What is this bike......220 or 200?

[dwiggins]

Was sold to me as a 220. The cylinder says .198L. My 220 cylinder says .218L. Ok it's a 200. Here's the I'D #. JKADXNH19VA020718. He's convinced it's a 220. I don't see any # on the carb to tell me if it is a 35. I know the kdx rattles and bangs but it sounds to me like the piston is hitting the head. I'm going to tear it down and see later this week. On another note, I've owned 4 220s and none had the air box lid on them when I got them. This one just lacked power so I was thinking jetting/plug/low compression/broken reeds. Nope. 160ish on the compression. Took the lid off, and took it for a spin. Holy crap!! Went from bogging when I hit it to wheelies in 2nd and 3rd! Had no Idea the lid made that much of a difference.

 

[dirt bike dave]

According to www.buykawsaki.com that VIN is for a '97 KDX200.

The noise could be a noisy KIPS valve. If it has been running super rich with the air box lid on all these years, the KIPS could be pretty gummed up.

 

[reepicheep]

It might have been bored out to a 220 or 225.

 

[dwiggins]

I hope it is the KIPS! I'll find out soon enough!

 

[sr5bidder]

alot of folks sell a 200 as a 220 thinking it will sell faster, it happened to me but in the long run I am glad I have a 200.

It is a good idea to pull it apart and see what the internals are doing and the condition, most times you will only need a base gasket

 

[reepicheep]

Having done a deep dive into both the 200 and the 220, I would pretty much not care which I got. Both would get the Eric Gore nickisil 225 kit as soon as they fried their stock bore. The 220 has a smaller carb... many people believe this gives worse performance than the bigger carb on the 200. My experience with both bikes suggest this is wrong, the 220 small carb is actually better sized for the bike and will make better power. That being said, the 220 is a *little* harder to jet to be easy to start and run great. And the 220 has less flexibility in pipe selection. And the stock 220 piston seems to be a bit more grenade prone. So the 200 is actually probably a bit better starting point, the 220 is a bit better out of the box, and if faced with buying one or the other I'd buy the one in the best shape.

(Not that anyone asked for my opinion.... :) )

 

[dwiggins]

Wasn't the KIPS. The KIPS was completely stuck. Had to tear it all apart and clean. Shaft would not rotate even at WOT. Fixed that and put it all back together. Same knocking. Piston was worn. Needle bearing seemed sloppy. Plan on getting the new wiesco top end kit on ebay for about $140. Just wanted to put it back together to see if it was the kips. I've had a 220 blow the piston through the case so looks like this one sits for awhile.