red rulz

Member
Jul 19, 2001
12
0
Hi I have a 80 kdx 157 that is in ok condition, I havent had much experience with it so i was just wondering if some of the people that have experience with them tell me what they think of them and any problems they had.
 

fred2

Sponsoring Member
May 10, 2001
282
0
I bought one brand new in '81 and it was an awesome bike. I ran it stock except for a Boyesen reed and it never gave me any troubles. I now have a '97 220 and it's even more awesome. Not sure how hard it would be to get parts for it but I'm sure the guys on this board will help you out.
 

MN KDXer

Registered
Jun 7, 1999
194
0
I had a 1980 model, and raced it in '81; I "tried" anyways. It was the without a doubt, the biggest POS motorcycle I have ever owned, or even known about. In four races, I trashed four top ends. The only good luck I had with the bike was when I was selling it, some guy stole it and I got $75 more from insurance than I was asking. :)

Other riders had similar experiences, and by '83, the Yamaha IT, Honda XR200, and CanAm were the popular 200cc weapons of choice, despite that the KDX was a 200 and would smoke the 175s on top end power.

Problems- Clutch throwout bearing goes south w/o notice; brakes are gone if you even say the word "water"; exhaust o-ring is always in a new state of leakage, giving a continuously changing powerband; gas tank will get melted by exhaust pipe; linkages will bend under hard hits; and the top rocker arm bushing wears quickly IF the POS actually runs long enough.

The only good thing was that parts were cheap for the time, but you needed SO many.

As you can tell, I would suggest just about any other bike. :)
 

red rulz

Member
Jul 19, 2001
12
0
iv'e had very similar thoughts (pos) my tank is slightly melted,leaks exhaust and just cant keep it going very long. I'm haveing my stator rewired as i write this.
 

fred2

Sponsoring Member
May 10, 2001
282
0
Sorry to hear that you guys had so much trouble with your bikes. I had mine for 10 years and never had any trouble with it. At least until someone ran some straight gas in it. :(
 

kdx175

Member
Sep 7, 2004
104
0
I think its a great bike. Most parts are still availible through kawasaki. Mine has been almose fix-it free for 2 hard seasons. But now that you mention it my brakes get squishy at the mention of water and my exhust leaks but other than that its a fun fix-it free bike.
 
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