1986-7 KDX200?
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1986-7 KDX200?
Hi All
I am looking at two bikes, the 86 and 87 kdx200s as the basis as an evolution race bike. Can you tell me as much as you know about these machines?
Are they reliable?
What goes wrong?
What are spares like to get?
I was 3 years old when this machine came out, I presume they wont handle as good as the newer machines and that they wont be very powerful or stop, or am I being too harsh?
I am looking at two bikes, the 86 and 87 kdx200s as the basis as an evolution race bike. Can you tell me as much as you know about these machines?
Are they reliable?
What goes wrong?
What are spares like to get?
I was 3 years old when this machine came out, I presume they wont handle as good as the newer machines and that they wont be very powerful or stop, or am I being too harsh?
- gsa102
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I think it should handle pretty well with the right springs. Newer bikes have improved components, but chassis geometery has been refined over the years, not reinvented. KDXs have a reputation for being very reliable, but it is not a motocross machine. I expect most non-wear parts to only be available on ebay.
Read the posts for the early bikes and you will find out what goes wrong and how to fix it.
Read the posts for the early bikes and you will find out what goes wrong and how to fix it.
This is my rifle, this is my gun, the YZ to go fast, the KDX is for fun!
96 KDX 200, 09 YZ 250
96 KDX 200, 09 YZ 250
- skythrasher
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I picked up an '87 several months ago and have been cleaning it up and learning as much about it as possible.
I'm pretty sure that the pick of the litter is the '88 because it is the only year with a PWK Kehin carburetor. All others have a Mikuni round slide.
The forks and front brake and wheel are the same as the early E-series bikes ('89-92), but the triples are different. The front brake is a single pistion affair, which is better than a drum, but certainly not as good as a more modern brake. The rear brake is a drum, but I haven't actually ridden the bike more than around my yard, so I can't testify as to how it performs on the trail, particularly in wet conditions.
The rear suspension is an early Uni Trak design that uses a push rod from the swing arm to a rocker arm under the seat which actuates the shock. The rocker arm uses pretty generic needle bearings, which are probably easy to replace through a bearing house, but the push rod has heim joint/spherical bearings that you just can't find from All Balls. There are no linkage bearing replacement kits available from any vendor, so you'll have to forage to find what you need. I managed to get an OEM spherical bearing from Babbitt's, but it cost $76, and the bolt it rides on and the special seal is unavailable. It probably wouldn't have been too tough to fab up a correct bolt, but the seals area a different matter, so I wound up buying a good condition one from someone parting an '86. But the great thing about this archaic set up is that each pivot, including the main swing arm pivot, has a grease fitting, so you might potentially keep the bearings in good shape longer with minimal work.
The '86-'88 bikes have a trick electronic trip meter and clock that is resettable up and down by hundredths, which is exactly what you need for old-school time keeping enduros. They seem to be much more reliable than the mechanical odometers that the E and H bikes came with, but replacing the electronic pickup at the hub or, heaven forbid the whole unit, is pretty expensive.
They have a 6 volt electrical system, so don't expect to find replacement light bulbs at Auto Zone.
Regarding the motor, it shares a lot of bottom end parts with the E and H motors, but the shift shaft isn't one of those parts. Mine was stripped and badly welded, and I had to find a good used one on eBay. The top end has a plated cylinder with an early version of KIPS using two small rotary sub valves but no main valve. They seem to be more robust than the problematic E sub valves, or at least that's my impression because the KIPS in my '87 were perfect and they looked original. The sub valves in both my used E-series motors were trashed when I bought them. The stator and flywheel are not the same as E and H bikes, but I believe Jeff Fredette has a method of either repairing the stock stators or retrofitting them to work with newer stators. Pistons, small end bearings, main bearings, tranny bearings, gaskets and seals are all easy to find on eBay.
Ergos are typical old-school--big cushy seat, narrow bars that feel low and close, skinny foot pegs, pretty low seat height. The bike feels very thin despite the large tank because of no radiators and a pipe that tucks in neatly. It also feels quite light wheeling it around the garage, but I haven't weighed it yet to see if that's just an illusion. It has a great hand hold under the rear fender that is reinforced by the subframe, which makes it easy to lift onto a stand or out of ruts.
It has a weird air filter. I had some trouble getting it from No Toil (one of their premium reusable filters), but I eventually got the right one. The airbox is very waterproof, with an intake just at the lower margin of the seat.
I haven't put any real miles on mine yet, but from what I can tell around the yard is that it has very nice low-end power and will lift the front end easily in the lower gears. Once I get a few shake down trail rides on it, I very well may take it to a hare scramble or enduro this year just for fun. I don't think I'll be dicing it up with usual competitors, but it should be a fun, comfortable bike to cruise on.
I'm pretty sure that the pick of the litter is the '88 because it is the only year with a PWK Kehin carburetor. All others have a Mikuni round slide.
The forks and front brake and wheel are the same as the early E-series bikes ('89-92), but the triples are different. The front brake is a single pistion affair, which is better than a drum, but certainly not as good as a more modern brake. The rear brake is a drum, but I haven't actually ridden the bike more than around my yard, so I can't testify as to how it performs on the trail, particularly in wet conditions.
The rear suspension is an early Uni Trak design that uses a push rod from the swing arm to a rocker arm under the seat which actuates the shock. The rocker arm uses pretty generic needle bearings, which are probably easy to replace through a bearing house, but the push rod has heim joint/spherical bearings that you just can't find from All Balls. There are no linkage bearing replacement kits available from any vendor, so you'll have to forage to find what you need. I managed to get an OEM spherical bearing from Babbitt's, but it cost $76, and the bolt it rides on and the special seal is unavailable. It probably wouldn't have been too tough to fab up a correct bolt, but the seals area a different matter, so I wound up buying a good condition one from someone parting an '86. But the great thing about this archaic set up is that each pivot, including the main swing arm pivot, has a grease fitting, so you might potentially keep the bearings in good shape longer with minimal work.
The '86-'88 bikes have a trick electronic trip meter and clock that is resettable up and down by hundredths, which is exactly what you need for old-school time keeping enduros. They seem to be much more reliable than the mechanical odometers that the E and H bikes came with, but replacing the electronic pickup at the hub or, heaven forbid the whole unit, is pretty expensive.
They have a 6 volt electrical system, so don't expect to find replacement light bulbs at Auto Zone.
Regarding the motor, it shares a lot of bottom end parts with the E and H motors, but the shift shaft isn't one of those parts. Mine was stripped and badly welded, and I had to find a good used one on eBay. The top end has a plated cylinder with an early version of KIPS using two small rotary sub valves but no main valve. They seem to be more robust than the problematic E sub valves, or at least that's my impression because the KIPS in my '87 were perfect and they looked original. The sub valves in both my used E-series motors were trashed when I bought them. The stator and flywheel are not the same as E and H bikes, but I believe Jeff Fredette has a method of either repairing the stock stators or retrofitting them to work with newer stators. Pistons, small end bearings, main bearings, tranny bearings, gaskets and seals are all easy to find on eBay.
Ergos are typical old-school--big cushy seat, narrow bars that feel low and close, skinny foot pegs, pretty low seat height. The bike feels very thin despite the large tank because of no radiators and a pipe that tucks in neatly. It also feels quite light wheeling it around the garage, but I haven't weighed it yet to see if that's just an illusion. It has a great hand hold under the rear fender that is reinforced by the subframe, which makes it easy to lift onto a stand or out of ruts.
It has a weird air filter. I had some trouble getting it from No Toil (one of their premium reusable filters), but I eventually got the right one. The airbox is very waterproof, with an intake just at the lower margin of the seat.
I haven't put any real miles on mine yet, but from what I can tell around the yard is that it has very nice low-end power and will lift the front end easily in the lower gears. Once I get a few shake down trail rides on it, I very well may take it to a hare scramble or enduro this year just for fun. I don't think I'll be dicing it up with usual competitors, but it should be a fun, comfortable bike to cruise on.
David Eckel
- skythrasher
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- Location: NW Arkansas
- skythrasher
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- Location: NW Arkansas
- kawagumby
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They are a great bike! I had two (86&88) and raced them in hare scrambles - won a B vet on one and embarrassed the mx bike riders mightily. A worn rear drum can be a drawback though, if they are worn badly even new shoes won't fix as the shoe actuating cam can just go so far. You probably could get the hub machined to take a sleeve pressed into it if you had to. The engines were bulletproof, never had a problem with mechanicals. I did have a coil fail once. The 86's had bad rims that cracked easily (same as the 250's) and I had a shifter spring break (also same problem with the 86 250 I had).
You could get other forks that will work besides KDX, I used to run Honda MX cartridge forks on them. I think honda came out with cartridge forks in 86 or 87. I used forks, wheel and brakes from an 87 CR500 on mine. The ultimate brush-bust'n bikes IMO.
I still have my original service manual for the bike, they spec the weight at 223 dry, which is the same as Kawasaki spec's the dry weight for the H model - but the H model will end up heavier with coolant and the CG is higher due to the radiator location. I could never tell any performance difference between the Mikuni and Keihin carbs on this model.
You could get other forks that will work besides KDX, I used to run Honda MX cartridge forks on them. I think honda came out with cartridge forks in 86 or 87. I used forks, wheel and brakes from an 87 CR500 on mine. The ultimate brush-bust'n bikes IMO.
I still have my original service manual for the bike, they spec the weight at 223 dry, which is the same as Kawasaki spec's the dry weight for the H model - but the H model will end up heavier with coolant and the CG is higher due to the radiator location. I could never tell any performance difference between the Mikuni and Keihin carbs on this model.
1994 KDX200, Beta 200rr, yz125, yz250, kx100 modded for adult, gasgas contact 250.
- Julien D
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Don't know if this works for the earlier bikes, but the 89 sported a single piston caliper, however the mounts were the same as the later E and H bikes which had a dual piston caliper, and it swaps right over.
As far as parts, the single biggest point of failure on those bikes is the flywheel. The magnets are not shielded, and tend to shatter. Replacement flywheels are hard to come by.
As far as parts, the single biggest point of failure on those bikes is the flywheel. The magnets are not shielded, and tend to shatter. Replacement flywheels are hard to come by.
- kawagumby
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LOL, that plate and just about everything else made of plastic was made by companies no longer in existence. Look at it this way, those AXO boots were the same model that Brad Lackey used when he won the world title (they were pretty good boots too!). The picture was taken at the 1987 Virginia City GP.
A month or so before this race, I won the Vet B class on this bike at a District 36 hare scrambles - you'd be surprised at how competitive the little bikes were.
Later I bought an 88 with the white plastic - a bitch to keep clean.
Edit: Now that I think about it, I believe the plate was Maier.
A month or so before this race, I won the Vet B class on this bike at a District 36 hare scrambles - you'd be surprised at how competitive the little bikes were.
Later I bought an 88 with the white plastic - a bitch to keep clean.
Edit: Now that I think about it, I believe the plate was Maier.
Last edited by kawagumby on 02:11 pm Feb 29 2012, edited 1 time in total.
1994 KDX200, Beta 200rr, yz125, yz250, kx100 modded for adult, gasgas contact 250.
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