lisa'sxr4

Member
Jul 16, 2002
95
0
Well, I added another bike to the garage last night - a 98 KX250. Anything to look for, be concerned about - etc.

Looking forward to testing it this weekend.
 

roosteater

~SPONSOR~
Dec 27, 1999
216
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I have a 98 KX 250. It's a great bike. Lots of torque down low and it does pretty well for mid and top too. Top end drops a little quick compared to some bikes, but not bad. Ergonomics are great. The KIPS exhaust valve system is interesting. You need to do a thorough job of cleaning and adjusting these with every top end rebuild. Mine has been fine, but I've seen KIPS systems where the teeth have been broken off of the side valve actuator rods due to sticking from not cleaning the spooge out often enough. Get a Mitivac and bleed out the front and rear brakes really good and you'll be surprised at how good they feel for that generation KX. The tranmission and clutch are very durable and the bike shifts smooth. Suspension leaves something to be desired. The forks are very harsh, especially as you hit the bottom of the stroke. The shock is ok. I had mine resprung, as I'm far too heavy for stock springs. That alone made a huge difference in the feel of the bike. Kawasaki put progressive springs in the forks and the shock. The progressive springs suck. I switched to straight rate springs and it's much better. All-in-all, it's a sweet bike. Jumps and handles great. Extremely stable ride. It rarely, if ever, gets bent out of shape in the whoops or other rough sections.
 

KXTodd

~SPONSOR~
Nov 25, 2000
463
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What adjustment on the kips are you talking about? I've had mine apart a few times and didn't see anything that looked like it could be adjusted?
 

lisa'sxr4

Member
Jul 16, 2002
95
0
Thanks for the info on the KIPS. Supposedly the top end was rebuilt recently with about 5 hours on it. It's going to the shop for a look over anyway - so I'll bring up the KIPS adjustments to be looked at.

Took it out this weekend for about 30 miles. I had so much fun! So opposite my XR. Other than my lack of experience - it handled the whoops and sand great. Even tried out a few small rocky hill climbs (i'd normally tractor up in 2nd on the XR) and it just sailed right up!!!
 

roosteater

~SPONSOR~
Dec 27, 1999
216
0
On the KIPS, you need to make sure that you have them aligned correctly. There's a special procedure that you need to follow to get them aligned correctly and adjusted. It's a fairly complicated exhaust valve system when you compare it to some of the other two-stroke exhaust valves. You're dealing with two side valves and the main flapper valve. All three need to be aligned perfectly and at the end, there's an adjustment that you make to align and adjust the main valve to the side port valves.

I have an old diagram and directions out of MXA or some other rag from years ago. However, I've heard that Egorr does a great job of describing the process in his book. I can't speak directly on that though, as I don't have his book.

I take my KIPS completely apart with each top end rebuild and scrub the hell out of it. It's worth taking the time to do it and once you get used to the reassembly/adjustment process, it's very easy.
 

RMASS

Member
Apr 9, 2006
22
0
Lisa, don't worry about the kips, just enjoy the great bike. if you run synthetic premix this will help reduce buildup and cleaning will be much friendlier ( i run amsoil interceptor specially formulated for 2 smokes with power valves at 50:1 great results ) long live green.
 
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