1983 Kdx250 hints

[piney]

Hi all, looking at getting into some vinduro,so looking for any hints/help or advice on setting up this particular model. Bike needs suspenion service rebuid. I live in Sydney so local suppliers and or mechanics anybody would recommend.
Thanks in advance..   Piney

[Nathan S]

Great bikes. Fantastic motor, great handling, pretty good everything else.

Suspension wise, they are entirely rideable in stock condition, particularly if you weigh 60~80kg.
I'd consider a full service to be essential. The shock is very easy to rebuild - any suspension specialist ought to be able to do it with their eyes closed.

How far you go from there depends on how serious you are: heavier riders will benefit from stiffer springs, the valve piston in the shock is primitive, all damper-rod forks can be improved with cartridge emulators.
The forks have less travel than advertised. IIRC, the forks actually have more like 9" of travel, rather than the advertised ~10".

Personally, if I owned one, I'd be looking at fitting an 82-84 KX front end for the extra travel, bigger tubes and disc brake. Then I'd fit cartridge emulators and springs in the 0.45 range.

I'd also look at fitting a shock with a 46mm ID and a Gold Valve. Resprung to my weight.

Depending on how it handled with ~12" of travel, I would not be against bringing the travel back down to 10.5" or so.

[piney]

Thanx Nathan, just the type of advise I was looking for. I actually have a complete 82 Kx 250 awaiting resto. So ill use suspenion out of that bike and hopefully find replacements parts.
cheers Steve

[80-85 husky]

great engine, id give the transfer ports a tidy up to remove any dags and  blueprint them to the base gasket outline. don't touch the port timing its superb.

Either get an alloy muffler or straight core the std one for optimum power and ensure the timing is correct. the motor will pull like a ..... and run strong once jetted to suit. I think the main went up a couple and the needle clip was dropped 1 or two (cant really remember but it worked great. Best a/c two / 250 engine ever imho

the std suspension is ok, I think Nathan is right about the forks and especially the brakes, they were poo. fine in the dry but if a cloud showed up in the sky they were gone and wouldn't come back! KDX brakes are the main reason im fast down hills!!

id leave the rear shock and just get it serviced it was a pretty good setup for a std bike. if it needs parts then follow Nathans advice and look for the bigger unit. if your going to spend bucks, go for the optimum outcome.

it will be a superb vinduro bike and the lights will probably work as well
cheers

[bigk]

If the engine is untouched it probably has two head gaskets fitted, take one out. I had one here for a while for some jetting. it had heavy springs front & rear which on paper were way too stiff for me, but it actually worked well for me. I jetted it to how I liked it and was really happy with the way it went, just a tad soft on the bottom but a good midrange & ok top (I like to ride with the engine growling in the midrange). The owner however, absolutely hated my jetting specs & opted for a stronger bottom end with less mid & top, he likes to torque an engine & doesn't rev them. Just goes to show how different people are. Digest all the info you get but set it up for yourself, the way you like it & leave it alone.
K

[Canam370]

Hey Piney, buy a raffle ticket for a KDX250 from VERi! At $20 it could be the cheapest KDX you'll get!
http://forum.ozvmx.com/index.php?topic=34322.0