New to board from the woods and desert of washington

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jerry malbeck
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New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by jerry malbeck »

Im finding a ton of info from this site and really appreciate your sharing , Im a 62 year old has been Pro AMA racer , having raced Flat track ,Road racing ,And Hare scrambles.
My 14 year old son has shown a interest in riding a few years back and now has Dad riding the woods and desert of washington state , My son outgrew his 125 quickly and i started thinking about all my old friends and how much fun we used to have on the KDX bikes back in the day .
I played with the idea for a while and my riding buddys told me i was crazy to entertain the thought of such a antiquated machine this day and age .
I bought a 2009 Suzuki RMZ 250 and its a great bike , but I longed for the old two stroke feel .
I saw a add one night for a 2003 KDX 220R and i made the call . It turned out to be owned by a riding buddy i had known for 40 years or better and he was hanging up the dirt helmet for a road bike .
The 220 R was in imaculate shape and very well cared for . I was bitten hard once again by the KDX bug.
I found another 2001 220 in decent shape a while back and now my 115 LB 14 year old son is riding it . The little green machines are showing just how great a little bike they are by out preforming my friends 4 strokers in the big mountains of washington state .
The desert is not such a easy task for the KDX BUT we can still keep up LOL. hard to beat horsepower in the sand .
My son and i have been upgrading the 220's as the RMZ collects dust in the shop . Once again thanks for sharing . Jerry .
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6 Riders
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Re: New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by 6 Riders »

:partyman: Welcome, I'm also from Washington.
newbbewb wrote:^what he said.
masterblaster wrote:Man 6 riders you rock.
*side note...I'm drunk, so try to read what I'm trying to say, instead of what I actually type
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diymirage
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Re: New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by diymirage »

be sure to check and see if the 220s are still running the stock piston
if so, you need to replace it yesterday

they have a bad habbit of dropping skirts and blowing out the whole bottom end
newbbewb wrote:DIYmirage has it right.


-1996 KDX 200 woods weapon (converted to 99 green body)
-1996 KDX 200 plated street toy (barney edition)
-2003 Yamaha TTR125-L (wifeys bike)
-1997 KDX 220 project bike
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bufftester
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Re: New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by bufftester »

Welcome to the board, I'm also from WA (there are a few of us on here who are)
jjavaman
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Re: New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by jjavaman »

62!! You make me proud, I'm just getting back into it as well and I'll be 56 next birthday. I find this bike more then fast enough and could see myself riding this one for a long time!
97-220 with a PC pipe. 2015- RB carb and head mod
jerry malbeck
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Re: New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by jerry malbeck »

Thanks for the kind words, The pistons are going to get replced soon , I never heard of that problem before . If you care to see one of the areas we ride my son films with a go pro and you can see some footage of Juniper dunes . Just look on You Tube for juniper Jockeys . Its a work in progress and he adds to it from time to time . Suspension on Jareds 2001 got a full make over last week from a friend that used to tune for Grant Langston .
His rear shock and front forks got a work over and set up for his 115 LB body , He loves the bike .
He was riding a 2007 WR250F And now finds the KDX to be a great fit for him , I know he is going to love it in the woods now that the suspension isnt trying to kick him off anymore LOL.
Im still reading and finding more and more great info . The 2001 is getting fitted with all MX fenders soon , And im looking for a set of KX 500 Forks for my 2003 , Ill get around to posting a pic of the two lil beasties as soon as i get time . hope to see some of you Washington , Oregon riders some time , maybe next year @ Odessa. Our riding season is just starting in the dunes ( Need cold damp weather ) . The mountains are soon to be to cold and wet , Im a whimp . Seee Ya , Jerry .
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bufftester
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Re: New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by bufftester »

Been to Juniper Dunes a couple times, my dad lives up in Desert Aire and we ride up there around Mattawa quite a bit this time of year as the ground solidifies some :-)
jerry malbeck
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Re: New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by jerry malbeck »

Mattawa , The good old days LOL. Used to race that nightmare year after year . Loved to thrash the body on that ground . That is all closed now , The race has moved to Odessa now . I saw your bike on one of your posts , I really like what you have done to it , Great example of what a KDX can be . maybe we will cross tracks over here on the east side some day . Juniper is a blast when we get a lil moisture in the ground and the temps drop just a bit .
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bufftester
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Re: New to board from the woods and desert of washington

Post by bufftester »

You can still ride on the north side of Mattawa up to the ridge, further east is closed off, but there's still some fun riding up there, and the drop over the ridge down to the dunes along the Columbia is a challenge. Loved the out and back races there back in the day, though the Odessa loops are fun as well. I'll keep my eyes open for you.
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