99-02 Kawis

RC was running the 98 frame, the later ones had too much gusseting. Listen to the Norm Bigelow episode of the Whiskey Throttle show.

I'll start by saying I'm a Kawi guy who only owns a Yamaha 'cause the green crew hasn't figured out how to get the new 2T's to the dealers.  That said I love those bikes.  I raced a '99 with our local vintage group for about 4 years and just had a blast with the thing.  The handling is greatly effected by the suspension setup and I'd strongly recommend doing the Racetech gold valve thing on both ends, it dramatically improves the bike.  Mine was set up that way, sprung for my weight, an FMF fatty and standard muffler, reeds and an oversize front disk, and I never felt like I was down on power to comparable year bikes.

May not be relevant for your case but the "89 and up 500's benefitted from the shorter pull rods/lower links.

If they use the AOSS forks, the I'd agree wholeheartedly. The AOSS had too small of ports in the valves. I machined then out bigger which made a huge difference.

I liked that era of chassis a lot, they were definitely more of a stable platform that liked to be rear steered, on throttle. Not for everyone but they were very effective. 

The 250 engine ran nice, had a strong bark but not much overrev. It had longevity issues compared to YZ and CR, to put it mildly. 

Out of that generation I had a 99 KX250 and and later an 02 KX250. Like you said, didn't turn all that well, never felt the front end was planted. I had a couple of buddies with 01 -02 CR250s and always thought they handled better (huge improvement over the absolute dog shit 98-99 CR250) 😄

Motors were decent, never really had any complaints for my ability. 

Ergos, for that time felt better to me than the previous 94-98 chassis.

Would be a cool retro build. I say go for it!

I had a ‘00, two ‘01, and an ‘02 (all KX125’s). They were very stable and predictable. They were slower, but a 144 kit is a really fun upgrade for any of the KX125 motors.

Probably my favorite generation of the Kawi 2 strokes. Would love to do a 125 build one of these years.

I think sometimes people get too hung-up on what the magazine reviews say about bikes.

I race a 99 KX250 with stock suspension setup for my weight only and it handles really well. No issues with handling or ‘difficult to turn’.

99-02 kx250 was the most fun ive ever had on a dirt bike. I had a 00' that stands out in my mind every time i think about dirt bikes. I can say that was my favorite dirt bike.

I had a 2000 KX250 and at the time I liked it, but a couple of my buddies got 2001 CR250's and the Honda's turned way better and had a stronger motor. They put the 2000 CR250 Keihin carb on the 2001's with a pipe, silencer, and v-force reed block and they ran really good. That combo was one of the best 250 2 stroke motors I've ridden. 

I rode an 02 recently. Really surprised how much bottom end bark the motor had. Great handling chassis, typical Kawi stability. For me, I tend to corner better on a chassis that is more “stable” because I can push it more and trust it to do what I want. 

Plenty of decent 99-02s to be had for ~$1500. Good deals. Parts availability is fair? Don’t know, haven’t looked. 

Totally agree with this. 

That was the key to that chassis, back it in and steer it out with the throttle. Trying to steer it with the front wheel and making mods that would normally help a bike steer just made it slower. It was pretty effective if you left the bars in a rearward position, opened the rebound on the fork a bit farther than you normally would, sat on the back of the seat and just steered for something to bank off of coming out of corners. 

The 01-02 had the bladder fork which helped hold the front end up in the travel but was never comfortable. Hard to say what you will find if the suspension has been worked on. 

I had the 99 250 back in 99-01 in the B class.  I remember really liking the power, it was strong but usable. Pretty linear for a 2T. I don't remember liking or disliking the suspension, so that tells me it must have suited me pretty well.

A couple years ago I rode a friend's 01, I still liked the bike. His had a pipe and some gearing changes and was more barky, but I also only got to ride it on a slick dusty track so not the best scenario for that power. The suspension was harsh, but who knows what had been done to it or if it had been resprung. 

One think I liked about those as well as the previous 94-98 gen was the layout. It has aged well, relatively flat and easy to adapt to if you are jumping off a modern bike. Overall I think it's a great platform for a build and you will also be able to enjoy it on a modern track.

down one size on main jet, up one tooth on rear sprocket, suspension sprung and valved for you and enjoy.  i beat the crap out of my 250 and it begs for more. 

I believe the 99 KX250 won MXAs shootout as the best bike. Not sure about the 01-02s. The thing about the frames is (imo) they are designed to straighten out quick if they’re jolted by bumps. Like getting too sideways off a jump - thebike immediately straightens out upon landing. Similarly if the bike is cornering in bumps or a high speed corner, the frame keeps it planted and straight. Not the sharpest turn-on-a-dime chassis but loaded with stability - I’ve had a 95 125, and a 99 250 (briefly).

Pretty good article on Ricky’s ‘02 KX: https://motocrossactionmag.com/the-bike-that-ended-the-reign-of-the-kin…

I had a 98, 99, 00, and 01. The 98 was (in my opinion) the best stock bike I’ve ever ridden. I didn’t like the 99/00 as much although the difference was very minor (mostly how the engine ran as I recall). I loved my 01 as well, although I did more to it than my 98 (pipe, fork springs, a few other things). 

I would have never ridden KX’s but for the 98. After Honda’s giant POS in 97, we were switching to YZs. My new 98 YZ250 was a couple weeks out, and I rode my buddy’s brand-new 98 KX. I made it one lap, rode over to dad, and said “we need to cancel the YZs and get these instead.” He said “Bullshit-we have the YZs on order, we already have parts for them.” I handed the bike to him and said “ride it.”

He came in a lap later and said “call the shop (they sold Kawi too) and tell them we want KXs instead.” 😂

I had an '02 KX250 and rode and raced it for 4 years. Even raced the amateur nationals at the now closed Lake Whitney.

Other than a one time issue with shifting and replacing shift forks, the bike was flawless on reliability. I too, had Racetech valves and springs and it cornered decent. What I liked most of that bike was the low and mid range usable power that motor put out. It wasn't a screamer up top, and I ran FMF Gold Series Gnarly, and shorty silencer. But the low and especially mid power was terrific and better than the 05-07 KX250's that came after.

i couldnt agree more about the motor. i raced mine in the woods, the low to mid from that engine made such a fun bike to ride

I liked that frame the best too 94-98. And the 98 is what they used for RCs bike.

Still racing my 98🤙🏼 super fun bike even by today’s standards.

I also had a 97,99, and 01

My 2000 benefitted greatly from an upper clamp with solid bar mounts, helped the steering precision immensely,  cr style braided front brake line, pro circuit works pipe for more overrev, frame got alot better after 100 hours, it finally had some flex was my theory. Broke 3rd gear. Use to outdrag my buddy's healthy 96 cr250 if I religiously short shifted it. Second and third piston were the magic place for the cylinder, as it wore some the ovverev came around but still had that unstallable grunt feeling, never a bog. 

My 99' 125