My minibike project--KLX140L

Wandell
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Wandell
Edited Date/Time 7/16/2020 10:00am
I thought I'd share what I've been working on lately. As my son began to lose interest in riding last year, I made the decision to sell our 125 MX bikes. But I wasn't ready to quit riding, so I decided to purchase another pit bike that I could ride on our old pit bike track when I felt the urge. However, I'm getting old and felt that I'd be too cramped on a KLX 110. So I decided to go with a bigger mini. I looked at the TTR 125L, CRF 150f and the KLX 140L. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. After searching for a while and seeing nothing by roached out, neglected bikes, I contacted a couple friends and asked them to be on the look out for a decent bike. One friend called back and said he knew a guy that had purchased a brand new KLX 140 and KLX 140L for his girlfriend and son as a Christmas present in 2014. However, neither took an interest in bikes and they were just sitting in his shop after just a couple of rides. Long story short, I purchased the 140L. It still has the mold fleshings on the tires and the warning labels! All I've done so far is install a new battery and pull the snorkel out of the airbox, but I plan to upgrade the suspension with some USD forks from a KX and do some minor power upgrades.





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Wandell
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Wandell 2/29/2016 7:15pm
2/29/2016 7:15pm
I started with a KX85 fork conversion. The KX forks were a direct bolt on. The forks I purchased had the bolt on big bar conversion clamps/bar risers so I used a set of fat bars I already had. I have to finalize the mounting for the choke and the starter/on-off switch.


Wandell
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Wandell 2/29/2016 7:22pm
2/29/2016 7:22pm
Out back, I flipped the KLX linkage over and installed the lower dogbone from a KLX125. I'm glad I pulled everything apart because there was very little grease in the bearings. The combo of flipping the link over and the slightly shorter KLX125 dogbone raised the rear 1 1/4 inches. This matched the front fork conversion, with the forks slid up 3/4 inch in the triple clamps.





RJMX834
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RJMX834 2/29/2016 7:27pm
2/29/2016 7:27pm
Wandell wrote:
Out back, I flipped the KLX linkage over and installed the lower dogbone from a KLX125. I'm glad I pulled everything apart because there was very...
Out back, I flipped the KLX linkage over and installed the lower dogbone from a KLX125. I'm glad I pulled everything apart because there was very little grease in the bearings. The combo of flipping the link over and the slightly shorter KLX125 dogbone raised the rear 1 1/4 inches. This matched the front fork conversion, with the forks slid up 3/4 inch in the triple clamps.





Going to follow this closely. Cool, not so common project. My girlfriend and I just sold her Crf150R. She wants a bike with more tame of a motor and electic start, however she still wants the race bike suspension. This seems right up her alley with the KX suspension swap. Genius! Keep us updated!
Wandell
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Wandell 2/29/2016 7:52pm
2/29/2016 7:52pm Edited Date/Time 2/29/2016 8:07pm
I added some number plate backgrounds and modified a few graphics from previous kits to dress it up a little. I also replaced the funky looking front fender with one from a new KX85/100.








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Wandell
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Wandell 2/29/2016 8:15pm
2/29/2016 8:15pm Edited Date/Time 2/29/2016 8:29pm
A couple more pics.





731chopper
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731chopper 2/29/2016 11:13pm
2/29/2016 11:13pm
Nice. I built one as a pit bike a few years ago with the 85 front end, suspension, exhaust, etc. Somthing that really woke the bike up was a big carb kit but it deletes the airbox and uses a K&N filter
Wandell
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Wandell 3/1/2016 6:35am
3/1/2016 6:35am
What carb did you use? I've read a good bit about people running a carb from a KX65 with good results. I believe that BBR and Engines Only both have a kit that is basically a KX65 carb and the related hardware.
Aceofspades 3/2/2016 8:08am
3/2/2016 8:08am
Those klx 140 s are one of the best looking bikes currently made, in my opinion. You did an awesome job!
1
731chopper
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731chopper 3/2/2016 4:31pm
3/2/2016 4:31pm
Wandell wrote:
What carb did you use? I've read a good bit about people running a carb from a KX65 with good results. I believe that BBR and...
What carb did you use? I've read a good bit about people running a carb from a KX65 with good results. I believe that BBR and Engines Only both have a kit that is basically a KX65 carb and the related hardware.
I have the engines only carb kit in mine.

Here is an old photo of mine not long after I built it.


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Wandell
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Wandell 3/2/2016 7:15pm
3/2/2016 7:15pm
I've got a pic of that bike saved! Unless of course someone else built a RV2 replica 140!
731chopper
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731chopper 3/2/2016 8:23pm
3/2/2016 8:23pm
Hah that's probably my bike then. Magik Custom Graphics are who made those for me and they did a great job.

The KLX140 is such a fun little bike to play around on but boy is it heavy! I have a friend who built one after I did mine. He put a big valve head on his and I think even found a big bore kit for it somewhere (although it wasn't much bigger) but it didn't make that much of a difference. Big carb and full exhaust are the best things to do for power.
Aceofspades 3/3/2016 7:10am
3/3/2016 7:10am
Do the klx140's have 21/18 full size wheels?
Cokeham23
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Cokeham23 3/3/2016 8:09am
3/3/2016 8:09am
731chopper wrote:
Hah that's probably my bike then. Magik Custom Graphics are who made those for me and they did a great job. The KLX140 is such a...
Hah that's probably my bike then. Magik Custom Graphics are who made those for me and they did a great job.

The KLX140 is such a fun little bike to play around on but boy is it heavy! I have a friend who built one after I did mine. He put a big valve head on his and I think even found a big bore kit for it somewhere (although it wasn't much bigger) but it didn't make that much of a difference. Big carb and full exhaust are the best things to do for power.
Yeah, sxparts.com (They are in Indonesia, but very good customer service) is where Blake and I got our BV heads and bore kits. They aren't much bigger than the bore kits here, but what sold us is they come with a new cylinder, so it's a direct bolt on and go, unlike the kits here where you have to get the stock cylinder bored.
Yeah, carb and exhaust are definitely the biggest to-do's.


Aceofspades: No, they have 17/14 (small wheel) and the L (big wheel) has 19/16.
731chopper
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731chopper 3/3/2016 1:58pm
3/3/2016 1:58pm Edited Date/Time 3/3/2016 2:00pm
Cokeham23 wrote:
Yeah, sxparts.com (They are in Indonesia, but very good customer service) is where Blake and I got our BV heads and bore kits. They aren't much...
Yeah, sxparts.com (They are in Indonesia, but very good customer service) is where Blake and I got our BV heads and bore kits. They aren't much bigger than the bore kits here, but what sold us is they come with a new cylinder, so it's a direct bolt on and go, unlike the kits here where you have to get the stock cylinder bored.
Yeah, carb and exhaust are definitely the biggest to-do's.


Aceofspades: No, they have 17/14 (small wheel) and the L (big wheel) has 19/16.
Good to hear from you. You should share a photo of yours for Wandell to see if he hasn't already. It is a pretty trick bike.

Oh and thanks GREEN on the comment about the shop but I must confess that it is no longer that clean or organized.
Falcon
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Falcon 3/4/2016 3:52pm
3/4/2016 3:52pm
Nice job, Wandell. How does the handlebar feel? It looks like you have a big bike bar bend on a mini - in other words, the bars look really low.
jhansen510
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jhansen510 3/4/2016 6:47pm
3/4/2016 6:47pm
Why does the rear fender look so fugly in the later pics?
Wandell
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Wandell 3/5/2016 8:44pm
3/5/2016 8:44pm
Not sure why the rear fender looks weird in some pics. I think it's just camera angle or the way it's sitting on the stand.
The bars are a set of Carmichael bend Pro Tapers that a friend gave me. I used them because the forks/triple clamps I purchased had a set of the bolt-on fat bar adaptors. They feel ok, but I'm gonna buy some taller clamps/risers. The OEM bars were taller, but felt like they were swept too far back. I think the Pro Taper fat bars will be perfect for me once they are sitting slightly taller.
get2bill
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get2bill 7/16/2020 10:00am
7/16/2020 10:00am
Wandell wrote:
I started with a KX85 fork conversion. The KX forks were a direct bolt on. The forks I purchased had the bolt on big bar conversion...
I started with a KX85 fork conversion. The KX forks were a direct bolt on. The forks I purchased had the bolt on big bar conversion clamps/bar risers so I used a set of fat bars I already had. I have to finalize the mounting for the choke and the starter/on-off switch.


When you say direct bolt on, did you swap in the entire front end as one part (triple clamps and all) OR just the tubes into the existing triple trees? Thanks!
Wandell
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Wandell 4/10/2026 12:36pm
4/10/2026 12:36pm
Wandell wrote:
I started with a KX85 fork conversion. The KX forks were a direct bolt on. The forks I purchased had the bolt on big bar conversion...
I started with a KX85 fork conversion. The KX forks were a direct bolt on. The forks I purchased had the bolt on big bar conversion clamps/bar risers so I used a set of fat bars I already had. I have to finalize the mounting for the choke and the starter/on-off switch.


get2bill wrote:
When you say direct bolt on, did you swap in the entire front end as one part (triple clamps and all) OR just the tubes into...
When you say direct bolt on, did you swap in the entire front end as one part (triple clamps and all) OR just the tubes into the existing triple trees? Thanks!

I bolted on the KX tripple clamps and steering stem. all I did was clean and repack the bearingsIused the KX master cylinder and brake hose. the KLX UNITS WILL WORK BUT THE BRAKE HOSE IS A LITTLE SHORT BUT WILL WORK WITH CAREFUL ROUTING. i KNOW BECAUSE i SMALL CRASH ACTUALLY BROKE MY KX MASTER CYLINDER SO I REPLACED IT WITH MY KLX PARTS,

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