Reviving 1982 KDX 175

[EBOD]

I have an old 1982 KDX 175 (mine since new) that I want to revive so I can ride with my son (I'll let him use my '02 220 and I'll use the old one). It's in pretty good shape but the fork seals are bad.

I'm not great at DIY, so I'll need a shop to fix it up. My questions are: (i) how much should it cost (in $ or hours/parts) for a shop to re-do the seals; (ii) are there any reasonably-priced upgrades that I should be doing while I'm spending money on the forks; and (iii) and if there are such upgrades, what are the best sources and how much do they cost?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[dirt bike dave]

Good for you rebuilding the old KDX. I wish I still had my '84 200.

Where are you located?

Since it is so expensive to ship forks off for service and you are not doing it yourself, you will probably want a reputable local dealer, repair shop or suspension expert to do the work.

Perfomance wise, the weak links on the old KDXs were the forks and the brakes. Not much you can do with the stock brakes. A swap to an '86 - '88 front end would help alot and get you a disc brake.

As for cheap fork fixes, Kawi usually made the fork springs too soft and did not add enough fork oil. You can cut a few coils off your stock springs and put in enough oil so that the level is about 4" from the top with the springs out and the forks compressed. This will help a bunch.

Adding Race Tech Cartridge Fork Emulators with the stiffer springs would make a big improvement, and if there is a Race Tech authorized shop in your area, they could give you a quote. Probably will cost alot, but would make an improvement.

 

[EBOD]

Thanks for the reply/information.

I live in Los Angeles, CA. Any recommendations as to good shops that are nearby would be appreciated. Bonus point for close to West LA.

I'll check around on the race tech site to look into the cartridge fork emulators.

 

[bajus22]

As for cheap fork fixes, Kawi usually made the fork springs too soft and did not add enough fork oil. You can cut a few coils off your stock springs and put in enough oil so that the level is about 4" from the top with the springs out and the forks compressed. This will help a bunch.

I've always wondered, how does cutting off a few coils stiffen the springs. I figure thats the last thing you'd ever want to do to a set of springs. Wouldn't that also significantly change the pre-load? I also have an old KDX175 that I'd like to improve a little.