KX Riders
Maintenance & Technical => Kx Frankensteins => Topic started by: Goat on May 17, 2010, 01:36:37 AM
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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.
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Cool, it would be nice to see a KDX build on here.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
(http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/944/1221101747a.th.jpg) (http://img707.imageshack.us/i/1221101747a.jpg/)
(http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9494/1221101747.th.jpg) (http://img192.imageshack.us/i/1221101747.jpg/)
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Put some parts in the for sale section as I don't need them.
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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.
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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.
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Keep the posts coming....
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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.
(http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/9492/img20111223151359.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/31/img20111223151359.jpg/)
(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/2650/img20111223151541.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/193/img20111223151541.jpg/)
(http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/2175/img20111223151617.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/163/img20111223151617.jpg/)
(http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/7056/img20111223151638.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/827/img20111223151638.jpg/)
(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3371/img20111223151411.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/img20111223151411.jpg/)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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Got a bunch of work done today and yesterday. Got the frame stripped down to skeleton yesterday. Tried the spot blaster out and got sick of filling the syphon bag every 2 minutes. Other than that it seemed to work pretty good. I went today and picked up a Campbell Hausfeld syphon blaster with a 10ft hose that just gets shoved in the bag of media. Works much better and the spray nozzle is smaller but I think it works better. All in all it was well worth the $20. Got a couple pics but the camera died so I'll have to get more tomorrow.
Alumaloy works pretty good. I was real impressed with it. Only problem was heating the swingarm with a propane torch isn't happening. I messed around for half an hour and couldn't get it hotter than 418* so I barrowed my dads acetylene torches and it didn't take long. I used 2 sticks out of 4 that I ordered. When heating the swingarm with torches you have to be careful as it starts to melt about the time it's hot enough for the Alumaloy. The axle carrier wasn't an issue at all but that is much thicker. Alumaloy drills pretty nice. Definitely harder than normal aluminum but still softer than steel. I'll have to get some pics. The before pics are gone forever as I dropped my phone and somehow that destroyed my sd card. It looks fine but nothing will read it.
During the blast process.
(http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4821/img20111228214238.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/443/img20111228214238.jpg/)
After the whole thing had been blasted.
(http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7872/img20111228223045.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/11/img20111228223045.jpg/)
The frame has had all the previous owners welds (if you can even call them that) ground off and re-welded properly. All cracks and holes are also welded. Pile of parts to the left have been blasted. Just need wiped down and primed/painted.
(http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/6564/img20111228223209.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/692/img20111228223209.jpg/)
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Everything has been either media blasted or wire wheeled. Started laying primer last night on some of the parts. Not enough hanging room to do everything at once unfortunately. I'll get some pics of primed parts today. Debating on painting them gloss black today or setting them aside and priming the rest of the parts first. Hoping to have the quad back together this weekend.
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I found a speed calculator for atv's. It allows you to put in the gear ratios, engine, max rpm, sprocket sizes, and tire size then calculates speed for every gear. I'm running 14 front, 42 rear with 18" tires and it says it will do 57.4mph in 6th gear at 6,676rpm. I need new tires kinda bad. the front's are dry rotted and the rears are bald. I'm planning on putting 20" tires on the rear and 21's on the front. May also put a 13 tooth sprocket on the front for more torque. I could really care less about speed. I like wheelies and acceleration. Don't have the room for running wot much. Lot's more to come in the next week or so.
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Well the quad is almost done. Just waiting on a new kick start assembly from OEM-Cycle. Mine works when it feels like and I have ground the teeth a couple times already. It worked great for a few starts and then started not engaging again. Also waiting on the rear brake stay bracket. Got the light wiring figured out after I got it running again. The head lights are MR16 halogens at 55w each and wont get very bright so I'm going to get some LED bulbs for them. Once I find front fenders I will make some brackets to mount them too in roughly the same location. I couldn't get the tie rod ends to come loose so I just upgraded the tie rods to 12mm American Star. Very nice quality and much bigger in diameter than the stock ones. Next on the list is buying a new set of Sedona Bazooka tires for front and rear. Found the best deal at BikeBandit. I will probably get the front fenders with my tax check.
This was by far the easiest swap/build I have done. It turned out very nice. The shock covers were made by me and my friends mom. I used 2 layers of racing nylon and lime green thread. They aren't perfect but they fit good. The factory rear shock was garbage and I don't care for remote reservoir shocks anyway so I went to the atv junkyard and found a 87 Honda 250x shock in great condition for $40. It is 1/2" shorter than the stock shock but fits and works perfect. Just had to drill the mounting holes in the swingarm and linkage a little bigger.
sandblasted the pipe.
(http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/7059/img20111228192100.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/812/img20111228192100.jpg/)
Pretty swingarm.
(http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1074/img20120106155041.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/267/img20120106155041.jpg/)
Home made shock covers.
(http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/364/img20120105214125.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/513/img20120105214125.jpg/)
(http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3306/img20120110022442.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/502/img20120110022442.jpg/)
Took it outside to heat cycle the pipe for the paint to cure and figure out the wiring.
(http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/8585/img20120110173912.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/814/img20120110173912.jpg/)
(http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/4868/img20120110173932.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/207/img20120110173932.jpg/)
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I'm thinking about upgrading the axle so I can get the 4x110 lug pattern instead of this weird 4x130 pattern. We'll see when I have the cash for new wheels.
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Nice build.
I like the lime green thread the best :-D
Let us know how it rides..
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Finally got it finished! Took it out for a test run and it rides fantastic. Tires are junk but I'll be ordering those tomorrow. Pulls wheelies with ease and is much faster than I expected. I'll have to get my video camera from my buddy tomorrow. Planning on taking it out to my parents house on Sat. I'll get some video then.
Special thanks goes out to Sandblaster (OEM-Cycle) for the parts he has supplied me. Couldn't have done it without him.
If anyone wants some detailed pics just ask and I'll post some up.
When I get my taxes back I'll be getting new black racing front fenders and all the plastic pieces. Rear fenders wont fit quite right with the exhaust on the opposite side as the LT exhaust and don't want to spend the money for something that probably wont work without heavy modification. It would be different if I could find a used set for a decent price but I've been looking for 2 months and haven't found any used ones let alone a cheap set.
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Ordered my new tires today. Got 20x11x8 and 21x7x10 Sedona Bazooka tires. I've read quite a few reviews on them and everyone is happy with how they perform. I wanted more lug than stock tires but didn't want big lugs like a mud tire so the Sedonas were the best deal I could find.
Played on the road a little bit today and got some video with my gf's old camera. We got about 2" of snow last night. The tires I'm currently running are 18x10x8 ITP Holeshots. They are almost bald so I couldn't get any traction. I'm probably going to run the paddle tires at my parents house tomorrow as long as my dad lets me. He hates when I tear up his trails. I'm not allowed to take the 500 over there for that reason lol. He calls it "The Trencher". Anyway... Here is the vids from today.
Tried to embed the videos but it's not working for some reason so here are the links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRD2iekN7n8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhjSVji2DLA
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Quad has been doin great. Starts in 2 or 3 kicks every time no matter how cold it is. I bought a couple LED replacement bulbs for my headlights and WOW are they bright! Finally takin the KDX quad and my gf's Quadsport to my parents house Sunday. I'll try to get some videos. I don't think there are any jumps out there anymore which sucks. But at least we have 80 acres to play on instead of the road and small back yard. I ordered a PRM Baja front bumper couple days ago so I can't wait for that to get here. Dropped my tax stuff off to get done so as soon as I get that money back I'll be getting front fenders. Then the quad will be finished at least until I decide to put a K5 engine in it lol.
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Got my PRM front bumper today. Looks nice and it's very good quality.
Have decided I'm going to build the little 200 a bit. I have a year around source for 110 octane fuel so I'll be sending my head and cylinder to get milled and ported for the highest compression I can get and still have reliability. Just not sure who I'll be sending it to RB Designs or Fredette Racing Products. Any suggestions?
Here's some pics and video from today:
6w 3 LED bulb in each light.
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/634/img20120206155440.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/402/img20120206155440.jpg/)
Pretty PRM Baja Bumper. Fits great and makes it way easier to pick the front up to turn it around.
(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/5444/img20120206155503.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/600/img20120206155503.jpg/)
(http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/5485/img20120206155743.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/img20120206155743.jpg/)
I'm standing about 100 feet in front of the quad.
(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/588/img20120206194405.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/img20120206194405.jpg/)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuOCMym9FOg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfdFUui_GrM
Can't wait to get the front plastics. Once the fenders are bolted on I will be making mounts for the lights. I might get fancy with the mounts we'll see how much room I have to work with once the fenders are on.
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I ended up buying a 12 and 13 tooth front sprocket. Tried them both out and I'm liking the 12 for now. May change my mind when we get up to the race track. It's still pretty fast but now there is no clutch work to get a wheelie. Here's a new video. Still haven't found the balance point yet but I'm working on it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPRqV1ktBFI
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Wow, it sounds like it is running good!
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It's running pretty good. Running 110 octane and Golden Spectro oil. Don't notice any difference in the way it runs between 93 and 110 so until I get the compression bumped up I'm gonna stick with 93 octane. I also have the jets a little rich for winter. When spring comes and it stays above 50 I'll re-jet it where it should be. The weather has been so up and down I can't jet it right. 40* one day and 10* the next. Haven't had more than 2" of snow on the ground at one time. It's been a really weird winter.
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New update! Since the 500 is down until I get a new head gasket, ball joints, and tie rods I figured why not try the kdx with the skis and paddles. We just got about 8 inches of snow last night. That put us somewhere around the 2 ft mark. Didn't think to measure before I tore it all up :P
Here is a 3 minute vid. May post a couple more. Uploading to youtube takes forever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ib02iSpcI0
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Looks like a lot of fun.
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At first it was difficult to get through the fresh snow but once I had a path it went pretty well. Tried with holeshots on it and got stuck right away lol. I think I prefer straight paddles over the sand shark angled ones. My next set will be straight paddles for the 500. Thinking 10's would do well. 8's aren't enough at least for the 500.
Gonna try to pull the ol lady on a saucer Thursday. Hopefully I can talk someone into taking video of it.
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You settle on 12/42 sprockets? How are the vibes? Thinking about doin one for my wife. Have had the chassis sitting here since the zuki engine puked in '07. I have some early kx250 engines that I had thought about swapping in, but decided I want to save them to use in bikes. Plus I know the vibration would be intimidating for her. A 200 might be perfect.
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I changed to a 14/42 for the ol lady. This is her first 2 stroke and it revs out really fast with the 12 on the front. There is very little vibration. A good set of grips and mx gloves and you don't feel any in the bars. Everyone that rides the KDX4 wants me to build them one. It is a ton of fun without the worry of doing a wheelie. It takes weight placement, clutch and throttle control to get a good wheelie out of it. It's very easy to ride wreckless on it :P Sliding around every curve, doing donuts ect. It is also easy to control and ride conservative. 87 TRX250X rear shock is the best mod I've done for handling. It lowered seat height almost 2 inches and made the suspension work together way better than the tiny suzuki rear shock. There is really no going back to the stock shock once the honda shock has been bolted on. The bolts that go through the mounts are 12mm or 14mm where as the factory suzuki bolts are I believe a 10mm. So both the linkage and swingarm need drilled out to fit the honda shock. Expansion chamber needs very little tweeking to fit on the outside of frame or you can do a little cutting and welding and put it through the frame with a little bending. If you need any pics of mounts or whatever just let me know and I will get some taken. Also any questions feel free to ask. :D
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It is a ton of fun without the worry of doing a wheelie. It takes weight placement, clutch and throttle control to get a good wheelie out of it.
I can see that. Before mine puked the zuki 250 it was built pretty stout and I only remember it pulling the front when on sand w/ paddles.. Stock swingarm is pretty long on these..
There is very little vibration.
That's reassuring, as I've committed to buying an engine from a member on another site. I know the vibration of the 250 stuff that I have would intimidate a new rider. I figured the 200 will be easier to kickstart as well.
Expansion chamber needs very little tweeking to fit on the outside of frame or you can do a little cutting and welding and put it through the frame with a little bending.
I will definitely be running it inside the frame. I paid alot for the plastics and it's the main reason I have kept the chassis around. Does the pipe have good clearance to the fuel petcock? A 95 and newer pipe is a lowboy style, but not sure if it'll clear the early cylinders PV cover... I don't have any exhaust yet, might come down to what I can get best deal on. What silencer did you use?
If you need any pics of mounts or whatever just let me know and I will get some taken. Also any questions feel free to ask. :D
I wouldn't mind seeing some more videos of yours riding. :)
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It is very easy to start. The stock steel kick lever that is on mine clears the foot peg and frame with room to spare.
The exhaust clears the petcock by about an inch without modifying it. If I modded it to fit inside the frame it would have cleared with a lot more room. I was trying to keep it stock so if I decided to put the engine back in the bike frame I could without buying another pipe.
I'm running a FMF Turbine Core silencer. It is a long silencer which puts it just short of being even with the rear grab bar. I've recently been thinking about cutting it down a few inches just in case it gets flipped over backwards it doesn't damage the silencer or bend the stinger on the pipe when it makes contact with the ground.
I'm running the Holeshot style Sedona tires front and rear and couldn't be happier. They were about $50 a tire and work just as well as the $100 a tire holeshots. They also wear better than the holeshots. Also have a set of sand sharks for playing in the snow. As long as it is less than a foot deep it goes through the snow with ease. Anything deeper and it's just too much work getting unstuck and moving again.
We've had a busy year and didn't really get to ride. We had 1 trip up to the track/trails and the rest of the time it was just a quick half hour or so up and down the road in front of the house. Things have finally slowed down and my buddy bought a house with a couple acres so the quads are now over there so we can tear his property up any time we want. I'll get some video next time we can ride and it's not super cold.
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The kdx looks pretty good. Sounds good too. I'm still working on mine between a few surgeries and not working. But it's coming along. I'll post a current pic in my post here soon. :-D