A Prodigal Returns

[NM_KDX200]

So... after riding a '98 KDX200 for several years, spending FAR too much time on this board, selling the KDX, and "moving on" to other bikes, I'm back in the KDX game. My son's 14 now, been riding for 2 years and- having gone thru a CRF 150 F, KX100, and now a KX125, he uttered the words "A KDX? Are those any good?" Long story short, I found a guy selling TWO KDX's. One's an '01 220 and the other is a "needs assembling" 200 with a nicely rebuilt motor. We bought 'em both.

First thing I did was check the jetting on both bikes. Both were stock, so no wonder the 220 is running so rich (I'm at 6,000'). We then laid out all the pieces for the 200 and discovered that the gear that links the governor from the clutch cover to the KIPS valve was missing. This is the probably infamous Kawasaki Part # 16085-1273 with the extraordinarily descriptive name of "GEAR". After MUCH searching and much finding them "NLA", I _finally_ found one for sale and then discovered they are part of the clutch cover (thus MY accurate description). Snatched that up and now we should have all parts. Also found an FMF K-30 (what I used on my '98), Turbine Core II, full skid plate, a couple of new air filters, and other misc things we needed. Got a range of jets for the 220, still have the ones I used in my 200.

First step is go thru all the bearings and see what we've got there. Then I'll put the FMF Burly and Turbine Core II that I have on the 220, re-jet it, and try it out. I don't know the status of the top end- might be stock!!!- so before I do any real riding, it's gonna get a new piston/rings, powervalve cleaning. Hopefully, the 200 will be up and going by then so we'll have one KDX to ride. My son's a pretty decent mechanic, having rebuilt his KX twice and helped me with my RM, so the 200 is largely his project with guidance and assistance by yours truly.

So... looking forward to doing some KDX'in the next month or so!

[KDXGarage]

Welcome back! I remember you. Congratulations on remembering your login info.

Good luck on the KDX's. It is cool to see you come back around to them.

[SS109]

Welcome back! It's kind of weird, we may move on but it seems that a lot of people end up coming back to the KDX!

[NM_KDX200]

Welcome back! I remember you. Congratulations on remembering your login info.

You did my suspension back then!

It took 2 tries to get the PW... :)

[KDXGarage]

Yep. That's me.

Just two tries is pretty good!

[bufftester]

Welcome back.......they always come back......lol

[VTMTcowboy]

Welcome back! Great father-son project.

[NM_KDX200]

Here's where we're at.... this is probably all a familiar sight to most of you!

My son is kissing the part for good luck... actually, he's blowing gasket pieces out.



200- motor is fine but missing the "GEAR" linkage from clutch cover to KIPS. I _finally_ found one on eBay once I got the correct name figured out. This gear:



The linkage bearing were all pretty bad- rusty, not turning, etc. Cleaned and greased and got them working again. I'll replace them with new stuff later. They'll work good enough for now. We're missing a swingarm bearing cap. Missing the coolant connection on top of the head. Air filter was falling apart. Got all that stuff coming. Buttoned up what we could on the rebuilt motor and are waiting on parts

220: Bearings were excellent- I wonder if they've been replaced? The air filter was dry- no oil!!!- but very new. I wonder if they were waiting to oil it before riding or something? Because of this and because of the 220's reputation for blowing pistons, I decided to play it safe and ordered a Wiseco piston kit. Got to work...





The piston looked pretty good. Ring gap was right at the new limit and well below the service limit. Cylinder was perfect so looks like the dry air filter wasn't run long, if at all. Think about that... an OEM piston from 2001!!! Wow, if you ask me. Lots of spooge in the powervalve, as to be expected from the stock jetting (and remember, bike came from 7000' and I'm at 6,000'). Got everything cleaned and lubed and snapping in and out. I had to go back and refer to the little guide I wrote back in '99 that it seems a lot of people have used over the years.



Parts'll be here Thurs!! Yay.

[KDXGarage]

WOW.

OK, everybody. When you run it rich for a long time, that is what it looks like inside.

Good job!

[Vossman]

I’d be interested in what you figure out for jetting on the 200. Besides that, looks like a good score. Keep us up to date.

[NM_KDX200]

I’d be interested in what you figure out for jetting on the 200. Besides that, looks like a good score. Keep us up to date.

According to my manual- which I kept all these years!:

1995 KDX 200:

basic elevation is 6,000'. When I went up, it was from 8500-11,000' and when I went down it was 3500'-ish. Going up also got cooler and going down got warmer, giving me correction values of 0.92 for up and 0.95 for down. At home is usually 0.94.

5/9/04: torque pipe, snorkel out. 152 m, 42 p
7/14/04: same, 90 F, 150 m, 38 p
6/3/05: desert pipe, 80 F, 148 m, 38 p
8/15/05: dropped needle all the way (#1 pos), better mid-range response
10/1/05: added Pro Reeds, needle in #2 pos, getting colder

Pretty sure that what I did was run the 148 M, #2 needle clip, for most riding. When I went up to 11,000', I used a 145 m and when I went down to 3500' I went up to a 150 m. Used the needle position to get the mid-range clean. After the 38, I don't think I touched the pilot again, although I did use the air screw if response was off a little.

I'm not super picky about jetting and try to run it on the rich side, esp when WOT. If there's a stumble or something, I just ride around it but I remember the KDX 200 running pretty good on the whole.

[NM_KDX200]

I have the 220 running! After I got it all together, I kicked thru slowly just to help distribute oil and such and it started 2nd "kick". Cool. So, I rode it around a little several times and it kind of stumbles at low RPM. No problem- I'm just getting started on the jetting, after all. Today, before I started doing any carb work, I decided to put a new plug in (previous plug was still in place) and ta-da.... let me tell y'all something.... your bike will run a LOT better if you screw the spark plug in. So, with a new, tight, spark plug, I went for a short ride and it was MUCH better! Low end was all there, nice and clean. Top end flattens out but I don't care- I'm not in it for the top end and there's still plenty there.

I've never ridden a 220 before. The bottom end is powerful! I was riding full-lock circles barely off idle and then giving the throttle a little crack to wheelie out of the circle. Big fun. The whole time I was doing this- not stalling or feeling every-other-stroke-power-pulses, I'm thinking "Why in the world would I ever want another 4S?!" My son, who has never ridden anything past a 125, took a spin and came back grinning.

We're waiting on a throttle cable and kill switch and then the 200 gets fired up for the first time. Gonna be next week, though, because this week we're going to a "MX Bible Camp" in Amarillo which should be a lot of fun.

[KDXGarage]

Cool! I am glad you all got it up and going.

[Vossman]

Thank you for the info. You guys are gonna have fun.

[SS109]

I've never ridden a 220 before. The bottom end is powerful! I was riding full-lock circles barely off idle and then giving the throttle a little crack to wheelie out of the circle. Big fun. The whole time I was doing this- not stalling or feeling every-other-stroke-power-pulses, I'm thinking "Why in the world would I ever want another 4S?!" My son, who has never ridden anything past a 125, took a spin and came back grinning.

I used to think the 200 was better than the 220. After getting my '98 220, and doing a full rebuild, with some of the popular mods, I see it as the perfect small bore 2T.

[Friedom]

I've never ridden a 220 before. The bottom end is powerful! I was riding full-lock circles barely off idle and then giving the throttle a little crack to wheelie out of the circle. Big fun. The whole time I was doing this- not stalling or feeling every-other-stroke-power-pulses, I'm thinking "Why in the world would I ever want another 4S?!" My son, who has never ridden anything past a 125, took a spin and came back grinning.

I used to think the 200 was better than the 220. After getting my '98 220, and doing a full rebuild, with some of the popular mods, I see it as _almost as good as my '90 200 that Friedom now rides_.

FIFY

[NM_KDX200]

I used to think the 200 was better than the 220. After getting my '98 220, and doing a full rebuild, with some of the popular mods, I see it as the perfect small bore 2T.

I've read up on the 220 mods but would it be possible for you to rank them, more or less, in order of "Must Have"?

I've got the Gnarly K-30 pipe, Turbine Core 2 S/A, and fresh Wiseco piston. A complete RB carb is on my wish list, after the suspension is freshened and sprung right. I'd think that should pretty much do it?

[SS109]

I used to think the 200 was better than the 220. After getting my '98 220, and doing a full rebuild, with some of the popular mods, I see it as _almost as good as my '90 200 that Friedom now rides_.

FIFY

LOL!

I used to think the 200 was better than the 220. After getting my '98 220, and doing a full rebuild, with some of the popular mods, I see it as the perfect small bore 2T.

I've read up on the 220 mods but would it be possible for you to rank them, more or less, in order of "Must Have"?

I've got the Gnarly K-30 pipe, Turbine Core 2 S/A, and fresh Wiseco piston. A complete RB carb is on my wish list, after the suspension is freshened and sprung right. I'd think that should pretty much do it?

IMO...

1. FMF Desert Pipe
2. RB modified 35mm carb
3. RB head mod
4. Boyesen RAD valve or Vforce III reed cage

Those are the four big mods listed I think do the most for the 220. I know there are other mods but these are the ones that are easy to get, can put them on yourself, and have very noticeable gains and, when combined, really change the 220 in to the best small bore 2T engine ever. The RAD Valve w/pro series reeds is my preference of the two reed setups for the 220.

[NM_KDX200]

We finally got the KDX 200 back together yesterday. It was a big more challenging than the 220, but I expected that since I was handed a motor in a box and a bunch of loose parts. We just had to scramble for things like a throttle cable, the KIPS linkage toothed thing, several bolts here and there, and so on. After my son installed the wiring harness, I checked for spark and got a great one, so I figured all systems go.

First thing was the carb leaked around the gasket. Used some gasket sealer and put a new gasket my RockyMountain ATV cart. Then the fuel gushed out the top vent. Took it apart and found gasket silicone on the float. Checked float to make sure that wasn't someone trying to "fix" a cracked float. Checked that the float actually shut off fuel. With everything good, gave it another kick. Sputter, chug a chuga, spink... kick again, and again, and again. I have A Rule- if it doesn't start in 5 kicks something's wrong.

So, I checked the spark again and.... no spark. Double checked all wiring and it looked good. Removed the magneto cover and... loose flywheel. Not only loose, but sheared woodruff key, too. Added 2 woodruff keys to RMATV cart. Pushed bike into corner to wait for parts. Got tired of waiting and found a thick washer, my grinder, calipers, the old key and went to work. An hour later, I had a temp woodruff key in place, the flywheel torqued down, and a glorious spark! With all that taken care of, bike started first kick.

After running it up and down the front "football field" a few times we decided to go for a short ride on the ranch today. Two hours later- after doing some rock hopping, creek running, and dirt pitting- we were back at the house and will now wait for RM-ATV to arrive with the proper woodruff, the rubber gasket between the pipe and silencer, the carb gasket (although it's not leaking) , new sprockets to go with the new chain already on, and various others.

It was interesting swapping off on the 200 and 220. Everyone's written on this a million times, but the things that struck me were:

1) the tractor-ness of the 220. To stall it, you have to idle and stomp on both brakes while aimed uphill.

2) the lighter feel of the 200. It feels lighter and smaller to me. It's not.

3) drag racing down the road was even. The 220 jumps out but the 200 catches it quickly. From there it's a dead heat. 200 has stock gearing, 220 has 13/49 (which may be stock?)

4) in tight stuff, I like the 220 but if there's an open-ness, I like the 200.

5) both are smooth going down the road.

Looking forward to _riding_!!!

[david]

As you found out, don’t ever use RTV on a carburetor, any carburetor. The RTV reacts to the fuel and swells, the pieces end up in the carb, and the passages are super small and easy to plug up. Good job getting it up and running.


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