My KDX220 VS Desert 100 race!

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firffighter
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My KDX220 VS Desert 100 race!

Post by firffighter »

Just got back from the Desert 100 race in Eastern Washington. What a fun weekend. I got to ride a family poker fun with my 12 year old on Saturday, and then all 3 of my boys did a kid's race Saturday afternoon. They all rode very well and received trophies and a bag of cool swag.

I got to put the trusty 220 to a the test in Sunday's 100 mile race. BTW, Larry Roesler was there and rode, so technically I rode with Larry the Legend. The 220 performed great.

It is a bomb start and I was one of the last off the line out of 1000, because I told myself to lay back and let the dust settle. Once I started out, I started picking guys of pretty quickly and by the first hill climb there was huge bottleneck. I went up a tougher alternate route, one in which the KDX thrives, and now I have passed 1/4 the field. After a couple more hill climbs and technical sections, I now have 1/2 the field nailed.

It was amazing to me how the big 450f's fly in the straight sections, but struggle in the rocks. I would get passed by tricked out 450f's with riders 1/2 my age, then we would come to a rock field or hill climb, and I would ride right by with the a 10 year old so called "girly bike" , it was great. I felt the 220 had more than enough power.

I made the first 50 mile loop and was thinking I would tackle the next 50, but found out one of the guys in our group had been air lifted to the hospital with broken femur and collar bone. My race ended there as we helped his wife get packed up so she could meet him at the hospital.

My only complaint with the 220 was that I felt the front suspension was lacking in high speed desert terrain. I have not done the KX fork swap because most of my riding is in tight woods where I dont get out of 3rd gear all day, and the soft suspension is a plus. But in the desert stuff that front end wallows and it beat up my arms and shoulders pretty good. I still dont think I will do the KX fork swap, but I am going to do the stiffer springs and heavier fork weight.

Anyway, long live the KDX!
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canyncarvr
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Post by canyncarvr »

Great! As long as you're not unpacked yet...might as well just drive on down for a ride this coming weekend!!

...particulars (and a lot of hot air) in the 'Group Rides' section......

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firffighter
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Post by firffighter »

Sorry Canyn, but we are flying off to Disneyland this weekend. Desert camping one weekend, Holliday in the next.
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green_passion
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Re: My KDX220 VS Desert 100 race!

Post by green_passion »

>|<>QBB<
firffighter wrote: It is a bomb start and I was one of the last off the line out of 1000, because I told myself to lay back and let the dust settle. Once I started out, I started picking guys of pretty quickly and by the first hill climb there was huge bottleneck. I went up a tougher alternate route, one in which the KDX thrives, and now I have passed 1/4 the field. After a couple more hill climbs and technical sections, I now have 1/2 the field nailed.

It was amazing to me how the big 450f's fly in the straight sections, but struggle in the rocks. I would get passed by tricked out 450f's with riders 1/2 my age, then we would come to a rock field or hill climb, and I would ride right by with the a 10 year old so called "girly bike" , it was great. I felt the 220 had more than enough power.

I made the first 50 mile loop and was thinking I would tackle the next 50, but found out one of the guys in our group had been air lifted to the hospital with broken femur and collar bone. My race ended there as we helped his wife get packed up so she could meet him at the hospital.

My only complaint with the 220 was that I felt the front suspension was lacking in high speed desert terrain. I have not done the KX fork swap because most of my riding is in tight woods where I dont get out of 3rd gear all day, and the soft suspension is a plus. But in the desert stuff that front end wallows and it beat up my arms and shoulders pretty good. I still dont think I will do the KX fork swap, but I am going to do the stiffer springs and heavier fork weight.

Anyway, long live the KDX!
Next year, I will make it up to ride this event. I've seen the pictures and I think it'd be a ton of fun for me. Thanks for the story! :mrgreen:

Exactly why I *LOVE* my KDX in the desert. I experience that every weekend out at the desert races.

I rode for two years on stock suspension and it tore my arms to pieces. Finally two months ago I ponied-up the cash and had my stock front suspension redone and added a GPR stabilizer. It made a *HUGE* difference in the handling and a lot more easier to control. Eventually I'll do the KX fork conversion but not for at least another year.

I echo your same sentiments, long live the KDX! :supz:
"Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress; no matter how slow." - Plato

2002 KDX 220-LONG LIVE THE KING!!! :supz:
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kawagumby
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Post by kawagumby »

Do the fork swap, you will not regret it.

Setting up the stock forks is a waste of time IMO. On my last 220 I installed gold valves (and a drew pearson stabilizer that didn't do diddle mostly because the forks FLEX so what good does it do to stabilize the top?), I had the right springs for my riding/skill and still lost it in a high speed section due to flex - casting me over a cliff and causing serious damage to my lower back. I suffer more with each passing month as the arthritis progresses from that get-off of over 10 years ago.

There is no doubt in my mind that a properly setup pair of USD's would have prevented that crash, even without a stabilizer.
1994 KDX200, Beta 200rr, yz125, yz250, kx100 modded for adult, gasgas contact 250.
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Post by strider80 »

Hey firffighter, I also was there (4th race in a row), but riding my KTM this year. Can't wait to do it again next year. I only layed it down once over the two days and 175 miles, knock on wood.

Do the KX swap, you won't regret it, I rode my KX swapped KDX last year and it did well. Don't spend any money on the stock KDX stuff, it is not worth it, ask me how I know.
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firffighter
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Post by firffighter »

OK Strider, I'll bite. How do you know?

And, the bigger question is how does that KTM compare to the KDX?

If I am going to spend that much money on the KDX doing the fork swap, I think I would rather go back to a KTM, and I would have to get the KX front end revalved for woods riding anyway, right?

Green Passion says his stock front end gone through with a stabilizer made a "huge" difference.

I really do like the stock KDX suspension for the tight stuff compared to the 2 KTM's I've owned, but if I were in the high speed terrain the KTM would have not beat my arms and shoulders to a pulp.
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scheckaet
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Post by scheckaet »

Aren't stabilizer sumthin like 400-500 bux?
Some have done the USD conversion for less than that...
revlalve? you can if you have the $, I did some mod myself, and I'm happy with it.
"high speed terrain the KTM would have not beat my arms and shoulders to a pulp."
USD front would help a lot
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kawagumby
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Post by kawagumby »

You can get some USD's and a triple clamp on Ebay pretty cheap. I've found the trick is just being patient. Sometimes this site has 'em for sale cheap too. I got some really low time KX forks for less than 200 bucks. I did get a front wheel and the triples also, which added another 150 bucks. So about 350 total. Others here have gotten better deals.
The difference between the stock fork upgrade (assuming gold valves or some such) and the KX forks shouldn't be more than a couple of hundred dollars max. As far as the revalving goes, everything you need to know is on this site - and you CAN do it yourself.

Yeah, the KTM will be a better mount for open course riding, but the KDX is a better all-rounder - and with the KX forks, it will not be so inclined to spit you off when you hit that rock or square edged hole, and it will be competitive anywhere because, as you noted - most courses have technical sections that you can really make up time on. The steering precision and improvement in control is mindboggling. The USD mod is the single best mod you can do to a KDX IMO.

I'll repeat what I said earlier, you may feel some improvement with a steering stabilizer, but that device will NOT fix the fork flex when you hit something at speed (sometimes with the fork overhang). They do work OK for slow speed stuff to keep the bars from hitting you in the gut, but won't keep the bike in line when you hit something while jamm'n. When the stock forks flex under impact, my experience is that they tend to rebound in the horizontal plane which can spring the bike sideways, and that is when we face the music. Oh yeah.

The cost of my WER stabilizer and the gold valves was every bit as much as the USD's and didn't make the bike handle that much better.
1994 KDX200, Beta 200rr, yz125, yz250, kx100 modded for adult, gasgas contact 250.
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strider80
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Post by strider80 »

I had FRP install gold valves in my stock forks. It improved the forks in the woods and at medium speed. But, they still deflected at medium to high speeds. Revalved KX forks were better everywhere, woods, desert, high speed, low speed. I spent about the same on the KDX fork revalve as I did on my KX swap and self reshim. I sold my stock stuff on here and ebay. I reshimmed and removed the bladders from the KX forks myself with help from this forum. If you are going to keep the KDX forks, make sure you have the right springs and reshim them yourself.

The KTM has more power, less weight and just flat out rips. I revalved and resprung the forks myself, and had the shock reshimmed by motopro. The bike was valved too stiff stock. However, it is a stand up all the time bike, not comfortable or stable when sitting. It rewards you for aggressive riding, but is not comfortable when you get tired. My KDX with RB mods has more low end, but the KTM can still lug pretty well. The KDX turns better in the woods. The other thing, I would not buy a KTM older than 2005, they got the motors and suspension more figured out by 2005. The 1999 200 I rode was terrible, pipey, stiff, I could not wait to get back on the KDX. So the cost difference between the KDX and KTM is not insignificant.

I have a WER damper on the KDX, I was missing it last weekend. I paid about $200 used for it, including a rebuild kit, definitely a good purchase, I would not pay new prices for a WER though. I would put it on the KTM, but the mounting would not be as clean. I am probably going to save up for a Scotts.
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Post by green_passion »

>|<>QBB<
firffighter wrote:
Green Passion says his stock front end gone through with a stabilizer made a "huge" difference.
I say that as a female rider that isn't a super aggressive that primarily rides in the type of terrain that only a mountain goat could pass through.

I avoided getting a WER for the simple reason that I couldn't adjust the dampening speed like I could on a GPR or Scotts. IMO it does help a lot in conjunction to any of the suspension upgrades. Any changes or upgrades that you do to the suspension helps. I personally noticed a huge difference in the way the bike handles.

My next upgrade will be the KX forks but not for awhile. In the meantime I had mine redone since I have a sponsorship with my suspension shop.
"Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress; no matter how slow." - Plato

2002 KDX 220-LONG LIVE THE KING!!! :supz:
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Post by firffighter »

Thanks for the info guys. Since I primarily use the KDX as a trail bike and am just doing 3-4 events this year, I will just stick with the conventionals and put in the stiffer springs. If I get the bug to do more races, then I will probably move toward an Orange bike. I really dont forsee that happening since I have 4 kids to ride with and doing a handful of race events is plenty for me.

As far as putting on a stabilizer, I may consider it since I could take it off if I were to sell the bike and not lose money on the deal.

Has anyone used the new Flexbars? Might look at them.
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