New KDX owner -- newbie questions

crazybrit

Member
Feb 19, 2006
63
0
Howdy. Just bought myself my first dedicated dirt bike yesterday, a 1998 KDX220 in v.good condition. I'm 38 and have been riding on road (and dual sport) for a long time.

I narrowly missed out on a couple of super nice ones with lots of extras but this one is pretty much stock which is probably good for my beginning status.

The one thing that is broken on it is the rear brake caliper shield (white plastic). It's broken in multiple places and probably beyond epoxying. I saw a few a/m aluminium ones when Googling, is there one in particular thats recommended (and cheap :-)?

Also, I saw that the JCV disc guard is no longer (home) made. Is there a reasonably priced solution to protecting the front and rear brake disks? They seem fairly flimsy. I'm a bit worried about pulling a bonehead and damaging them but I guess it all depends on the cost of replacement vs cost of the protectors (and weight).

Finally, I need to go order copies of the manual and supplement from the dealer unless anyone has a spare used copy for sale??. I saw people selling CDs on **** (a bit lame). I guess from this there is a pdf/electronic copy knocking around which would be useful for desk/pc reference.

Any other tips/suggestions for a new rider welcomed. I gave the bike a very good checking over and it was adult owned by a decent guy.

Thanks

Tony
 
Jan 16, 2005
145
0
Congrats on the new bike. Have a blast and be safe, you should make a smooth transition if you have a dual-sport too...As far as disc guards go, for the front you can go with plastic (mx style) or aluminum. I have the aluminum one made by Devol ($50). It has a hell of a ding in it, and everytime I see it I'm glad I went with the aluminum. That would have thrashed my rotor for sure.

For the rear they range from $45-110 approx.. My only suggestion there would be to buy one that you need to slide the rear axle through to mount. Impact is transfered to the frame and axle providing much more support vs. a bolt-on only. I run the Scotts shark fin, it's strong and blingy.. :laugh:

Cant' help you with the rear brake guard, that little white cage is pretty pathetic for sure.
 

Ryan12833

Member
Mar 4, 2006
198
0
i never hit my caliper. If it comes with a plastic guard it really cant need to much protection or it would have come stock with a metal one.
 

crazybrit

Member
Feb 19, 2006
63
0
Ryan12833 said:
i never hit my caliper. If it comes with a plastic guard it really cant need to much protection or it would have come stock with a metal one.

I'm not massively worried about the caliper, agree, it seems hard to hit. It's just falling apart (broke in 5 places), may as well either remove or replace it.

I'm more concerned with the discs and the radiators since I expect I'll be falling over a fair bit :(

The Devol front disk guard ($57) looks good. The rear is only $36 according to their website pricelist but it only seems to cover the bottom of the disk. Not sure if there is a better alternative for the rear.

Radiator wise, I'd prefer a brace (side impact) over a guard, but the Devol guards claim to provide some side impact protection. It is a light bike.

Who else makes guards (disk or rad) worth checking out?

Now I just need to find all 3 used or on e-Bay :)

Tony
 

JasonRan

Member
Jun 6, 2005
197
0
I have an aluimnum guard over my rear caliper...identical to the stock one but aluminum. It looks great and works well. It was on the bike when I got it and has no identfying marks on it. But, it lets us know that someone does (or did) make them. Good luck...you will love the bike!
 

crazybrit

Member
Feb 19, 2006
63
0
JasonRan said:
I have an aluimnum guard over my rear caliper...identical to the stock one but aluminum. It looks great and works well. It was on the bike when I got it and has no identfying marks on it. But, it lets us know that someone does (or did) make them. Good luck...you will love the bike!

Works Performance makes one.
http://www.worksconnection.com/store/product.html?prod_id=517

It's not clear to me if the Scott's Performance SharkFin (rear disc protector) provides rear caliper protection, i.e you have to remove the stock plastic caliper protector. If it does, it's makes the $$$ cost of the SharkFin a bit more paletable.
 

JST122

Member
Dec 29, 2005
645
0
You can order a regular owners manual right off the Kawasaki website, I posted the direct link below. Keep in mind it is not an in depth service manual but rather the owners manual that comes with the bike. But for routine maintenance it will have the information you need. If you plan on doing a lot of maintenance yourself amd more complicated jobs then you will probably want to get yourself a service manual as well, and those can be ordered through your local dealer.

http://www.kawasaki.com/Default.asp...VIChooseVehicle.asp&intCatalogID=2&intParts=0
 

canyncarvr

~SPONSOR~
Oct 14, 1999
4,005
0
Re: Any other tips/suggestions for a new rider welcomed.

Perform all scheduled maintenance immediately.

Go to CDaves' site (linked in the 'Every KDX rider should read....' post stickied to the top of this forum)..'tech tips' 'new bike prep'.

Chances of it having been done properly in the beginning are slim to none.

Read on the same site some basic jetting info.

Have fun!
 

crazybrit

Member
Feb 19, 2006
63
0
canyncarvr, thanks, will do. I just finished repacking all the bearings (steering/swingarm) on my KLR so I guess no rest for the wicked. If the KDX is anything like the KLR, Kawi doesn't own a grease gun.

Wish CDaves site worked correctly with Firefox. White text on a white background isn't that useful, oh well, cut and paste works.
 
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