KDXRIDER.NET

Well, Babbitt's finally came through with a new spherical bearing for my 1987 KDX 200 C2. It's been so long since I ordered it, I forgot how much it cost. $74 for this one tiny part. :( Hard to believe. They must be rare as hen's teeth. The new one is on top.



The good news, however, is that it took up virtually all the slop in the rear suspension, so once I get a better bolt and caps for it, then I'll be ready to rip!

David,

I hate to bring life to an old thread, but I just wondered how your 87 KDX 200 is treating you. What all have you done to it maintenance wise? I ask because I purchased an 87 about 2 weeks ago. Like I said, hate to bring up an old thread but I did not see an option to PM you-thanks.

Not sure how I missed this thread the first time around. Thanks for bumping it! Love the 87!!

I took the old '87 down to Hatfield-McCoy and rode it for two days. It is a very fun bike. Super light weight, great low-to-mid power (not much on top), lugs down at low rpm very well, and the stock suspension was great for a day of relaxed, rocky exploration. Very comfy seat, but weird ergos if you are used to modern bikes. The bars have a lot of rearward sweep, they're narrow, low, and feel like they are in your lap. Back brake was wooden and took a lot of effort to lock up, but the front was okay.

Problems I encountered included a cracked gas cap, and a pretty good squeak somewhere in the rear suspension, probably in the rocker arm. However, it ran like a top and was fun as hell. It's a keeper. I might try to get a tag for it and run some enduros.

I posted this elsewhere before, but I'll put it here, too. It's just a short helmet cam clip of a piece of single track in the Indian Ridge trail system.

dfeckel wrote:I took the old '87 down to Hatfield-McCoy and rode it for two days. It is a very fun bike. Super light weight, great low-to-mid power (not much on top), lugs down at low rpm very well, and the stock suspension was great for a day of relaxed, rocky exploration. Very comfy seat, but weird ergos if you are used to modern bikes. The bars have a lot of rearward sweep, they're narrow, low, and feel like they are in your lap. Back brake was wooden and took a lot of effort to lock up, but the front was okay.

Problems I encountered included a cracked gas cap, and a pretty good squeak somewhere in the rear suspension, probably in the rocker arm. However, it ran like a top and was fun as hell. It's a keeper. I might try to get a tag for it and run some enduros.

I posted this elsewhere before, but I'll put it here, too. It's just a short helmet cam clip of a piece of single track in the Indian Ridge trail system.

Very cool. Thanks for the response. I noticed in one of your previous threads you mentioned grease fittings for the swingarm? I hope I did not dream this up. Anyway I don't have my shop manual yet-where are said fittings?-assuming I did not dream this up. Thanks.

If you look at the diagrams on the Kawasaki site, you can see the '86 and '87 had grease fittings on the swingarm, as well as the two dogbone bolts. The swingarm sleeves have a hole on opposite sides, allowing grease to go from the center of the swingarm through the sleeve into the needle bearings. I have no clue why they dumped it for '88.

$74 is getting on up there. Somewhere I still have a receipt for paying around $21 each back in the day.

Jason wrote:If you look at the diagrams on the Kawasaki site, you can see the '86 and '87 had grease fittings on the swingarm, as well as the two dogbone bolts. The swingarm sleeves have a hole on opposite sides, allowing grease to go from the center of the swingarm through the sleeve into the needle bearings. I have no clue why they dumped it for '88.

$74 is getting on up there. Somewhere I still have a receipt for paying around $21 each back in the day.

Thanks for letting me know. Got it greased today. I just used some Valvoline bearing grease that I had. Next time I will try to get some motorcycle/waterproof stuff.

I just replaced that bearing with a rubber bush on mine, £5 for 5, bargain.

Interesting on using a rubber bushing to replace the spherical bearing. How well do they hold up? Any difference in rear suspension feel?

I once just modified a brass bushing. Cost way less and you get the same performance. You may have to change it more often or use it until you can find a cheap one online.