1980 KDX 250

A couple of good places on the net to check:

http://www.vintageiron.com/

http://www.amsracing.com

Hope this get's you started.......Steve

1980 isn't that old of a machine, so you ought to be able to get the basics from Kawasaki.  I've had good service from Midwest Action Cycles 1.800.343.9065   They are a Kawasaki parts warehouse and tend to have very competitive prices.  You may also check with Freedom Cycles 1.800.438.0727



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Michael Stembridge
88 KX500
AMA #728373   GARTRA
BlueRibbon Coalition
Georgia Off Road

along these same lines, i have a 1980 KDX175 that i'm trying to get running to ride in some local Turkey Runs this coming spring and summer...i have a spare parts bike but BOTH need a cylinder due to scoring of the walls. is there someone out there that can repair my cylinder cheaper than the near $300 price of an OEM cylinder?
any downsides to this?

-jack

Jackpiner, when I bought my KX500 the cylinder was trashed.  It had a crack on the skirt and the nikasil lining was chipped badly around the exhaust port.   After making some phone calls I decided to ship the cylinder out to Millineum Technologies (1.920.893.5595/1.920.893.4830).  They repaired (welded) the crack, bored, and replated the cylinder for under $250.  If your cylinder doesn't need any repair work it will be  $30-40 less.  



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Michael Stembridge
88 KX500
AMA #728373 GARTRA BRC
http://dirtrider.net/gaoffroad
Georgia Off Road

bkinnon-
Are you certain that your bike is a 1980?  As best as I can recollect, Kawasaki only made the 175 and 400 (which was the same as the 79 model) in 1980, and added the 250 in 81.  Kaw did make the 250 KLX in 79, but I don't how many years they made it.  I only remember tearing the KLX's apart w/ an IT175.  

JackPiner-
It is no surprise that you cannot find a cylinder for the 80 KDX175.  In fact, in 1980 it was almost hard to find a KDX175 w/ a good cylinder.   The 80-82 KDX175 suffered from a poor engine design- the piston rings had their gaps on the exhaust side of the piston, the rings were prone to snag the exhaust port and wreck the cylinder.

The 80 KDX has numerous potential problems-  the gas tank is too close to the pipe and might melt, the exhaust o-rings are forever blowing out, the brake pads are junk, the clutch throw out bearing has a very short life, and the mentioned engine problem.    

Of course, my green bike suffered from all those ailments, and I did devise cures-  I had the cylinder sleeved and ran a Wiseco piston (get an IT175 wrist pin bearing); I used Yamaha AT125 brake pads; I found some goo that "fixed" the gas tank; and I only replaced the throw-out bearing once (bike didn't run very often)...

There is a happy ending- the bike was stolen and I then became a proud owner of an 82 IT175.

Now, I wouldn't want to discourage you from your project bike, but mine was a unreliable, tempermental, BIG pile of green junk!  It kept me completely broke and I DNF'd almost every race that year (81).  

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Vet A Enduro & Hare Scrambles Rider
Hey, I USED to be fast!

Yes indeed, Kawasaki did make a KDX 250 in 1980, and it was a dual shock model.  A friend of mine owned one back in the 80's.  I think he sold it around '88 or '89 and he still regrets it.  I didn't like the retro look of the dual shocks so I bought an '82 IT 250.  I thought the IT was easier to ride, but I couldn't climb a hill with it to save my life.  My buddy's KDX could climb the steepest, gnarliest hills we could find.  It became sort of a game trying to find a hill he COULDN'T climb.