Gold Valve Emulators - Not for 1990 KDX 200?

[TheGDog]

Hi guys,

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Gold Valve Emulators nogo for 1990 KDX 200? :
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As a returning member to the fat-ass club (+/- 210 Lbs right now... ugh.) who likes to fly, I will no doubt need to put stiffer springs in this 1990 KDX 200 I just picked up.

I seem to recall that when I was checking around on the Fredette Racing site... that the Race-Tech Gold Valve emulators were apparently only listed for the 95+ yr models.

Someone on another thread I was reading tonite mentioned Gold Valve emulators on the E models. The JustKDX site lists the 1990 KDX200 as the E-2.

So... does Rac-Tech make Gold Valve Emulators for a 1990 KDX 200 or not?


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Replacing Fork Seals, How Hard is that? :
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She needs fork seals replaced, so they are on order.

How hard of a task is that (fork seals) to perform yourself? The dealer quoted me $160.00 for the fork seal job being done (and that's without me having to take-off the forks from the bike either, letting them do it).

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Worth my while? :
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Also... if I can't use Cartridge emulators on this bike... should I just hold-off on my other desire of getting the stiffer springs... in favor of trying to just find a whole new front-end from a KX? It seems like the KX grafting process is likely to be more expensive and tedious overall.. no?

Would the standard forks not be decent enough with proper spring rates? I mean... I have been spoiled by the suspension on the KTM I had to sell to make some buffer-money for the new baby. I had it revalved and resprung by a shop and it was a total dream suspension. But that was a 2002 bike. Will I be so highly dissatisfied with the standard forks with upgraded springs but no emulators that I will hate them?

I don't see myself entering any races or anything... but I DO like practicing jumps. I just want decent handling that's also not gonna bottom-out when I wanna fart around with jumps.

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What to do? :
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So should I just go ahead and order stiffer springs from Fredette then and have the dealer just do the seals and spring together? Or should I have them do seals, then me do springs to save some money? Or is it easy enough to do both yourself? Are they any special tools I'd need?

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Side note:
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The KDX has quite a surprisingly low seat height. I'm 5'11", but with a 30" inseam and it's trippy how much lower this thing is than all the previous Dirt Bikes (MX) I've ever had. But I do definitely dig the comfyness of the seat foam though. A welcome change.

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Suspension Travel :
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So, not having a manual... how many inches of travel does a 1990 KDX 200 have front and back anyway?

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Rear Shock bottoming cushion :
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The rubber foam bottoming cushion thing on the rear shock is old and from deterioration looks like I could just reach-up and tear it off by hand. The mud-flap is missing (on order!) so I assume all that debris getting showered in there for God only knows how long probably brought about that issue. WHERE DO I ORDER ONE OF THESE cushion things for the rear shock? I'm assuming the dealer would charge way too much for such a simple part and there is probably a better source to be found, no?

 

[dirt bike dave]

If I remember correctly, the Race Tech Cartridge Fork Emulator is a different product than their 'Gold Valve'.

The Gold Valve is what they sell for bikes that already have cartridge forks (they also have a Gold Valve for rear shocks).

I had their Emulator in my '90 KDX 200, and later had gold valves front and rear in my '91 KDX250 (which had cartridge forks).

With stiff springs and the emulators dialed in, the '90 forks are not that bad. A huge improvement over stock. BTW, you can stiffen your stock fork springs for free by cutting a few coils off and then adding pre-load spacers and raising the oil level.

 

[ZOMBIE666]

Back when i had my kdx i remember someone telling me you can put kx250 fork spings in the kdx to siffen it up. dont remember what year 250, maybe someone can elaborate on this...

 

[glad2ride]

Race Tech Cartridge Emulators are for the older damping rod style forks, such as the 1986 - 1992 KDX200 forks. The 1993 - 2006 KDX200, 1997 - 2005 KDX220R and 1991 - 1994 KDX250 came with cartridge forks, so the Race Tech Gold Valve offered for them is a kit to replace the stock compression valve assembly in the forks. They even have the emulators for 38mm forks.

It seems like a lot of money to spend on those forks. If you are having the seals done, then they should be disassembling the tubes, which includes removing the stock springs. They SHOULD just put in the new springs for no additional charge.

The stock springs are only .30 Kg/mm rate, so you would need to cut them down too far to get them at the correct rate for your weight. They would coil bind!! Just buy the correct rate springs, or save your fork seal and spring money and buy a KX front end and go from there.

 

[TheGDog]

Ok.... so..... for a 1990 KDX 200.... if I wanted to attempt the KX Front end route... what are all the KX pieces I'd need to save my lunch money for? And from which model year of KX should I be getting them from?

Also... another thought I had... if I go the KX front end route... wouldn't the KX front end be longer/taller than the original? Wouldn't this throw geometries all off? How to compensate for that?

 

[glad2ride]

Generally, the complete front end (wheel, axle, complete brake system, forks, fork guards, fork guides, and triple clamps). You will need to get a steering stem machined as well, as your stem won't work. That is the toughest part of getting it to "just bolt on". Newer is better on the forks. MX forks come with MX valving, so keep in mind that the valving may not suit you. Don't forget that used forks usually need a rebuild as well.

Great catch on the geometry! There are way too many choppered out KDX's running around already. Some people don't think of this, or don't care / know the difference. They can be mounted higher in the clamps to a point, but to get them to mount normally AND not throw off the geometry, travel limiting spacers would be needed. There is only so much space before the front tire hits the front fender during full compression.

Oh, I forgot to reply about the bottom out bumper in my previous post. It can only be replaced by disassembling the shock. The cost for the bumper is about $20, but getting it changed is the hard (and more costly) part.