2003 KDX 220... opinions.

[NoBs]

After 2 years of hemming and hawing, it looks like a 2003 220 is around a week away.. No headlight, rear is there just not operational. Rest of the bike ( pic's only, video coming of it starting/going thru the gears ) seems to be in really good condition, guy states just kick it and go, nothing needed... Of course the internals are speculative at best.. It will be a 12 hour trip both ways so obviously I asked a fair amount of questions.. FMF Platinum pipe, FMF in the rear. Has the guard around the pipe, skid plate, bigger pegs, guards on forks, rear brake, and brake cylinder, also Acerbis handguards. Graphics look good but the camera can be kind in a lot of cases.. Except for the headlight, I can't see anything else of necessity to put on it.. He's had it 3 years, no rebuilds, rides it to church on Sundays only.. well, that's not exactly what he said.. It's under 3K by a couple hundred, I've looked around and the price is lower than many asking prices, though actual selling prices are probably more in line with this.. His asking price was a tick under $ 3K, but has come down a bit which he says is the bottom line. There are a fair amount of 200's but only a handful of 220's in my searches..
Consensus ?

[SS109]

I would have to see it and hear it to have a better idea. It might be worth it or maybe not. Big thing that concerns me with any 220 is the piston. It's the one known disastrous weak point of that engine.

[NoBs]

Interesting you bring that up.. I have read about it from both perspectives... some stating it was only a matter of time and others stating the whole thing is way overblown... so I guess it comes down whether it was changed in the last 20 years of its life. Since there's no way of knowing I'll have to judge it by the way it performs on the video and when I go up to finalize the purchase.. I've pretty much settled on the 220 instead of the 200 due to the reported gobs of torque at low rpms which is exactly what I'm looking for.. The 200 may be faster but that's not really important to me.. The last 2 strokes I had were a 1974 400 CZ motocrosser and several 350 and one 400 Kawasaki M/C... I'm reading about KIPS, power reed valves etc etc which is a world away from the bikes I had. The only thing they have in common is that most of them smoke, surprising a bit that wasn't pretty much eliminated in today's bikes... though occasionally I'll find one that smokes less than others but it's always there.. 20 to one was the ratio back in the day.. I'd pick it up today but the guy works until 5 and I wouldn't get home until well after midnight...

[JFortner5]

If you end up getting it I’d still replace the piston. It can run perfectly fine right up until it comes apart. I’m on my 3rd 220. I replaced pistons on the first two and one was cracked. I’ve only ridden my latest one once but I will be pulling it apart to replace it soon. It’s not worth the risk of wiping out the cylinder and/or bottom end.

[NoBs]

Gone.... guy had it for sale locally and poof.. gone. Guess I'm thinking : First, how would you know if it was replaced ( other than asking the other and hearing him say " I don't know " Second and more to the point, if this were a truly serious flaw wouldn't literally all of these piston have failed by now ? I mean the newest one would be 18 years old.. I appreciate what damage it could do but.....

[SS109]

You would be surprised how many bikes are bought, ridden very little, and spend most of their life in storage. So, the bike may be 18+ years old yet it might only have 50 hours. You just don't know. That's why on any used bike the first thing you should do is a top end and especially so on the KDX220.