hard. I warmed the boot with a heater and was able to connect them finally. Moving the electrics was annoying. In a hurry, I connected a couple of the wires wrong, and the bike had no spark. Other than that it went smoothly.
The first ride was exciting. The first thing I noticed was the height difference. The KX seat height is somewhat lower than the KDX. The next difference is the weight. It's about 30lbs lighter. The hybrid seems to carry its weight lower in the frame. It makes the KDX seem top heavy. When riding, I could flick the bike around more. I was having fun spinning donuts. That's something I could do on my KDX, but usually wouldn't, because I would be afraid I might drop it or it would grab some traction and it would high-side. The Hybrid just seems more nimble. At higher speeds the suspension just seemed more planted and exact. The bike just went exactly where I wanted. On the KDX, at speed, the front end would sometimes wander a little bit. It felt like it would pick the line, and I would have to go where it wanted. This is my impression of the Hybrid, after a 2 hour ride, riding a mix of forest, and open terrain. I'll try to follow up with a more complete ride report as soon as i can. Thanks, Dave
Hybrid 1st ride report
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SVandal
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