2005 KDX 200 to Dual Sport

[JohnnyKDX]

I purchased a '05 KDX 200 a few years back, and I have had some great times with it on the trails. I'm a college student and I will be moving into a house with a garage this summer and will finally be able to bring my bike down from home. I drive a full size truck that gets 12 mpg city, and I'm considering riding the KDX to class, around town, and in between trails.

I'm trying to save money, and so far I've just found the Baja Designs kit that will run about $550 with mirrors and then $200 more for tires, which kinda defeats the money saving idea. I could go down the street and buy one of the $650 Chinese vespa knockoffs that are getting pretty popular lately, but I really don't relish the idea of riding a scooter.

I live in GA and will be calling the DMV to find details on all the legal requirements soon. I believe its running headlight and blinkers, but i am not sure. What will be the cheapest source for parts to convert my bike over? Links would be great. Anyone who has converted their KDX please share your story and how you accomplished it. Thanks guys!

UPDATE:

Did some research, got good and bad news.

First the legal crap. GA Requires: Headlight, Horn, Turn Signals, & Spedo. Getting tagged in GA can be very tricky when your bike is labeled "Off Road Use Only" from manufacturer and requires some shmoozing of DMV folks. This route is hit or miss at best. Your remaining option is getting tagged out of state and transferring. I'll try my luck and give an update.

Now for the parts. I researched Baja Designs and a few other pre-made kits. Generally overpriced in my opinion, but if you got the cash the convenience would be nice. BD has a good rep for customer service which is nice but they are out of my price range. Next option is ordering the parts individually and doing everything yourself. I believe this would be the best option for states that require minimal electronics, or for folks experience doin' that sort of thing. So what does that leave me? I found a site sells each individual part or as a bundle with their custom wiring harness. Its $189.00 without the harness or $309 with it. They also offer LED lighting upgrade for $30 bucks and UFO Headlight/tailight with flush mounted blinkers for $60. The UFO stuff looks better than the BD kit IMO and is considerably cheaper. Website is Procycle-online,com ->Dual Sport Kits

Tire wise I'm looking at Kenda k270's Cheap, good on/offroad compromise, just got to find a dealer stocking 100/100-16

 

[Ogre]

I have a plated KDX220.
It SUCKS on the road and I don't consider it a dual sport by any means.
Its a dirt bike with a plate. Fine for quick runs between trails, but not for any serious road use.

If you have an "Off Road Use Only" title your pretty much screwed here in the south.
Alabama (where mine got plated BTW) WAS very lenient, but has tightened things up a lot.

The KDX also gets awful gas mileage, when you figure in pre-mix and premium fuel is not far off from the equivalent of getting less than 20 mpg on regular gas.

The wear and tear on your bike will also rack up considerable cost too.
I wouldn't doubt that when you figure it all up 12 mpgs on your truck may be cheaper.

Oh, I did not see an up sized stator in your figuring of your conversion cost.. your stock bike WILL NOT run all that electric load.

Seriously... go find a cheap used street bike, you'll be money ahead in the end.
A Ninja 250 that gets 70 mpg on regular gas would be a great pick.
Don't buy a Chinese scooter!!!!

 

[JohnnyKDX]

You pretty much nailed all my concerns in your post Ogre. I agree with your recommendation of the 250, it will fit my needs perfectly. Those '08s look killer IMO, but I'll be looking for a mid 90's or newer for around $1500-2000. Saw an '07 with 5k miles at the local dealership for $1900 today.

Sadly, I'm going to have to sell the KDX to pay for it. What do you think would be a good price to list my 05 KDX 200? Trade in will net me about $1600 at the local dealership, but i was hoping to get closer to 2000-2,500 considering the great shape its in.

 

[JohnnyKDX]

As a side note: For those of you plagued by the Off Road Only Delimma. South Carolina as well as a few other states can issue you a title by mail with your MCO. Vermont used to be popular for this as well, but they recently changed VT law to only issuing titles for bike greater than 200cc's.

 

[88KDX]

street legal KDX

Hey JohnnyKDX, I have a 2004 KDX220 and I'd like to make it street legal. The tiltle says off road only so Fla won't give me a street plate. Can you give me the details on how to get a new title and make it street legal.
Thanks a ton

 

[Kurt Franz]

I have a plated kdx200 and I ride it mainly on the road doing 55-60 mph and recently got 110 miles out of a tank of gas. Much better than the 20 mpg that was stated in one of the previous posts. I would keep the KDX and use it as a dual sport. Put some decent dual sport tires on it and have at it. Just clutch it when decelerating from high speeds to keep the engine lubed properly. Nothing wrong with a 2 stroker on the street, and a KDX will run for a long time between top end jobs provided you dont abuse it by running constant 70-80 mph on the road.

Try it out before you sell it.

 

[tommrth]

why dont you sell the truck and buy something that uses a resonable amount of gas 12 mpg is just silly in my opinon

I drive a lwb turbo diesel transit van its pretty big fits a **** load of stuff in it and does around double that milage in the city

 

[texascycle]

Like Kurt, have the 200 and regularly ride over 100 miles at a time on mixed unpaved and paved county roads. I do not go over 55 for any extended periods, though. I can do that on one tank of fuel. It just takes a little extra planning. I would not take it cross-country, obviously.

In the past I have owned 3 KLRs (including the 08), an XT350 and currently have a KE100. I have ridden many miles on KLR250s, DR350s and DRZ400s. Pound for pound, the KDX is just more fun ... and to me that is the reason it was worth the pain of getting it plated, which I am still working on. (sometimes my ke plate ends up on there ... not sure how?)

Running a couple of quick errands, blasting around the neighborhood, or checking out a wednesday bike night parked in front of a hundred harleys ... its the bomb!