When I was a kid I wanted a dirtbike in a bad way. My father bought us (my older brother and I) a well used Honda CT70. I know the CT70 is a classic, but to a 12 year old it just didn't compare to the XL100's our buddies were cruising around on.
Fast forward 30 years and now my son is 12 and he wanted a dirtbike. I found him a slightly used Kawasaki KLX140L and he's been bugging me to go riding nearly every day since. So - perfect excuse to buy myself a new bike. And after cruising the classifieds for a while, I spotted a 2006 KDX200 for sale. I'd never heard of a KDX200 before - a bit of research later and I realize that the KDX is the perfect type of hybrid I'm looking for - a bike built for the trails but one that has the traditional appeal of a 2 stroke. Well I missed out on the 2006 KDX200 - by the time I realized what kind of a find it was I called the guy and it was already sold for close to his full asking price. Missed opportunity I thought! I couldn't find anything else like it - so I was back to looking at thumpers like the ever popular CRF230F and TTR-230 - I gave up on the hope of finding another 2 stroke (I toyed with the idea of buying a YZ250 which were in decent supply and adding a flywheel and some other mods to make it trail worthy) and made a couple of offers. Just as I was about to close a deal on a crf230f I spotted a 2004 KDX220r for sale. What luck! It was missing a few non-critical pieces (kickstand, chain guide) but certainly had potential - and the price was right.
So I joined the ranks of KDX owner. And inspired by fellow kdxrider members like rick albert, I set about adding a few upgrades to my bike to get it trail ready.
Here's the before pic:
And here are the after pics. I've added a Trailtech kickstand (hypermotard version as I read a lot of folks found the standard one a bit too long), Fredette Chain Guide, Maier rear fender, Works Connection frameguards, Polisport Halo Headlight, Sealsaver fork protectors, I stripped the paint off the FMF Gnarley pipe and polished it and the PowerCore 2 silencer (and repacked it), replaced some missing rubber mounts, o-rings and put everything back together:
Having a ball out on the trails, me with my KDX and my son with his KLX140L. I'm sure it won't be too long before he's asking for an upgrade, or wanting to try my bike!
The more time I put into the bike the more things I want to do to it! It's almost as much fun in the garage as out on the trails.
Colin
First bike in 30 years
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First bike in 30 years
Last edited by cstuckless on 10:06 pm Aug 05 2013, edited 1 time in total.
- rbates9
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First bike in 30 years
Good to hear you found a KDX.
Your pictures aren't working (for me at least).
Your pictures aren't working (for me at least).
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Re: First bike in 30 years
rbates9 - thx for the feedback. I tried linking them from google drive, but it must be an athentication/sharing thing as they looked OK to me on the preview. I moved them over to picasa/google+ albums so hopefully they are OK now.
Colin
Colin
- rbates9
- Supporting Member II
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First bike in 30 years
They work now. Nice looking bike. And yeah, you will never be done with it.
Was there anything wrong with the stock headlight? If not I would be interested in it.
Was there anything wrong with the stock headlight? If not I would be interested in it.
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First bike in 30 years
The stock headlight is a little worn looking, but I'm holding onto it with the intent to restore it back to original shape. I think it's going to need a coat of paint as there are several stress/white marks in the plastic. It needs a new bulb and connector as well.rbates9 wrote:They work now. Nice looking bike. And yeah, you will never be done with it.
Was there anything wrong with the stock headlight? If not I would be interested in it.
Colin
- bufftester
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Re: First bike in 30 years
Welcome to the KDX world, and glad you got your wiring issue squared away. I too started riding as a kid sharing a Honda QA50 with my brother until my dad bought his first KDX in 87 and I inherited his Suzuki TS185 until I got my first KDX. Riding with your kids is a blast, and for me brings back lots of fond memories. However, go try and find a CT70 and see what you'd pay for it today lol
- turtle
- Supporting Member II
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First bike in 30 years
Great find! The bike looks really good. Welcome to KDXrider.net.
I'll be the one this time: do a search on this site about stock pistons failing in the 220's, and then make sure an aftermarket piston has been installed or you will want to change it out asap. I also have a 2004 220R. It has signs of the piston having grenaded on the PO, and when I tore into it after I bought it, the piston that was in there was cracked too! A wiseco or similar will give you some peace of mind.
Enjoy your new ride!
I'll be the one this time: do a search on this site about stock pistons failing in the 220's, and then make sure an aftermarket piston has been installed or you will want to change it out asap. I also have a 2004 220R. It has signs of the piston having grenaded on the PO, and when I tore into it after I bought it, the piston that was in there was cracked too! A wiseco or similar will give you some peace of mind.
Enjoy your new ride!
Bill
Central IL
2004 KDX220R
2011 Triumph Tiger 1050 SE
Central IL
2004 KDX220R
2011 Triumph Tiger 1050 SE