Break in

[mnnthbx]

Did everyone on this forum tear the motoe down after 12 miles as the manual suggests? I've had a few two-strokes and never heard of this. I (otherwise) followed the break-in directions, and will now change all the fluids. Will this be well enough?

My bike takes a (seemingly) long time to warm up and run clean. Is this normal? Thanks for the help.

 

[JCW]

I have never torn a bike down that early. I think it depends on how hard you are running the bike. If you are racing and running it close to lean, you would probably need to replace the top end regularily. On the other hand, if you are trail riding in the middle of the RPM range and the bike is jetted right, you could go for several months. I would change the oil after each ride for the first two or three rides since there may be metal shavings due to break-in.

What you really need to do is grease the swing arm bearings, the rear shock bearings (all 4 sets) and the steering head bearings. My 03 KDX 200 had NO grease in the rear shock bearings and almost no grease on the swing arm bearings and the steering head bearings.

Congratulations on the new bike-
JCW

 

[canyncarvr]

Check the thread stuck to the top of this forum...'every kdx rider should read..'

CDaves' site has an article on new bike prep you should look into.

re: engine tear down?

No. Do take note of known 220 piston problems. While generally considered 'safe' except for modified hard-ridden bikes the pistons have been known to break in plain stock bikes. Some prudent 220 owners have replaced their pistons with a wiseco before they even ride the thing. A broken piston skirt could take out the entire engine. That's happened, too.

re: long time to warm up and run clean

Check the thread stuck to the top of this forum...'every kdx rider should read..'
(Is there an echo in here?)

CDave's site has guideline jetting info for the kdx. That's the issue. The out-of-the-box jetting of the kdx is too rich for most every situation.

Even a 2-smoke that's jetted pretty close to perfect will likely have some 4-stroking going on after a choke cold start. That kind of depends on your cold start/warm-up methods.

Have fun!

 

[XRDadKDXBeni]

Know a lot of people who have owned/own either the 200 or the 220; some ride them faster than others. none of them have ever done the 12 mile ring replacement mentioned in the manual and none of them have had problems with top ends. Maybe if you're an "A" rider and you are very fast and hard on the bike - but for the vast majority of the rest of us, seems to be a bit of overkill. XRDad