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I have a 2000 220r that spends nearly all its time in the woods. It performs excellent in that terrain. It doesn't hesitate, bog (except when the motor is still cold), or do anything strange that alarms me.

BUT in the open fields it has zero top end. In first and second gear it just feels so flat, no snap at all. In the open fields against 125s it gets blown away. Yet in the woods the 125's eat my dust! in 3rd gear and up I guess I can feel a little more powerband but, still, not the top end I expect. It won't lift the front well at all except in low speed situations in 1st and second gear to hop over obstacles.

It has a woods pipe, no airbox lid (didn't come with it), a wiseco piston. As far as I know those are the only changes from stock.

I've been reading the forum a lot lately thinking maybe I should attempt adjust the carb settings/jetting, but I'm really kinda at a loss if I should start there, considering how strong it is in the woods, and I'm a little scared to fudge something up. I'm just tired of these 25 year old 125's running circles around me in the long straights!

I gladly appreciate any advice on where to start or what I should be checking out.

Dan

If you want a top end hit get the rev pipe also called fatty. Or the pc platinum pipe. I have the pc pipe on my 220 and it has a nice hit up high. I have tried the woods pipe also called torque pipe, and it is very linear feeling. Get the fatty-rev pipe! Fredette doesn't even recommend the torque pipe for the 220.

All 220s fall flat towards the top rpm range of the powerband as the ports are designed to give excellent low to midrange & not so on top ( Kawasaki designed the 220 as a woods bike )
There are a few improvements & modifications you can do that will enhance the bikes power, boyesen rad valve, 35mm kdx 200 carb , fmf or pro circuit pipe.....for more serious power then a head & port job will certainly boost performance especially with the above mods , altering the stator plate timing can give you a little more over run which will help with the top end revs.....it's quite possible with some time & money to make your 220 produce a reliable 40hp beastie capable of running with mx 125s & ktm 200s without losing any of its famous tractor like bottom end.....I know because I've done it ..

pipe and porting determine the powerband.
try a different pipe and if that isn't enough then try raising the exhaust and transfer ports.
actually from the get-go you should do both because pipe and porting have to match each other.
but be under no illusion, you will lose some low rpm grunt.

Confirm that the kips is working properly.

I have the same bike & year. I bought it a year ago with the FMF Gnarly 'Woods Pipe' on it. I thought it a bit flat on top, just as you do. The general recommendation for the 220 seems to be to go with the FMF Gnarly Desert Pipe to keep the low end but boost the top end and let it rev out more. I made the purchase and swapped the pipes (Super easy!) and immediately noticed the change. The bottom is still great but it wakes up in the mid-range and keeps power far longer. For reference, my bike seems pretty much stock except for the pipe and I've been riding it around 4,000-5,000 feet altitude.

Good value for the money IMHO.

Of course its flat up top, its a bike that was designed for the woods lol. A 125 only makes power up top, they have zero bottom end and only a tiny bit of mid and they make more peak hp than a kdx. The old kdx makes all its power low and mid so dont expect it to rev because its not designed to.

rparrish08 wrote:Confirm that the kips is working properly.

I did take the right side round cover off to take a peak inside. It looked clean,nice and oily with no build up or gunky stuff. Have not poked around anywhere else.