Are modifications worth it?

[tim]

Thanks India now I have to save more dough

[Indawoods]

Your welcome...

You can use the stock silencer and they are great because you don't have to repack them... but they are much heavier and lose the BLING factor...

[AZRickD]

I'd surely like more front-wheel lifting ability in my modded KDX220, but I am often amazed at its ability to lug around at slow speed in third gear and then with a twist of the throttle have it rev into the powerband and.

It would be nice if QuailChaser would chime in on this. He sold his KDX to me because he also had a KX250 in the garage. He likes the power of the KX, but he mentions that it's sometimes a handful, and difficult to ride slow with his son on his PW80.

It would certainly be a cleaner solution if we could take a KX250 and make it more trailable. Suspension is simple to tweak, releatively. But if there were easy mods to tame the KX motor and make it more, say, subtle, without splitting the case, would be an interesting solution. However, even the KX will run out of parts eventually as Kawasaki and the aftermarket begin to lessen support.

Are there methods to mellow the KX without castrating it?

Rick

[Indawoods]

Not ported as such.... cures?
thick base gasket (probably the best)... double head gasket (always wanted to try)... flywheel weight (definate)

Ski could tell ya what to do..... Where are ya Ski???

[2001kdx]

You could also gear it down, but i think SKI is the guy with the woodsified kx, hes got an autoclutch and everything if you search for it you will see it.

[AZRickD]

What about keeping the stock KX pipe or a torque pipe?

Actually, what are the characteristics of the KX as they pertain to trail riding?

Rick

[Indawoods]

The stock pipe on the MX lines are as good as an FMF or PC pipe. The only reason to change them is if your destroy the stock one.

A KX is.... snappy. You must have a steady hand. Whiskey throttle will kill you. They are geared low and have a close ratio tranny so a 14 tooth CS may help some. Your not going to have the bottom end a KDX has but that has to do with porting. You will have more horsies to play with though. A Autoclutch will probably help out with lack of lowend by slipping the clutch for you so that you get traction.

I'm just sticking with the KDX myself... 'ol faithful!

[IdahoCharley]

" They are geared low and have a close ratio tranny so a 14 tooth CS may help some." I believe most MX bikes come with a 14 tooth CS.

My take on the MX conversions is they have close ratio transmissions and the overal internal gearing is low; first gear is typically geared a little high for tight technical trails so many conversions go to a 13 tooth CS sprocket. This further reduces the top speed on the MX converison bikes for fast open fire road riding.

Generally speaking a enduro type bike for the average rider has a wide ratio transmission with a lower first gear than a MX bike and a higher 4th and 5th gear for more top speed than a similar sized MX bike.

Modified head squish, careful jetting, a SA silencer, flywheel weight, gearing changes, along with appropiate suspension changes can transform a MX bike into a woods bike. One of the things not mentioned so far is that MX bikes have 19 inch wheels while enduro bikes typically us 18 inch wheels of similar overall diameter - reason being is the woods bike will be taking sharper hits to the tires and the additional sidewall helps minimize pinch flats.

[bradf]

It is obvious that the big boys like Raines, Smith , Hawk and Hawkins all use non-KTM brand MX bikes and made them extreme woods weapons at least for GNCC which is close to what us wanna-bees are looking for. The suspension I would bet was the first change then the power delivery. But those boys are great riders and have all the skills and ability to ride those machines. I believe we would have too much of a handful for our abilities if we tried to take one of their bikes on a rough trail. That is where the KDX shines, it is a puuuurfect bike for us to ride and control and have fun on in the tight trails. I would love to drive a Le Mans car around Sebring once but I would do serious damage if I opened it up or if I tried to drive it downtown in traffic. I think there is a line where once the rider’s ability and the conditions warrant then the choice would be an MX bike over the KDX.

[Greenweenie]

Thanks all you guys with honest, great answers. What a wealth of information just for the asking. Sounds like its overwelming in favor of not many regrets spending money on mods. That's what I was wanting to hear. Let the spending begin.
With the riding we do and my skill level I think with a few good mods this bike will be all I could handle. I started thinking on the way home from riding yesterday we rode for 40 miles and I might have hit third gear only 3 or 4 times. Why would I need anything more than what I have. With all the advice given here I will make the changes to suit my style and be riding with a wider grin.

[IdahoCharley]

Eric Gorr used to have posted on his website a saying " Its 95% rider and 5% bike - make that 5% count" or something very similar. I think we tend to forget that 95% rider thing - sometimes.

[grump99]

I started thinking on the way home from riding yesterday we rode for 40 miles and I might have hit third gear only 3 or 4 times.

The 220 is very well suited to that type of riding. Have fun with your mods!

[AZRickD]

Whiskey throttle problems with a KX? Heck, when I get tired, I have a tendency on the KDX to screw up my throttle control. I wouldn't want a greater multiple of that.

Less low end on the KX? I need every bit that the KDX can deliver. I often find myself caught way down at 2,000 RPMs with the motor going, "puttata-puttata-puttata" even up a slight grade. Why that motor doesn't shut down in those situations I blunder into is beyond me.

As it stands, it will two or three years before I'll have the the skill or need to upgrade. And as long as I am able to rebuild the motor and get spare parts, I'm standing pat.

Rick

[wanaride]

This subject is near and dear to me because I have been flirting with a new bike for 2 years. I've also wondered why people do so many things to their KDXs when they could just punt and get a new bike.

Everyone has their own situation, but this is where I'm at: my KDX is paid for, and throwing some money at it every once in a while for a mod is a LOT cheaper than a monthly payment on a new bike.

The truth is, I've had my bike for 3 years and it still isn't completely setup for me. I'm finally doing the KX fork conversion to improve the suspension, and even though that isn't cheap ($500 for parts), it is a lot cheaper than a new bike. Once I get the suspension sorted, I'll do the RB carb mod and find the SSS everyone talks about.

Is it possible that I could ride faster, for longer, and be more confident and comfortable on a different machine? Maybe, but since I don't know what machine that is, I'm not worrying about it. Once my KDX is all it can be, if it isn't enough for my meager skills, I'll upgrade, but in the meantime, I'll keep "green" in my garage and tweak it whenever cash flow allows.

[cmot]

For my two cents worth I found with my slowing with age (not too slow) I dont need a state of the art bike. But have bought three suzukis. 2 250s and a 125 1995 to 98s and after spending a lot of money to bring them back to good shape, For alot of reasons they just did not work for me. every thing from controls being way too close together( I have size 12 feet) to suspension being mx stiff. And power delivery problems. And even though these things can be modified' with enough money. I found I kept coming back to my KDX in the corner, It allready fit me good So all I had to do was modifiy the KDX at a lot less cost. And with this website and people like R&B and Fredette you have a blueprint to do this. I am a happy camper now. I could see a problem with a KDX in wide open terrain though. You wring a small bore to death in the desert. Hope this helps.

[canyncarvr]

Re: '$65 for wrinkly stickers = not worth it'

I told you they only cost $40!!

The other stuff:

Is it worth it?

Yes.

Would I do it again?

Yes.

..but I'd do them without testing each and fussing with them, because I know now what is worth what.

A bit of caveat to the 'not for top end' part. An RB modded carb will make a considerable difference on the topend of a 220. Combine it with the headwork from RB if you have a 220. The OEM 33mm carb on the 220 considerably limits the top end of things.

And, yes, it's bottom end throttle response that's a big deal with an RB modified carb.

You will find that even so-called 'race ready' bike owners (pumkins for example) modify their bikes.

Sure, you can be happy with what you've got. Just ride it! ANY argument made that the KDX cannot be made to run and handle a whole lot better is simply wrong.

That doesn't mean YOU have to do any such thing.

But I would do it again. Absolutely.

[wanaride]

Yep, everyone modifies their bikes, even the guys at KTMTalk. Just try to find someone over there that hasn't changed their PV spring, installed a JD Jetting kit, revalved their suspension, different seat foam, clutch cover, carbon fiber braces, EE hand guards, etc etc etc.

[stringburner]

KTM's have notoriously hard seats. There is a whole lot of sniveling about the WP suspension on them, compared to Showa's etc. The JD kits aren't magic. You're paying for his knowledge which gets you very close (or thereabouts) to ideal jetting. The general consensus, from what i've read, is you can get just as good results by learning how to jet, and jetting it yourself. All bikes need protection items. The rest is bling. I love KTM's. They are fast, but expensive to buy if they aren't rat bikes.


Is modding a KDX worth it? I dunno, but i'm fixing to find out. Starting w/ a new bike, and adding all the goodies i've got planned, it still won't cost near as much as a new KTM 200. And i'm learning and having fun as i'm doing it.

[TWMOODY]

[quailchaser]

Holy cow...How did I miss this thread?

It won't matter what bike you own, it's going to need some mods. Most guys riding MX bikes do all the things everyone else has already said. Most of the YZ250 guys I know will gear the bike UP by going one tooth bigger in the rear. It smooths out the "hit" and doesn't affect the power range.

I loved the KDX220 (that RickD now has ). If circumstances had been different, I'd have kept the KDX and the KX. I liked the way the KDX worked with the mod's I had. I don't think I'd have changed the forks to KX forks. Maybe. if it were going to be my main ST weapon? At my height and weight, the forks worked fine for what and how I was using the bike. My biggest gripe with the 220 and the 200's I rode...sand.

About the KX for me...It just does things the KDX wouldn't. It eats sand like it's not even there. I can skip a lot of the little obstacles with just a little flick of the throttle. Breaking bumps, acceleration bumps, and whoops are much easier to tackle. I can run most anything in 2nd or 3rd. Much less shifting. However, it needs to be run hard. It definitely will tire you out faster, if your not in riding shape...in which I am currently not . It also becomes a handful when trying to ride slow and easy. As many have said, it will shoot you right off the trail with just a blip of the throttle.

In a perfect world...

I'd have a KDX for kids rides, race course work and sweep, and nice relaxing fun rides.

I'd have the KX for those spirited days with the long open sections.

I'd have a KX 5 for the dunes.

I'd have a 400/450 F bike for the dual sport rides with lot's of ST sections and little pavement.

And I'd have a 650 for the jeep and street dual sport stuff.