Kdx 220 with woods pipe

[Chuck78]

Until the first trail ride of 2023 2 weeks ago, I'd forgotten in the 2 trail rides we did last year with my vintage Suzuki buddy who is a new KDX-convert, that his H-Series 200 had a Platinum 2 pipe on it! Unfortunately we were on the steepest gnarliest most technical trails that myself, my wife, and Dave had ever been on, and Dave was struggling with technique (and traction), and dropped and looped his bike out many times, leading to the Platinum 2 getting pretty bent up... I watched his first looping and then slamming and knew that pipe couldn't take that hit well...
Had I realized he had a Platinum 2 weeks before, I would have bought him a Gnarly Woods pipe for his 200 and had him try it out (and to save the Platinum 2 from novice damage on highly technical gnarly trails), as I think the Gnarly Woods pipe is almost mandatory on a 200 for technical gnarly rocky steep nasty terrain... My other buddy with an H-series KDX200 has a Gnarly Woods pipe, and that bike still spins up from low RPM to max RPM in the blink of an eye, all else is stock aside from Boyesen reeds on the Woods-equipped 200 H. It's not lacking for low end.

That brings another thing to mind.
Wife is resigning from her job in Powersports parts sales, I'm going to get her to order me a Gnarly Woods pipe before she loses her discount!
My 223cc +1mm overbored cylinder is ported pretty nicely... and I'm talking with Ron Black about having my 3 spare 220 heads done up by him after I tear down my 99's engine to get the head off.
I bet the Gnarly Woods pipe on the ported 220 cylinder with a Ron Black 70mm combustion chambered head (to match the overbored 223cc cylinder) would do incredibly well...just take a look at Carson Brown's ported 220 cylinder with Gnarly Woods pipe... screamer!

My spare 220 cylinder is low hours, bored and replated to 70mm, with a nice looking but unknown porting job by CV Tech in Canada, but on a 220 cylinder, you can only add more to the mid and upper ranges...


UPDATE - wife was able to place a last day order (resigned from her job) with her employee discount.

I think with the ported cylinder and either my Lectron 34mm or the 36mm PWK35 from Ron Black, that this thing won't dissappoint. A stock 200 H-series with the Woods pipe absolutely RIPS, so a ported 220 cylinder with the woods pipe and 34mm, 35mm, or 36mm carb should also rip really well, and with far more torque...

I'm still anticipating trying a Pro Circuit Platinum 2 pipe though, whenever they get their backlog of pipes built and get around to the old 95-06 KDX pipes.

Worst case, if I don't like the Gnarly Woods pipe even with the ported cylinder, modded head, and bigger carbs, I can trade it to my buddy for a bent Pro Circuit Platinum 2 pipe & straighten that thing out, as his 200 and his riding style would be far better off with the Gnarly Woods pipe

[JZ05220r]

That’s great. Let us know how it goes with the woods pipe.

[Chuck78]

Wow.
I texted my wife 11:30AM Friday on her very last day working at a big internet power sports sales company, asking if she could order me an FMF Gnarly Woods pipe, drop shipped from a major distributor to our house...
25.5 hours later, the last Gnarly Woods pipe currently available at any major distributor arrived on my doorstep via FedEx!

I know it's going to limit the upper RPM range on a stock 220 cylinder (less so with modified head and 34mm, 35.m, or 36mm carb in place of the smaller stock OEM PWK33), so I'm probably going to wait to try it out until I get my 3 spare 220 heads off to Ron Black, as 1 if them I'll be requesting done up to a 70mm bore combustion chamber to run the Gnarly Woods pipe with a nicely ported 223.2cc 70mm overbored replated cylinder I have here. Not quite what a +4mm or +5mm overbored and ported 200 cylinder would give as far as porting potential (2mm lower exhaust ports on the 220 cylinder really limits what a pro tuner can do with the 220 porting), but I'd wager that this Gnarly Woods pipe and modded head on the ported 220 cylinder will absolutely RIP...
I have a 36mm RB-modded PWK35 carb as well, and am contemplating trying out an XTNG Gen 3 Pro (clone/improvement upon both Lectron and Smart Carb designs).
Eager to get out on my retired 220 this spring to test out engine and suspension mods and tuning for sure
It'll be my test mule for my full Showa suspension swap as well. Very excited for the Showa Twin Chamber forks and valving tweaks as well as 2001+ 50mm Showa piggyback shocks with both high speed and low apeed compression clickers for further flexibility in dialing in for various terrains...

[Chuck78]

Chatting with another guy who has had several KDX's, this is what he had to say:

"My favorite technical terrain setup was a 220 with air box lid off, FMF silencer, and Gnarly Woods pipe. LOTS of grunt. Smaller carb works wonders down low. It was a wheelie monster in nearly any gear. Easy to loft over any logs."

Another guy a while back said that in the nastiest boulder filled trials type technical mountain terrain, the Gnarly Woods on a 220 was his preferred setup, as it had instant monster torque and was nearly impossible to stall. I really think that with a modded head, Lectron 34mm, Boyesen Reeds, and the Gnarly Woods pipe, the 220 Woods pipe combo would be really tough to beat for a mix of technical trails and 3rd/4th gear flowing trails. If you never see anything super extreme technical though, 1st/2nd gear rugged goat trail boulder field type terrain, a 13/49 and Gnarly Desert pipe with 34mm Lectron, RB Head, and Boyesen reeds will get you anywhere and have a TON of top end. The technical stuff requires fair bit more precision with the throttle and clutch as well as more rider skill with the Gnarly Desert 220 setup as described above though (34mm Lectron + RB head), compared to a modern 300 at least.

I may run this Gnarly Woods pipe soon even if I don't get my spare heads modded in time to get one done to match my 70mm overbored 223cc ported cylinder... I have a fresh replated cylinder and RB head awaiting, but was looking to try out the ported cylinder in particular.

[doakley]

We do these engine mods not because we need the extra power or more low end torque or top end scream, but because we absolutely love tinkering with the bikes. We may or may not go any faster, but we still love it. My 220 is modified quite the same as many here and I love how it runs. BUT, nothing, absolutely nothing, improved my speed and confidence more than having the suspension professionally set up for me. Ultimately I chose to go to a set of KYB USD KX forks with shock mods by Jeff Fredette. Best money I EVER spent on the bike by far (and I've spent a LOT on this machine). Not a sexy mod but very effective!

[Chuck78]

We do these engine mods not because we need the extra power or more low end torque or top end scream, but because we absolutely love tinkering with the bikes. We may or may not go any faster, but we still love it.

Hey, speak for yourself now, not "we!"
Although I do LOVE tinkering on these aging bikes as well as older fast dirt & street bikes as far back as 1977, I do these mods to my 220 in particular in order to get them to be even more capable on the steep nasty stuff. More torque without losing much off the top end is very beneficial.
I don't "need" any additional top end for my purposes, but I will say that at approximately 45mph & up, the feeling of brute power and acceleration has wanes on a 220. If I actually spent more time riding at those speeds, I would be looking at additional power increases 200 cylinder bored to 223cc & ported, or a KDX250 heavily modded, or else a new Beta 250RR...
I like technical trails, and can hurt myself plenty good enough on the 30-40mph fast flowing woods trails in a crash. I much prefer the 1st/2nd gear technical trails & "fast & flowy" 3rd/4th gear 25-40mph trails over flat out fire road riding etc.

BUT, nothing, absolutely nothing, improved my speed and confidence more than having the suspension professionally set up for me. Ultimately I chose to go to a set of KYB USD KX forks with shock mods by Jeff Fredette. Best money I EVER spent on the bike by far (and I've spent a LOT on this machine). Not a sexy mod but very effective!

100%!
I have perhaps the most extensive sole-authored thread (massive info dump of all my winter days spent searching to the ends of the internet) on here pertaining to my suspension swap project with "the best woods forks of all time," the 96-98 RM125/250 Showa Twin Chamber 49mm conventionals...

I'm very eager to get time to get my '98 RM125 fork swaps up and running... I've got some really good valving recipes for these, so no need to hire it out.

Also swapping on some 2001-2004 RM125 Showa shocks. Those I have yet to dig up good woods valving recipes for, but they are almost identical (aside from the longer KX250F clevis that can be shortened) to 2006-2018 KX250F shocks, so that expands the search for woods valving threads.
2005-2008 RM125 & RM250 shocks are the same but 18mm shafts vs 16mm, & 2007+ RM-Z250 shocks as well (18mm shafts & the longer KX250F & CR/CRF clevis). Lots of 50mm Showa spec'd models to search woods valving recipes for.

*All those Showa shocks need lowered internally approximately 6mm-7mm in order to fit in with the 95+ KDX's rocker linkage frame clearance, otherwise they need compressed 1/4" to squeeze into the KDX frame parameters & will top out with the rocker against the frame


I have no issues with the KDX shocks' performance, but am going for an increase in ride height and suspension travel so that I can retain the plush rock/boulder-eating suspension tune and softer springs while getting slightly more elevated so that I'm not smacking my toes on boulders quite as much, and getting a little more altitude for ground clearance without being as ridiculously tall as modern KTM & Husqvarna models.

[Chuck78]

We do these ***engine*** mods not because we need the extra ___________..., but because we absolutely love tinkering with the bikes. We may or may not go any faster, but we still love it.

ACTUALLY, doakley, take out the words "engine mods" and add "Chuck78 does these suspension mods," & THAT nearly perfectly describes my quest for this ultimate suspension setup lol... Funnily enough!

That holds true because for my riding style and terrains, my current setup leaves very little to be desired a far as my riding experiences to date, and works absolutely wonderfully in my choices of rugged vs flowing Eastern woods riding terrain.

Currently running a rebuilt stock KDX shock now set to 110mm sag, + a basically stock KLX300R fork swap, + 9psi front & 5.5psi-8.5psi rear Tubliss with 120/100-18 Shinko 520DC gummy rear and 90/100-21 Shinko 216 Fatty Cheater gummy front.

All my friends with stock-ish KDX's ride my '97 KDX220R and are absolutely in love with my bike's engine and suspension...

...and I ride my wife's '07 KTM 200 XC-W, another 200 XC-W, & 2 newer KTM 250 XC-W's, and yet the ONLY woods suspension that I've ridden out of my group of riding buddies that compares to my current KDX/KLX suspension setup was a '98 KTM 200 EXC, before KTM bought White Power Suspension (now called WP Suspension), and still ran nice big fat 46mm & 48mm Marzocchi conventional cartridge forks...

I think once dialed in, this Showa 49mm conventional fork & 3-way adjustable Showa shock will be absolutely killer & on par with modern YZ250X KYB S.S.S. suspension or Beta 250RR Race, Sherco etc, but even better since it's a right side up fork... Downside is only one pair of the inner cartridge rod seals being an oddball size that costs 3x or 4x as much as the '05+ Showa 47mm Twin Chamber versions ($31/seal x2, OEM, a bit cheaper for Race Tech's version).

[doakley]

Got any pics of the '77 PE250? I owned one of those and absolutely loved it. Thing was a tank that just wouldn't stop running!

[Chuck78]

Okay everybody. The verdict is in.
One of my good buddies sold his '89 KDX200, '70's Suzuki TC185, & a Honda VFR700, & bought a '97 KDX220 much like my 97 KDX 220...
KX forks, RB head, RB carb, fully rebuild engine top and bottom end...and... FMF GNARLY WOODS PIPE!

His bike has the ignition timing set to full advance, which would take away from some of the top end rev out.
But... taking his bike down the trail last Saturday for the first time, mind you on trails where it's pretty difficult to get over 40 miles per hour for any duration, I found the top end not lacking whatsoever, much to my surprise with both the woods pipe and the ignition setting on maximum advance for low-end explosive response at the expense of high-end power.



As I suspected the modified squish head and the larger carburetor absolutely made up for the woods pipe signing off too early... It signs off slightly early compared to a 200 with the ignition timing set in the middle mark with a Gnarly Desert pipe or Pro Circuit pipe, but I found this to be a very potent combination for mid-speed trails.
You wouldn't want this if you were desert racing or only had wide open easy fast trails and fire roads to ride, but for woods riding, the larger carburetor upgrade and modified squish band cylinder head seem to make the Gnarly Woods pipe perform quite well on his 220 all across the range. I wouldn't change it at all if it were mine, riding tight technical woods trails as well as mid-speed somewhat tight woods trails.

I still have a brand new gnarly Woods pipe that I bought before my wife quit her Powersports sales job, using her discount.... I've been trying to use it as trade bait for a banged up vent pro circuit Platinum 2 pipe that my buddy has on his 200, as it would probably do better with this woods pipe, but now I'm not as hard pressed to get rid of it. I'm thinking I might run it and try a SmartCarb SC2 36 with some carb fitment mods as well as dimpling my KDX frame crossmember more than the stock dimpling, to fit the carb, and a ported 223cc overbored 220 cylinder I have... And probably my first attempt at making a modified two-stroke cylinder head design using Michael Forrest's (Jaguar on here) Excel program to calculate the squish band width & dome volume.

[KDXGarage]

Cool that he got one, too!

[SS109]

I would love to try my setup with the woods pipe just to see what the desert vs woods pipe would really be. Maybe one day.

[Chuck78]

Well...
I trashed ANOTHER Gnarly Desert pipe on my 220 when asking my buddy to take me to the most gnarly rock sections at the legendary Wellsville trails, where a lot of pros ride and train for the TKO races... Quinn Wentzell and his crew. Search Wellsville Quinn Wentzell on YouTube. Gnarly gnar.

It quickly became crunch time for the next ride, I threw on a brand new FMF Gnarly Woods pipe without time for doing any carburetor tuning or any other accommodations to my KDX220.

I was fairly impressed by the low end torque increase over the Gnarly Desert pipe, to be quite clear. It wasn't a massive massive difference, but it definitely made more low and mid-range torque. It didn't produce useable torque at any lower RPM with this pipe, but it produced MORE torque at the same low mid RPM range versus the Gnarly Desert without a doubt. I accidentally lost it a few pretty high wheelies without expecting it, even with the traction compromised slick wet leafy weather. I really couldn't put the additional power to the ground most of the time due to the slick nature of most of the areas we rode.

The Gnarly Desert had a bit more power on the top end (but not much higher RPM capabilities at all), but that is definitely partly due to the fact that I was now ABSOLUTELY running too rich at higher RPMs after the pipe change. I was having too much fun to stop and tune the carb, and told my wife and her friend that I would only stop and tune it if I fouled a plug.
Usually in these late season temperatures (45°-50°F) I'm running borderline too lean with a Gnarly Desert pipe with my current settings on the Lectron. I should have dialed down the power jet on the Lectron carb for less fueling at the upper throttle positions, but I was having too much fun to stop and tune.


In other news, a dealer told me some estimated ship dates of January 19th for the Pro Circuit Platinum 2 pipes for the 95+ KDX... I thought this might be just another generic date made up by the distributors on an item that is backordered with no ETA. NOPE!

I called Pro Circuit, who verified they have 36 requests for these PK95200DP2 '95-'06 KDX pipes documented on their waiting list and have a batch of 50 being made in mid-January!

[Chuck78]

Also other updates, the Gnarly Woods pipe makes the Hyde Racing skid plate a lot easier to install around the front lower exhaust mount!

Additionally, Hyde Racing has the pipe guard skid plate combos BACK IN STOCK! 18 showing in stock when I ordered mine. They told me they probably weren't going to make any more of those a year ago when I ordered my last standard skid plate from them...
They say they are made specifically for the Gnarly Desert pipe. Well I was ecstatic to find a picture of this Hyde Racing pipe guard skid plate combo and zoom in to see it was on a Pro Circuit Platinum 2 pipe!



It doesn't make contact with the pipe in the middle at the front section, but it's pretty close, and the large section on the side looks to fit like a glove.... I'm pretty sure I could probably heat it up with a heat gun and another hose clamp and get it to fit the Platinum 2 as good as the Gnarly Desert.



Based on my last ride with the Gnarly Woods pipe, and reading some commentary of two members here saying that the Pro Circuit pipe made more low-end torque than the Gnarly Woods and revs out just as high as the Gnarly Desert, I think I'm pretty sold on the Pro Circuit Platinum 2 pipes. Unfortunately for me I bought two badly damaged versions of these because I didn't know if they would ever make another production run, so now I have two that need dents popped out and substantially straightened out to fit.
I've got so many KDX parts stockpiled that I had better always keep on the cutting edge of peak performance tuning for these machines, as I could ride these things for another 15-20 or more years! That'd put me at 60-65! Maybe by 70+ I'd need an e-start bike