jonooffler
Member
- Jun 10, 2009
- 77
- 0
Hi all as some of you might know I rode a KDX 220 2003 for a year and loved it ,however as with all things it came to an end and I changed it for a WR426 and thought that some of you would like to know how it has worked out ..
Well first off the dealer dropped the bike off at my work and after a walk round and test ride the deal was struck and off he went with my KDX in the back of his van.
5.00 pm came and it was home time I ran out side and kicked the bike over and .... nothing ....kicked it again still nothing , I have riden 4 strokes before but this thing just did not want to go . After about 10 minutes of kicking it coughed and fired up I rode it out of work and then it died , no worries it's at the top of a steep hill I can bump start it, well it was a long hill but still nothing.
I then found that the petrol tank was dry .I walked the bike to the petrol station about 2 miles. It was then I noticed that is does weigh more than the KDX. Once filled up I tried to kick it over but by this time I was spent. After about 10 mins of kicking and lots of advice from the public at the petrol station ( none of it helpful ) it fired up and I managed to ride home.
The following week I gave the bike a full service and booked it in for it's MOT , the morning of the MOT came and the bike once more refused to start. I kicked it for a good 20 mins on what was the hotest day of the year but still nothing. I even rang up the dealer to ask if he still had my KDX, thinking that I could get it back. That night I sat down with youtube and watched all the happy owners start their bikes with one kick and made notes.
I left the bike to sulk all week and rebooked the MOT. The morning of the MOT came and my wife came up with the stupid idea of "reading the manual" just to keep her happy i did, and found that all the time I was down to the right technique .She now fires up cold or hot first kick and dare I say it is faster to start than my old KDX.
Now before you read the next bit please be asured that I loved my KDX 220 and did say that it was the best off road ride I have ever ridden.
So on to the important stuff is the WR426 better that the KDX220 in a word YES . I hate to say it but it is much better . The KDX was very light , which is good in may ways but to my mind the WR tracks much better off road. I have found that I'm riding much faster than I did and that's not down to the power of the 426, the bike feels more stable and feels better planted. I'm taking different lines on trails I have ridden for years. The sort of riding I do is green lane and woods and I would say ( no pun ), the WR is every bit as the good as the KDX ,as a woods bike and in many ways better. The KDX was better in the fact that it was light but the power delivery of the WR makes it smoother to ride . I have found the power on the WR is very mellow down low just where you want it "no nasty shocks" .Once you get over 1/3 throttle it kicks in with a lot of power which just goes on. I have yet to get the shocks set right for me but even now the bike feels more a part of me than the KDX ever did. I hate to say it but I'm very taken with this bike , I know a lot of you guys out there will say yes but if you change the forks over and work on the engine you will get a bike that feels much better , when you look at the cost of doing that it makes the KDX expencive.Swoping over to the WR was a much cheaper option. Ok there are a few down sides the tanks is small 8lt but this makes it better to move around on the bike. It is heavy it's only 20 Kg but if you have to push it you feel every one of them.
The one thing I don't miss is the two stoke cost, every fill up was costing me £7.25 ( $11.00 ) per 5lts of petrol when you add the oil cost .
So there you have it I loved my KDX220 and I'm sure I will one day get another one , but if your looking for a bit more for not much more cash I can recommend the WR426. Looking at the UK prices the WR426 is around the same as a KDX220 if you repipe it and change the forks the KDX is going to be around £400 + higher .
Well first off the dealer dropped the bike off at my work and after a walk round and test ride the deal was struck and off he went with my KDX in the back of his van.
5.00 pm came and it was home time I ran out side and kicked the bike over and .... nothing ....kicked it again still nothing , I have riden 4 strokes before but this thing just did not want to go . After about 10 minutes of kicking it coughed and fired up I rode it out of work and then it died , no worries it's at the top of a steep hill I can bump start it, well it was a long hill but still nothing.
I then found that the petrol tank was dry .I walked the bike to the petrol station about 2 miles. It was then I noticed that is does weigh more than the KDX. Once filled up I tried to kick it over but by this time I was spent. After about 10 mins of kicking and lots of advice from the public at the petrol station ( none of it helpful ) it fired up and I managed to ride home.
The following week I gave the bike a full service and booked it in for it's MOT , the morning of the MOT came and the bike once more refused to start. I kicked it for a good 20 mins on what was the hotest day of the year but still nothing. I even rang up the dealer to ask if he still had my KDX, thinking that I could get it back. That night I sat down with youtube and watched all the happy owners start their bikes with one kick and made notes.
I left the bike to sulk all week and rebooked the MOT. The morning of the MOT came and my wife came up with the stupid idea of "reading the manual" just to keep her happy i did, and found that all the time I was down to the right technique .She now fires up cold or hot first kick and dare I say it is faster to start than my old KDX.
Now before you read the next bit please be asured that I loved my KDX 220 and did say that it was the best off road ride I have ever ridden.
So on to the important stuff is the WR426 better that the KDX220 in a word YES . I hate to say it but it is much better . The KDX was very light , which is good in may ways but to my mind the WR tracks much better off road. I have found that I'm riding much faster than I did and that's not down to the power of the 426, the bike feels more stable and feels better planted. I'm taking different lines on trails I have ridden for years. The sort of riding I do is green lane and woods and I would say ( no pun ), the WR is every bit as the good as the KDX ,as a woods bike and in many ways better. The KDX was better in the fact that it was light but the power delivery of the WR makes it smoother to ride . I have found the power on the WR is very mellow down low just where you want it "no nasty shocks" .Once you get over 1/3 throttle it kicks in with a lot of power which just goes on. I have yet to get the shocks set right for me but even now the bike feels more a part of me than the KDX ever did. I hate to say it but I'm very taken with this bike , I know a lot of you guys out there will say yes but if you change the forks over and work on the engine you will get a bike that feels much better , when you look at the cost of doing that it makes the KDX expencive.Swoping over to the WR was a much cheaper option. Ok there are a few down sides the tanks is small 8lt but this makes it better to move around on the bike. It is heavy it's only 20 Kg but if you have to push it you feel every one of them.
The one thing I don't miss is the two stoke cost, every fill up was costing me £7.25 ( $11.00 ) per 5lts of petrol when you add the oil cost .
So there you have it I loved my KDX220 and I'm sure I will one day get another one , but if your looking for a bit more for not much more cash I can recommend the WR426. Looking at the UK prices the WR426 is around the same as a KDX220 if you repipe it and change the forks the KDX is going to be around £400 + higher .
