KX85 Owner Tips & Tricks

Tom711
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11/13/2017 6:28am
So after going back and fourth about whether to stay 65 or move up next year my son has decided he wants to move up and wants a Kawasaki. Mostly because it fits him the best, the ktm and husky being quite a bit taller.
So my question for any current and/or previous owners, is there anything I should be changing and what are the best aftermarket tune up parts?
We’ll be buying new so the bike will be completely standard when he gets it. Even just sitting on one in the shop he said the bars feel slightly odd so that will be the first thing changed.
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kzizok
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11/13/2017 8:46am Edited Date/Time 11/13/2017 8:49am
We had them for quite some time and there are a few things. I got to where I would send the cylinder off immediately to millennium for a "re-Nikasil" job. The OEM will flake, in my experience, it isn't a matter of "if", but "when".

Be diligent about the air box/filter cleaning as the design isn't very good as it lends itself to gravity bringing dirt into the carb/motor. Having kept up with that, they were bulletproof for us, for many years (both the 85's and 100's), and lacked nothing in performance (at a national level).

Most aftermarket stuff is placebo effect (for all of MX) so get the clickers set, spring it to weight, and let it rip. An aftermarket silencer is usually easier to maintain. Bars, grips, levers to liking. I had very good luck with DT1 filters and Mika stuff.
Tom711
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11/13/2017 9:21am
Thanks kzizok. How did you find the standard forks without rebound adjustment? I presume someone makes internals which allow rebound and comp adjustment.
I’m in the uk and the Kawasaki is £1000 cheaper than the ktm and £1100 cheaper than the Husqvarna so leaves me some extra for the suspension sorting if needed.
Tracktor
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11/13/2017 10:16am
Tom711 wrote:
Thanks kzizok. How did you find the standard forks without rebound adjustment? I presume someone makes internals which allow rebound and comp adjustment. I’m in the...
Thanks kzizok. How did you find the standard forks without rebound adjustment? I presume someone makes internals which allow rebound and comp adjustment.
I’m in the uk and the Kawasaki is £1000 cheaper than the ktm and £1100 cheaper than the Husqvarna so leaves me some extra for the suspension sorting if needed.
We tried the KX's when my kid first moved to 85's & I help a buddy maintain his. My kid ended up never being able to feel comfortable on them and I hate working on them so we switched to KTM's. Here is what I have learned though-

We put YZ internals in the forks to update them and get rebound. It did make a difference but there was some issues we had to sort out since the YZ forks are longer. We used YZ uppers & internals with the KX lowers if I remember correctly. We ended up going back to stock and selling the bike.

The KX cylinder has more casting flaws in the ports than you can believe. Especially the intakes. A bit of time with a grinder goes a long ways.

Have an extra OEM crank on hand if your kid is fast (same with any 85, imo). Haven't seen any cylinder plating flake but all the bikes I work on are less than a year old.

Good, solid bikes we just preferred the KTM......or Yamaha if they do update the 85 for 2019.........
kzizok
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11/13/2017 1:48pm Edited Date/Time 11/13/2017 1:53pm
Tom711 wrote:
Thanks kzizok. How did you find the standard forks without rebound adjustment? I presume someone makes internals which allow rebound and comp adjustment. I’m in the...
Thanks kzizok. How did you find the standard forks without rebound adjustment? I presume someone makes internals which allow rebound and comp adjustment.
I’m in the uk and the Kawasaki is £1000 cheaper than the ktm and £1100 cheaper than the Husqvarna so leaves me some extra for the suspension sorting if needed.
We got along with the forks fine. But, I do know quite a few that did what Traktor mentioned above with YZ85 forks. Personally, I liked the YZ 85 better, but my son hated it and was more comfortable on the KX's and they turned out very well for us.

Maybe try it out, adjusting with the stock suspension and ask him what he is feeling without any leading questions. In other words, let him explain with his own words w/o being privy to the KX rebound limitation (reducing predetermined bias).


Oh, and to add to what Traktor said, I think part of the casting flaws are what precepitate flaking. My experience was OEM cranks were the best way to go, too.

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