The History of Kawasaki's KDX175/KDX200 1980-2006

tblazier
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tblazier
Edited Date/Time 3/3/2020 7:11pm
If you love Kawasaki's fun little Enduro machines as much as I do you should check out my look back at the history of the 200-class KDXs from their inception in 1980 through their retirement in 2006.

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MOTO1313
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MOTO1313 3/3/2020 9:12am
3/3/2020 9:12am
I had a 1979 KDX 175. I still think that bike was the most awesome and sickest bike I ever owned.
dean122
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dean122 3/3/2020 10:41am
3/3/2020 10:41am
Great video! My heart is near and dear to the KDX200. I'll have to throw up a pic of my old 2004 in this thread when I get home. Awesome little trail bike.
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tblazier
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tblazier 3/3/2020 1:26pm
3/3/2020 1:26pm
ATKpilot99 wrote:
I watched that the other day . Great work.
Thank you I appreciate the kind words.

The Shop

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Hman144
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Hman144 3/3/2020 2:33pm
3/3/2020 2:33pm
Thanks Tony, that was great.

My first "real" bike was a 1980 KDX 175. Experienced my first seize/rebuild with her. Broke my heart at the time. What a great bike, even though the bearings in that Uni-Trak were my worst nightmare. Especially that center bushing in the rocker arm. Who thought that was a good idea?

I rode that thing into the ground! Had it apart and back together dozens of times. I broke the frame backbone at the seat-tank juncture. Learned so much from my time with that machine. Found a basket case a couple years ago and have been piecing it back together. Nostalgia is a cruel mistress.

My son still has a nice '03 in the garage. I like to take that puppy out for a spin once in a while.

Oh-Moto1313- You might have had one in '79, but it was an '80. First year.
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Bigfoot
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Bigfoot 3/3/2020 6:21pm
3/3/2020 6:21pm Edited Date/Time 3/4/2020 6:41am
In 2018 I spent a few months going through my low-hour, barn-find 1986 KDX200. The bike had its original tires -- which of course, were cracked dried out.



I took it almost all the way down, touched up the frame paint, used high temp engine paint on the engine and pipe, regreased all of the suspension pivots, changed the fork oil and gave it all a thorough cleaning. A few fasteners were rounded and all were slightly oxidized, so when I realized that a fastener kit is only about 30 bucks, I got one and replaced most of the nuts and bolts.

Then came the other new stuff....

New Oversized Foot Pegs
New Wiseco piston & rings on the clean standard bore.
New Dunlop tires and new tubes, front, and rear.
New Fork Boots.
New Seat Cover.
New Rear Brake Shoes (whoever had this before evidently never noticed that there's a front brake!).
New Boyesen Reeds.
New FMF Spark Arrestor/Silencer. (lost several pounds there).
New Tail Light.
New Clutch Plates
New Fredette Chain Guide
New Honda CR Front Brake Lever.
Used (but nice) KX125 Kickstarter (aluminum instead of the KDX steel model)

And finally, a Tusk Enduro Kit. My classic scoot has turn-signals, horn, brake light, and a battery...and thanks to the lenient policies of the Utah DMV, the final piece of the puzzle -- a license plate! Yup, when I get tired of the 1000 acres of BLM land behind my house can head up the highway a bit to access a few more thousand acres of BLM land.
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tblazier
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tblazier 3/3/2020 7:11pm
3/3/2020 7:11pm
Bigfoot wrote:
In 2018 I spent a few months going through my low-hour, barn-find 1986 KDX200. The bike had its original tires -- which of course, were cracked...
In 2018 I spent a few months going through my low-hour, barn-find 1986 KDX200. The bike had its original tires -- which of course, were cracked dried out.



I took it almost all the way down, touched up the frame paint, used high temp engine paint on the engine and pipe, regreased all of the suspension pivots, changed the fork oil and gave it all a thorough cleaning. A few fasteners were rounded and all were slightly oxidized, so when I realized that a fastener kit is only about 30 bucks, I got one and replaced most of the nuts and bolts.

Then came the other new stuff....

New Oversized Foot Pegs
New Wiseco piston & rings on the clean standard bore.
New Dunlop tires and new tubes, front, and rear.
New Fork Boots.
New Seat Cover.
New Rear Brake Shoes (whoever had this before evidently never noticed that there's a front brake!).
New Boyesen Reeds.
New FMF Spark Arrestor/Silencer. (lost several pounds there).
New Tail Light.
New Clutch Plates
New Fredette Chain Guide
New Honda CR Front Brake Lever.
Used (but nice) KX125 Kickstarter (aluminum instead of the KDX steel model)

And finally, a Tusk Enduro Kit. My classic scoot has turn-signals, horn, brake light, and a battery...and thanks to the lenient policies of the Utah DMV, the final piece of the puzzle -- a license plate! Yup, when I get tired of the 1000 acres of BLM land behind my house can head up the highway a bit to access a few more thousand acres of BLM land.
That is a beauty!

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