A one of a kind KX200.

[mike96]

Well guess it is time to show you guys my monster.

It's a 1991 Kx125 that I picked up for almost nothing from the dealership I work at. Someone traded it in in pieces. Literally the engine was in a home depot bucket and the top end was missing. I have no idea what the dealership gave the guy for it but they let me have it for a pizza. I had no desire for an MX bike so my original plan was to sell off most of it and keep the suspension and swap those parts over to something a little more trail oriented, CRF/TTR230, something newer 4 stroke lacking in the suspension department, and then I got to thinking.

I had a Quad sitting in the back that hadn't been ridden in a very long time partly because I didn't have a title for it and didn't want to go thru the hassle of doing lost title paperwork, but mostly because it was a bit too small for me. Engine wise it was fine, I had some work done to the engine a while back so it had good power. No power valve so it isn't peaky and gearing was well suited for the trails. Anyway the more I got to looking the more I started to think that the engine would fit in the frame with minimal modification, so I pulled the engine from the quad and test fit it in the KX. Surprisingly it fit pretty darn well. There was a small mounting lug on the bottom of the engine that needed to be removed. Once that was off All that needed to be done was to oval out the front mount tabs a bit to bolt the engine in. It fit but was sitting up at a strange angle so to get it down to more where it looked happy I had to move the front mounts down about 3/4 of an inch and make a small indent in the frame on the right side to clear one of the clutch cover bolt lugs.

As the bike sits, the engine in on its way back in for hopefully the second to the last time. The frame has been painted black mostly to keep it from rusting after welding so there wasn't a lot of concern in making it look good right now. after it is together and running maybe even ridden a bit, it will come apart again and the frame stripped and powder coated. I am waiting on a swingarm bearing kit to come in so I can mount it and get it mack on it own to feet. Then I can start working on the next big part, the pipe.

So here it is, my KX125/Blaster combo. Sorry the pictures are a bit small and this is the first time I have used Google picture storage over photo bucket so they are hyper links rather than pictures themselves.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JzFa9WScCb7ibXhS8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/K9jgotVYKxxB8iTJ9

Here you can see the notch in the frame to clear the engine. In the picture it looks like the engine is sitting on the frame but it doesn't once the swing arm bolt is in.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qJH8FpGbAfqKsZnr5

[Foxx4Beaver]

Interesting!
curious how it'll ride.

[mike96]

Just want to throw a few pics up real quick. It might be a bit before the next update. I have a couple of things to do on the house and I need to clean off the lathe to make a couple of spacers. With all the other projects going on right now making parts for this is a little low on the priority. I might get to it this week...

Chain alignment looks pretty good from here. It is a tad to the left but not by much based off of the existing marks on the chain guide.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ryiTrfgcF5nic5tU7


There is still a small gap in the washers I am using for the engine spacers so when I take measurements for the spacers I will compensate for the chain alignment also.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/G2u99jWJ6eQUhXTE7

So I have a couple of options when it comes to pipes. This is the pipe from my blaster, It is a right hand bend which it pretty unusual for this quad, so if I can help it I would rather not cut this pipe. But I was thinking a pipe set up like this will give the bike kind of an old school KDX look with the air cooled engine. I would have to make a custom or loose the right side rad shroud.
 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wgDz4UWxkFS71qzQ6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8v9DbceiuTzAykzZ7

The KX125 pipe actually lines up pretty well also. It is more than likely going to be on the small side for the engine so I dont plan on actually using it but just to get an idea of what it would look like with a newer style 2 stroke pipe on it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RVbkh8pwe66M6Hsw5

And the KX pipe in the other orientation. Just to see what it would look like.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/U2C2q9L4MHPKmPm86

Somethings make me question the engineers... The more I play with this project the more I wonder it it was intentionally done with this swap in mind. So I turned the KX pipe up like in this position like the blaster pipe would be just to see what it would look like and after taking the last pic. I noticed that there is a manufactured dent in the pipe to clear the engine cases (or frame possibly, I dont remember which) and I found that the dent aligned pretty well with the shape of the blaster head... Kind of weird... Just saying...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yoAj61jr1DFicRhU9

[mike96]

Quick little update. Got a bunch done in the last couple of weeks. Once the engine spacers were made and in it all went together very quick for what will be the last mock up build. Spacers came out nice and pretty much put the engine right where it needed to be. It might still be just a tad to the left, but that is something that I can change a little later if need be. I think I have even figured out what I am going to do for a pipe.

A friend of mine races moto as well as he and his dad own a small machine shop dealing with motorcycle and ATV/UTV engine work. The last time I spoke with him he told me that he knows someone that builds expansion chambers for two strokes, so at some point I will be getting in contact with him for a proper pipe for this beast. In the mean time I have purchased some 2-stroke pipe software and ran a few numbers... The 125 pipe is a bit on the fat side surprisingly for the power output I am looking for, but the biggest problem with it is that it it too short both in the head pipe and stinger. I managed to get my hands on another pipe, one that has the same size head pipe KX. So I used it to lengthen out the KX125's pipe on the head side. The stinger on the other hand is a tad bigger in diameter but it should work well enough for now. So what I am ending up with is something a tad shorter and a bit fatter than it should be. I think a re-tune on the carb should do well enough to get me a few miles down the road so I can see if i like riding this monstrosity.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ehZJXw6AZ2cQ9UVe7

https://photos.app.goo.gl/paCXJcqGCXatRtRo6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uiE1xtZWx5fN2ZPu8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nyzs8LUL1X6eWHfy7

[mike96]

OK. So quick update, I have been doing a lot of little things sense the last post, mostly little bits here and there. But the big news is..... IT'S ALIVE.... Had her up and running today, even rode under her own power, kind of.. She is running a bit lean, idles it will rev up with a little bit of coaxing but put it under a load and it falls on her face. I pull the carb out before I left work so I could throw a larger main in it but couldnt find my bottle of jets I thought I had, so I need to buy a couple tomorrow and play with it a bit.

I will throw up a few pics once I take a few...

[mike96]

Well sorry it has taken a couple of days but here are a few pics. It runs and rides. I need to take care of title so I can register it. I still need to swap out the main jet and go retest to see how it runs. The setup I have on it for air intake isn't ideal but it will work until I can figure out something else. I have an idea on what I want to do to make a flexible rubber like boot but it will be something that needs time to figure out the best process to use to make it. The pipe that is on it now is definitely not right for the engine and it hangs down a bit low. I will need to make something different eventually. For not it is at least ride-able and I can put a few miles on it and see if I enjoy riding this monstrosity. Also there is a crack in the rear rim that needs to be taken care of...

O-yea... and it is UGLY....... I am thinking of stripping the red off the tail and side plates, temporary back to green. Then if I keep the bike and tear it down to paint I might go with a blue frame and dye the plastics black.

[reklessj]

👍

[Kawafornication]

Looks like you are missing the rubber tank dampers   92160-1221   &   92160-1171   they will help reduce vibration and with give you better clearance from the cylinder head!


https://parts.kawasaki.eu/kepcc/kepcc?ALIAS=99255&PRODUCTGROUP=MCXR&DISPLACEMENT=126_500&MODELNAME=KX250&MODELYEAR=1990_KX250-H1&COUNTRY=GB&COLOR=7F&MACHINE=263&VIN_SEL=&VIN_INP=&ENGINE_SEL=&ENGINE_INP=&PNO=99917-1395.E-13&NAVIGATION=



I would add a picture but the site seems to be at fault so can not add any sorry!

[mike96]

Actually all 6 pads for the tank are there. I pulled them off the frame for paint then glued them back on.

I did run into another issue. A bit of a big one at that.... More of an over site on my part. When I picked up the bike the bottom end of KX125 engine was in a home depot bucket and the top end was non existent. So I was originally thinking of saving the suspension or at least front forks and triple clamps and parting out the rest of the bike so I didn't pay too much attention to the paperwork I was given from my dealership. Long story short the tittle isn't notarized by the "correct" seller so I will have to get with my MVD and see what is needed to do a bonded title if I want to register it in my name and make it legal to ride on public land here in AZ. This should be fun...

On a good note though all that is left to do is a little bit of tuning and ride her for a bit and see how I like her. I have officially dubbed this project done and have moved on to my next project. A Frankenstein Polaris RZR 1000 that I have been piecing together for a little over 3 years, and my focus is all on it right now because it is almost done as well.... If I get Frankin-RZR done in the next week or two then I am going to try and take them both down for inspection at the same time. I will see if I can get some fresh pictures of the KX this week and post it up when I have a chance.

Mike.

[Brute]

Cool project!

[mike96]

Quick little update. I managed the title. I happen to find the person who signed it on the back but didn't notarize it... So I met up with her and we got it notarized. The monstrosity is fully legal now... I actually took it out on a short trail ride a couple of weeks ago in celebration. Bike ran pretty good but I came to the realization quickly that I need to get carpal tunnel surgery done on my left wrist soon. Riding the FZ1 on the street isn't too bad, I can do a couple hundred miles pretty easy without any major pain. I only managed about 6 miles in the dirt, between the sit/stand riding position and the vibrations in the bars... Yea lets just say I wont be doing anything serious trail until I get this issue taken care of. So for now I am looking to finish up the road legal portion of this build... Maybe I can get a few miles under her belt that way.

[mike96]

So, Bit of an update. Not sure where this is going or how it will end... But I had an idea. Originally I had planned on stripping the frame and powder coating it after fulling getting it ride-able. I knew I didn't want to do it in black, half of the engine was already black and with other parts already black like the airbox, some of the suspension linkage and triple clamps the same I thought a black frame was too much. Unfortunately I all I had available was black paint and I wanted to get something on it so that it wouldn't rust. So I was thinking classic silver, and then it hit me... it will require me to get a new seat cover to make it all match but..... Purple like this kind of purple.




It might mean that I need to change the color of the engine a bit and strip the red off of the read fender and number plates, but I thought that mid 2000 KLR look would be killer. So I started looking for powder coat. and then it happened.... I found a purple... Just not the right purple. But I gotta say. I absolutely love this color... So I will start putting the bike back together tomorrow and working on adding all the finishing touches to make it street legal. I the mean time I need to figure out what to do about the engine and plastics... I don't think green will look good with this color or red either. I could dye them black I suppose but then we are getting back to a very dark bike. I mean don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with a dark bike, I just don't know if this bike will look good in lots of dark colors. Then again...