Stock KDX 220...Where to start with mods?

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John McIntosh
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Stock KDX 220...Where to start with mods?

Post by John McIntosh »

I bought a stock KDX 220, year 2003, about 6 months ago and love it. I finally have some extra cash to think about making some modifications. I don't have a lot of extra cash to put into the bike (Kids, family, house...etc.). I want to slowly make changes to my bike over the next few years. How do you guys suggest I progress with this? I mostly ride in northern P.A. I have some open areas but mostly ride on old logging roads and tight trails in the woods. I do enjoy riding in the tight stuff and short hill climbs. We do ride in old coal mining areas with lots of shale piles. Most of the elevations are 4,000 feet or less. Power and control are probably more important to me than speed. I put a new tire on the bike shortly after buying it. Any advice you guys can give would be appreciated. Oh, if you are in the area this summer and want to ride, let me know. Have hundred of acres to ride on and the enjoy riding with others.
Mack
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Indawoods
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Post by Indawoods »

Jetting no.1
Cheapest enhancement. Get the jetting right and everything else is downhill.

Are you lacking any grunt?
If so.... change sprocket gearing by one on the front or two on the rear. -1 tooth on the front =adding 3 on the rear. A good ratio to remember.

Respring! Get the front suspension right for you weight. If you weigh 115.. should be fine, otherwise .38's -.40's should do you rightous if your between 170 and 200.

(inserted for consideration) RB carb mod. Do a search on this forum and you should be able to get the jist of what it does. Well worth the $.

Pipe. On a 220, some say a FMF desert pipe is the best. I own a 200 so I simply don't know.

A Scott's stabilizer. This will save your precious butt time and time again... trust me!

* These are listed in the order of cost... cheapest to most exspensive. Not nessasarily in the order they should be done given an unlimited budget. If this was the case then it would go:

Springs and stabilizer
Jetting and or RB carb mod.
Pipe


Go safety first! The stock frontend is just dangerous IMO.
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"People ate cows a thousand years ago for the same reason we eat them now. Cause they are easy to catch.We're not savages,we're just lazy. A cheetah could taste like chocolate heroin. But will never know. Those bastards are fast!!! "
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jackpiner57
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Post by jackpiner57 »

Hi John, To start off with, if the bike has the original stock piston in it, you need to change it to a Wiseco. The stock piston skirts crack and break causing severe engine damage even on stock/unmodified bikes. This is a commonly known problem on the 220's.

The Wiseco piston kit includes piston, rings, wristpin and circlips.
Be sure to buy a Wiseco wrist pin bearing too, as it will match the Wiseco wrist pin diameter best. Wiseco pistons are forged instead of cast. It is important to warm up the bike before wailing on it.

Do not use a Pro-X piston as they are the marketing company that sells surplus pistons from the Japanese company ART, which makes all the cast pistons for the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers.

After that is done I would recommend setting up the suspension correctly with the proper springs, oil level and settings. Then an aftermarket pipe and airbox modification where you remove the rubber snorkel in the lid and open up the intake hole. I just drilled about 40 1/4"holes in the top of the lid.


Then clean your air filter and jet the bike properly. This makes a big difference on how the bike will perform.

I'm sure others on this forum will have some really helpful info for you too. This is a great forum and a valuable resource for KDX information! :partyman:

The search function is a very useful tool too. :grin:
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Indawoods
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Post by Indawoods »

Sounds right JP! :wink:
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"People ate cows a thousand years ago for the same reason we eat them now. Cause they are easy to catch.We're not savages,we're just lazy. A cheetah could taste like chocolate heroin. But will never know. Those bastards are fast!!! "
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Post by jafo »

I have the same year KDX. The piston was my first mod. Not a big performance upgrade but I won't have to worry about the piston ravaging my cylinder if and when it blows. I also put a Wiesco bearing in also while I had it open. Yeh I know that it seems silly to have to do this to a brand new bike but theres nothing like piece of mind while riding. If it blows while your a 1/4 mile out in the woods across four or five deep reviegns, pushing a dead bike back did'nt sound like a whole lot of fun to me, I'd rather play it safe and just swap the piston. I think you can get everything from Rocky Mountain for around $135.00. Thats piston kit, wrist pin bearing and gaskets. It's a pretty easy swap just time consuming. If you do it, take great care with the clips for the piston pin. They are very springy and like to fly off across the floor. They are also very hard to see on a concrete floor, take my word for it. :shock:

Jon
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Post by Mountainman650 »

Hey John
I can't help ya much on the mods, I'm pretty new to the KDX world myself.
But, I was wondering if you ride at Tower City?? I'm from Myerstown Pa. and I belong to the TCTRI club. I ride there every chance I get.
I see quite a few KDX's around there, thought maybe you could be one of the guys I see around..?Maybe we could get together for a ride sometime.
Catch ya later
Dave
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Post by m0rie »

Like others have said, the stock piston is a grenade. Replacing that would be the first thing that I'd do. Toss the airbox lid (or drill some holes in it) and spend about $30-$40 at Sudco and get a range of main and pilot jets along with a couple C taper and D taper needles. Then get your jetting cleaned up, lots of advice here on howto accomplish that. At the very minimum consider getting some replacement front springs. XR400 springs are a great value (you can find used take off for $20 all the time on ebay and the thumper sites) and work well to balance out the front of the bikes suspension with the rear. You could also replace the stock reeds with some Boyeson 607 Power Reeds for a nice little boost as well. All of the above should cost you around $200 and will make a heck of an improvement over the stock bike. If you can swing it another ~$160-$200 will get you a aftermarket pipe.

*Edit*
Another thing to consider - If you haven't already greased the bike, now would be a good time! Ma Kawi seems to think grease is made from 24k gold or something so they put as little of it as possible on the bike. Replacing the bearings end to end can get pricey, so a little maintenance in this area can go a long way.

-Maurice
1989 KDX 200
2007 TTR-50E
John McIntosh
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Post by John McIntosh »

Thanks for all of the great information. It looks as if the piston, springs, and jetting need to be attended to first. I have a lot of riding to do in the next couple of months so I will probably wait on some of these mods until the end of the summer. I guess I'll have to cross my fingers with the piston.
Ride On! :supz:
Mack (Bel Air, Maryland)
John McIntosh
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Post by John McIntosh »

Dave,
I am planning on riding in northern PA this coming Friday - Monday and a weekend here and there all summer. I would like to check out tower city some time. Maybe July 9th. Let me know if you would like to try to get together.
John
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Post by canyncarvr »

Dang! I like reading a simple question and all the guy gets is great information and valuable input.

There are a couple of pointers that were short...but they are definitely to the point.

Not a whole lot to add...re-read this thread to make sure you didn't miss sumthin'.

re: piston r/r

These have been known to take out not only the cylinder...but the case/tranny as well. Not trying to give you nightmares...but understand the possible consequences.

Have fun!!

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