loud FMF silencer - forks

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johnyblaze
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loud FMF silencer - forks

Post by johnyblaze »

I took my '98 220 out for it's first shakedown today. Just seeing what's what. Mostly interested in the forks and deciding whether to use the 98 KX250 forks I have in the garage or keep the stockers.

I wasn't impressed by the stockers. They seemed pretty good on small hits at a perpendicular. Unfortunately, larger hits and anything at an angle caused a lot of deflection. I'm sure a good fork brace would cure a lot of that. I hear those are hard to come by. Does anybody have experience with 98 KX forks and care to offer a treatise on the relative merits of those vs stockers with a brace? I know later KX forks would offer more sophisticated internals but I already have the 46mm 98's laying around from a failed attempt at Frankenforking my old KLX300. The 98's were too big and I had to drop back to 96's for that one.

Also, the bike is pretty loud with the FMF burly pipe and FMF silencer. I remember from the FAQs that aftermarket silencers add little or nothing in the way of performance. Would it be possible for me to lose the FMF sparky (keep the burly pipe) for a stock silencer and quiet the bike down significantly? Or, is the silencer irrelevent as far as sound is concerned? Would a stock silencer even fit with the burly pipe?

Yet another complaint - what's up with that kicker? Looks like I'll be looking for a shorty.

Hey, on the bright side - this 98's got more stonk than I expected. has a pretty impressive hit AND a broad powerband with the FMF exhaust, Boyesen reeds and 35mm carb. Easily enough to keep me grinning and the front wheel very light. haven't had it anywhere that I might open it up through 6th, but what I've seen 1st - 4th tells me this bike has a higher topspeed than I anticipated.

Thanks in advance
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Indawoods
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Post by Indawoods »

Stock silencer works great on that pipe.... no worries!

Forks would be fine also... 46's are plenty stiff enough and the only real gain is having compression and rebound settings and lack of underhang IMO. Easier to valve correctly too!

The kicker is... uh... well, it is what it is! :mrgreen:

There is an ongoing thread about that and hopefully someone will come up with a cost effective solution....
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johnyblaze
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Post by johnyblaze »

Thanks Inda. When I read my post it sounds like I'm complaining about the KDX. No way - it's a helluva fun bike per dollar spent.

So the stock silencer should quiet it down. Good - I'm a stickler for quiet. Too much public land is being lost due to noise. I like to ride on the stealthier side. AKA - I'm an old fart.

As to the forks. I can buy everything else I need for the conversion on the bay for $140. I can probably sell the stock forks, wheel, and triples for at least the same. Sounds like a no-brainer now that I think about it.

One more question. I looked up the kickstand/assembly and it looks like even the older KDX models had the same stand. Just wanted to make sure before buying one on ebay. Anybody used a stand from an older version? That triangle axle stand is getting old already.

Thanks again
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Post by Green Hornet »

Put the 98's on
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