Common faults with my 87 KDX 200??

[AGR071]

Hi all.
I have just bought my FIRST dirt bike (at the age of 37 ),its an 87 KDX 200.It has been raced but is now VERY neglected.

a)Are there any common faults with these bikes that i should know of?

b)What type of oil should i use in the gearbox (ATF maybe)?

c)Do you have to mix the oil and fuel together or are they self mixing?

d)What do i need to do to motard this bike (for riding to work 45minutes usually)?

I have only ridden 4 stroke road bikes (mainly Fireblades since 1992) and have never owned a 2 stroke,good or bad move i'll find out soon.

Cheers

Craig

 

[76GMC1500]

Kawasaki recommends 10w40 or 20w50 API SF/SG in the tranny. The brand of 2-stroke oil doesn't really matter, 32:1 is best. The bike is not oil injected so you have to premix.

 

[arjay]

Hi Craig, congrats on the bike. I bought a dunger of an '87 KDX a while back but I'm restoring it bit by bit. If you want any specific advice on resto work email me on rob@huxley.co.nz

There aren't too many inherent faults, they're solid bikes. You might want to lift the cylinder to check the condition of the chrome on the bore.

Get the shock and forks rebuilt and serviced for a safer ride.

Basic shock set up (taken from old notes when I had one of these first time round)

Adjust rear sag to 95mm (no more than 100mm)

set the compression on shock (remote reservoir bottle) to 6 clicks out from fully closed.

Set rebound damping (top of shock) 10 clicks out from fully closed.

Go back and adjust handling by adding or subtracting compression.

Other stuff - Fit a shorter kickstart lever from an 89 KX125 to avoid slop on the lever and cracking of the cases. Invest in harder seat foam (86 KX125) from Guts Racing - they might even do a harder than stock foam for the KDX. Put the handlebar clamps into the forward position to give yourself some room.

There's a heap of jetting advice on this forum. To start off try 155 main, 48 pilot, needle in the middle, air screw 1.5 turns out.

For road use get a smaller rear sprocket and run at 32:1 on a good fully synthetic oil - don't skimp, get premium 2 stroke oil. Maybe use a road orientated trail tyre (not trials, mx or enduro type)

 

[glad2ride]

Does the 1987 AUS KDX200 not have a Mikuni carburetor?