New Guy With KDX 220

[Kevin D]

Hi my name is Kevin. I am new to this board so I have alot of Questions for you experienced KDX riders. I just bought a 98 model KDX 220. The bike seems to be in good shape. I did a compression check and it reads 140 Psi, acourding to my manual this is good. I am going to be changing the transmission oil and was wondering what weight and brand of oil to use. The previous owner said he used gear oil 75/80 wt. But my manual says 10-30 or 10-40. I also want to replace the Air filter. Is there an after market filter for this bike or should I stick with the Stock?
Thanks in advance, Kevin

 

[destructo]

Congrats, sweet bike I love mine, I have a UNI filter, I run them on all of my bikes, it is a two stage foam filter and you can take the two layers apart and clean them really easily, they last forever, way better quality than stock, my stocker had started spliting. I run Castrol Activa 20w 50 part synthetic oil very good stuff. Do you know if the stock piston has been swapped out? If not I highly recommend changing over to a forged Wiseco. Piston skirts have been known to snap off destroying the motor on some of the 220's, 140 bucks with a topend gasket kit shipped. I rebuilt mine just for safety sake and piece of mind and feels like it makes a little better power to boot. :cool:

 

[glad2ride]

140 psi is good, but not great.

If it hasn't already been done, you may want to look into changing from the stock piston to a Wiseco piston. For some reason, the stock 220 pistons have craked on a few people, causing major engine damage.

Gear oil is measured differently than motor oil. 80 weight gear oil is about the same as 10w-40.

Uni, Twin Air, No Toil and others make aftermarket air filters for it.

I suggest you clean and lubricate the swingarm, steering and linkage bearings.

 

[Kevin D]

Thanks, I just bought a Uni air filter from Ebay. I have been reading alot about the piston problems, I need to check to see what kind of piston the bike has. There are some mods made on the bike. The air box has been modified and an after market pipe installed.
Thanks, Kevin

 

[Perk]

If you are unsure of the pistons history or it's origin, I would back everyone else up by advising you to swap out to a new Wiseco. Cheap insurance and if taken care of, will last you a long long time on the bike.