Author Topic: YAY! KDX Build  (Read 25503 times)

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Offline Goat

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YAY! KDX Build
« on: May 17, 2010, 01:36:37 AM »
I've had a couple kdx200's back in the day. Air cooled, been beat all it's life. Just stumbled upon a 1990 kdx the other day on craigslist for $150 Didn't come with the correct engine but the guy threw in a 250 engine that looks to be from 87-89. Haven't had time to tear into it yet. The rear shock is seized but other than that the complete rolling frame looks great. It has been sitting for years. The engine I got with it is in need of a rebuild. Not sure if I'm going to put the 250 in it or get the 200 engine for it. Guess we'll wait and see what the tear down looks like on the 250. I'll get some pics up as soon as I can.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline demographic

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2010, 05:23:42 AM »
Cool, it would be nice to see a KDX build on here.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2010, 05:13:33 PM »
I didn't look very close at the engine. It's a KXT250 Tecate. Pulled it out of the corner tonight and had a closer look. I owned one of these bad boys for a couple years until the flywheel exploded and took out the stator. Back then it was $400 for the stator and $350 for the flywheel. I paid $400 for the 3 wheeler so I wasn't spending that kind of money on it.

It wont fit properly in the KDX so I think I'm just going to piece together the right engine for it. Looked on ebay and parts are cheap. We'll see what I can find.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2010, 07:39:58 AM »
Just got another KDX200. Ran the vin and came up with 89 KX250. Doesn't make sense. It clearly looks exactly like the 90 KDX. Has the goofy tank and the engine guards on the frame. Will be getting pics up asap. The new KDX is complete minus the headlight, and rear axle. Paid $100 for it :D Kick start doesn't work properly but haven't had a chance to dig into it just yet and we picked it up late at night. More to come soon.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2010, 04:59:12 PM »
So I figured out why the vin came up as a kx250. *shakes head* The morons either stole it or busted the steering stem off the frame. They did a horrible job welding on the kx250 stem. Glad we just wanted it for the engine. I'm probably going to cut the engine guards off the junk frame and weld them on my kx500. Then I'll cut the frame down so it never gets used because the welds are that bad.

Looked inside the exhaust port and it actually looks pretty nice. Going to rebuild the engine anyway since I'm pulling it out of the junk frame. pulled the flywheel cover and rolled the engine over. bearings and gears seem to be fine. We'll see what it looks like when I pull the cylinder off. Will get pics up when I can.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2010, 11:10:47 AM »
Got the engine out of the frame today. Took the cylinder off and it looks good. Just going to put in new rings. Took some pics of the horrible weld job. Crappy paint job as well. All parts but the frame, electrical and engine are up for grabs. Message me if you need anything. All parts seem to be in good working order except the rear hub is busted up from never having the bearings changed.






It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2010, 11:43:56 AM »
Put some parts in the for sale section as I don't need them.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2011, 06:18:07 AM »
I've been slowly buying parts for the rebuild. Got new rings, and gaskets. Put the engine together and it is now in the frame waiting on an expansion chamber. The one that came with the second bike has been modified way too many times to try and fix it. Just need a few small misc. parts and the new/used pipe and it will be ready to go. I will get some pics and updates asap. Work has been super busy this year but the paychecks have been nice.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2011, 02:44:31 PM »
Got a FMF pipe from OEM Cycle a few weeks ago. Not the prettiest pipe but it works for what I need and the price was very good. Finally got to hear the thing run for the first time a couple nights ago. Runs great and a lot quieter than I expected. 

Plans have changed slightly at least for winter. I found a 87 LT250R rolling frame for $100 so I jumped on it. The frame itself has been welded a couple times before but I figured I'm gonna hack it up for a real engine anyway lol. Got the kdx200 engine in with little modding to the frame. Just cut the front engine mount out of the frame completely to avoid pipe mods. Swingarm bolt fits in snug and the cases fit between the swingarm nicely. Made some front and head stay brackets and bolted it all together. Used 1/4" plate for the mounts so it isn't going anywhere. Lining up the rear sprocket will be the hardest part but still not off by much. Looks to be about 2mm at most. All that is left to do before the first test run is weld a couple small cracks in the swing arm and bolt it back on. I will get some pics up asap.

After I know there are no frame issues I'll pull everything back apart and paint everything. Majority of it will be gloss black with a few small accents of Kawi green like the hubs, tie rods, and brake bracket. Thinking about painting the springs green as well but not sure. Don't have plastics for it yet but when I do get some they will be black or grey. Possibly even carbon fiber but those are a little pricey. Just depends on the funds at the time.

If anyone has the wiring schematics for the 89-94 KDX I could use them. I hooked up the wires by color but it doesn't seem right. Seems like something is missing for the tail light. Not sure as I got both bikes in pieces.

More to come very soon.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline sandblaster

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #9 on: December 22, 2011, 05:05:14 PM »
Keep the posts coming....
The four stroke engine: That's one stroke for producing power and three for wearing the engine out.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #10 on: December 23, 2011, 07:49:08 AM »
Got some pics. I'll get more detailed pics of mounts and stuff when I strip it down for paint. Everything is turning out nicely. Had an extra set of front hubs so I cleaned them up and painted green along with the brake caliper bracket. Found Kawi Green Rustoleum engine paint good for up to 500* and Wheel clear coat at Menards yesterday. It goes on real smooth and looks pretty good for rocker can paint. I'm getting excited! 

I forgot to mention that I bought a 87 TRX250X shifter locally because it's steel and I'm able to modify it to work. The shifter needed to come out from the engine about 3". I used some angle iron. Cut the knuckle that goes on the shifter shaft off and welded it to the angle iron. Then took the remainder of the shifter and welded that to the face or the other side of the angle iron. It's in the perfect location for my big feet lol. Should work perfect. It's strong but not too strong that it wont bend if I somehow hit a stump or something. It doesn't look the prettiest right now but everything will be cleaned up and smoothed out before paint.










It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline 81cr450

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #11 on: December 23, 2011, 06:10:03 PM »
Oh wow your ADHD is showing  :-o. I want a bike  wait no I need another bike hey but wait what about a 4-wheeler. Sounds as bad as me. Looks like a fun project, & man you found some deals.
if I only had a pair, I could actually ride this thing

& to the people I like  FYYFF

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #12 on: December 24, 2011, 09:16:53 AM »
Hey now leave my ADHD out of this lol. I always have to have at least 1 project or I go crazy. I have 3 projects at the moment. Even more in my head but haven't started working on them yet.

Quads are a way to see how creative you really are or can be. Pretty much endless possibilities. Figured I'd start with a small smoker and if that doesn't put a huge smile on my face I guess I'll throw the 500 in there lol. KDX looks like a beaten child. That is why it was the engine donor. But if it doesn't ride like I want it to I guess I'll pull my baby apart. I can always find another K5 engine to rebuild and throw back in the dirtbike.

The quad swingarm had a couple cracks so I ordered some Alumaloy rods to try out. I finally got them in the mail today. All the videos I watched on the process of using Alumaloy they used a propane torch. I tried but it just wouldn't get hot enough. I think there is just too much metal to keep hot. Gonna barrow my dads acetylene torches tonight. I took pics of before the repairs and will take some after pics and then post them up. Hope it works like they say it does.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline Goat

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #13 on: December 27, 2011, 07:07:20 AM »
Well I test rode the kdx quad. Ran excellent, even pulled a wheelie pretty easy. The front wheel bearings, tie rods, and a-arm bushings were too far gone to keep riding. It had massive shake and would dart in directions I didn't care to go.

I got it all stripped down at the moment. Bought a hand held spot blaster and some black oxide to strip the rust and paint off everything. The spot blaster is just a cheap one from Tractor Supply so we'll see how it works. I will get plenty of pics for everyone to see. Headed to the garage to start cleaning everything up.
It's hard to keep a drivers license riding a 2 stroke dirt bike on the street.  If you drive within the law they are VERY boring.

Offline 81cr450

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Re: YAY! KDX Build
« Reply #14 on: December 28, 2011, 12:07:03 PM »
You put enough air pressure to that spot blaster & it'll surely take the flesh, I mean paint off.
Your alumaloy swinger welding has me curious did you get some pics on that & how'd it go?
if I only had a pair, I could actually ride this thing

& to the people I like  FYYFF