KDXRIDER.NET

Hey all,

Newbie to the board as well as the sport in general. Just a few questions about kdx's and fork modding.

First, any year(s) of kdx that you wouldn't recommend? From what I've seen, most people seem to recommend 1995 or newer. Unfortunately, most of the ones I've seen for sale around here are older. Though they are pretty cheap, would it not be worth the trouble to own an older one? Harder to find parts? Should I just wait till a post '95 comes available?

Second, I've seen several people say that the kx 500 front end pretty much bolts right on to the kdx, making it a pretty easy and very worthwile suspension upgrade. Does this go for all years of kdx and kx? I see a lot of older kx 500 stuff on ebay, mostly mid to late 80's, not as much newer stuff. So would pretty much any kx 500 stuff bolt on to pretty much any kdx?

Thanks in advance!

As far as the forks go, do a search on here and you will find a crap load of info. And the newer the better. Mid 80's probably wouldn't be worth your time.

The E series KDX's ('89-'94) are excellent bikes and some even consider them as having a better engine than the later H series ('95+). Whether that is true or not I don't know. What I do know is that they are very capable machines (ie; Jeff Fredette and the ISDE) and will handle just about anything you throw at them. Don't pass on a good E series KDX.

Forks, when everyone is talking KX500 forks they are normally talking about the '96 and up forks as they are much improved over the earlier models and are a direct bolt on. I run '96 KX125 forks on an '90 E series bike and really like this setup. It takes a little more work but is still easy to do. Check the "Fork Conversion" sub-forum here at KDXrider for more info on all the swaps.

Ok, what about new forks but older triple trees? I keep seeing the forks sold separately from triples, and most of the time the trips are older. Are they all compatible? Would fx 125 forks fit into an fx 500 triple tree?

Yes, they will swap (different years/models) if the fork diameter is the same as the forks. In other words, 46mm forks must be used with triples that originally had 46mm forks. It doesn't matter what year they are as long as the sizes match up.

Again, read the "Fork Conversion" section. There is a ton of info on all the different KX forks and triples and even info on fork swaps from other makes like YZ's and such.

Ok, switched over to the forks conversion forum to get some more clarity there.

Now, a little more on the older bikes...would you say that the E series, while a solid bike, is more difficult to mod and/or find parts for? Any other reason why it would be better all around to pay more for a newer bike? Seems like with as much modding as you can do to these, you can almost make an old bike into a new one...is that pretty much true?

The only real issues with an older bike is plastics and the eventual parts availability.

Truth be told ... I like a E series bike better than the H. The H ergos are a little more agressive but that doesn't mean much to me anymore. I like the E seat much better!

The E has more grunt stock... the Kips valves are a little bit weak but other than that... E's ROCK!

Love my E bikes. I want to add an H bike to the stable at some point, but for now, my old 89 does everything I need and more. No trouble with mods. Some parts are getting hard to find. The kips valves are OOS in many places, but can still be found. Graphics are a big hangup, so if that's important to you....

Plastics and such are still available as of now.

Do you have a somewhat reliable source for the KIPS stuff? Not that I'm actually in need of them right now, I just like to have all my ducks in a row before moving on anything!

ronayers.com and bikebandit.com

Thanks!