You're saying they modify the 08 KX fender, right? I do need the length since we will be doing off roading and I don't really like a mud stripe up my back if I don't have to.

Thanks.

 

I have a DRC set up. It's pretty bomb proof. My battered license plate can attest to that. It is now RTVed to another older, expired plate, after being bent so bad it broke off on a trail ride and I put it in my camelbak. And the only mud stripe I ever got was from roosting someone behind me in a mud puddle(payback is a bitch sometimes), under normal riding conditions I stay pretty clean.
If you are making your own set up, I would bend a plate like the DRC with enough clearance for your light.
That stock fender/light/plate mount just made too much noise for me on the trail, even cut way down.

 

Well, I'm finally digging in after a stinking cold winter....

In digging around I got a rear rotor to match the front, the KX rotor is just too small in diameter and I think it could cause problems pinching in at an angle and don't want to find out if I'm right at an inopportune time (that's a fifty cent word there - inopportune - kinda makes me feel rightly smart). I found a slotted rotor similar to the one on the front. By the way, keep in mind I have a good rotor (not petal cut) I got cheap on ebay (was labeled a rear) should anyone ever need a good deal on a rotor.

I took stuff apart and found a really bizarre situation with the air filter - not much oil on it and a big gobby blob of crud where the air horn hits. I should have looked closer, right? Still, the intake was clean behind there. I pulled the carb and put in a richer pilot and a shim under the needle (just because my brother had one) but I ordered another Dial-A-Jet to compensate for lean jetting and to compensate as I add a pipe and maybe eventually a carb.

I pulled the cam cover to check valve clearance - tight at .005" both intake and exhaust. I plan to re-shim shortly, but have to pull the cams. I figure I'm going to yank the compression release and see if it works without. I may do the Marcelino cam mod, but I want to review the dyno charts to see what the horsepower and torque curve look like on the over rev. That will tell me how easily the engine will over rev if needed.

On a side note after reading about the gasket issues, I bolted the cam cover back on before there was any movement. I popped the cover with the gasket still stuck to the head and put it back. I figure to do this every time to avoid giving the gasket any chance to shrink. Pull the cams, caps, and shims then bolt the cover back on immediately.

An exhaust gasket is waiting for me at the dealership to test the accumulation of parts I have to make up my exhaust - a nondescript aftermarket 300 head pipe and a Pro Circuit slip on tail pipe from a 95 KLX250. If it works, good. If it needs modified a bit, can do.

Fitted up some hand guards - Chinese $15 specials off ebay that are near identical to those Acerbis. Not too bad, took a bit of bending to fit up right, but not much worse than the Acerbis ones on the 650.

A Zeta quick throttle tube is now on the right side.

One more front end change was the speedo wire. I didn't like it hanging out in the breeze, so I popped it loose at the bottom of the guard, unbolted the upper clamp and cut the grommet off (carefully). Then I drilled a few strategic (another fifty center) holes to zip tie the wire close on the bottom of the guard and along the trailing edge of the guard to make it more "snag resistant" than the old set up.

I'm in a quandary (another fifty center, I'm up to a buck and a half!) about the air injection set up. It doesn't add any power with it there or not and weight is negligible. I read a comment that made me think and wonder. Removing the air injector cooled the exhaust, which set my thought process off. Higher exhaust temperature keeps exhaust velocity higher (main purpose of heat wraps and ceramic coatings), makes me wonder if the addition of the air (under the vacuum draw since it does use a reed valve) to burn unburned gasses might help keep exhaust temps up and velocity higher. Sure, probably infinitesimal (up to $2 now) but if nothing else for a few ounces I cut some pollution an infinitesimal amount - but some none the less. Any thoughts?

So, work is moving forward to be ready to go play in a bit. Tonight, I'm hoping to do the vent hole in the air box and then reinstall the carb. Plus pull the cams and shims.

 

Must not be anyone with answers to the questions I had. Makes me wonder if anyone ever verified performance changes of any sort, not just power, with the breather hole mod and some others.

Back to it. I pulled cams and am shimming to upper middle clearance, they were tight. I posted some shots of how I locked out my KACR with some hanger wire to avoid having to press it out and to avoid having the shoes flopping around at all.

One more thing that made sense to me. The 09 and up have an electronic speedo. Apparently Kawasaki saw fit to let the wire flop in the breeze down along the fork protector. Didn't make sense to me. So I did something about it with a drill and zip-ties.



As you see, I zip tied it over across the protector and then up the back edge of the protector using a couple of small zip-ties. I may make a small aluminum shield to further avoid snagging anything in that wire. It appears the wiring is an integral part of the speedo drive and I'm betting it ain't cheap to replace if the wiring gets yanked out by a fair sized stick. So I'm not taking the risk.

I tried running it behind the lower part of the protector, but it looked like the wire might get fouled by the slider when the fork might bottom, so I put it external.

Now to get those shims in. At least I only needed two. Switching a few around took care of the intakes, now to get the exhausts done. I am getting a tad itchy to ride this thing. I ordered a throttle open cable to get rid of the one with the broken wire in it and a clutch cable just because... it never hurts to have one laying around.

 

Alright Mark...I'm heading to Utah next Tuesday. Load that POS up and meet me out there instead of putzing with that KLX from here to eternity.

 

As to the air injection system, I did the cheap cut the hose and RTV a bolt into it with a clamp on it for good measure. The reason was when it was bone stock, I rode it at night on the freeway WOT and the header was glowing...did it again after the cheap mod (Bill Blue sells a plate for $8, I think) and it was better and no change in performance.
I've since drilled the A/F screw cover off and opened it up to 2 1/2 and no glowing.
Been thinking about seeing if Four Stroke Works is still making KLX300 headers.

 

nice bike. And nice color

rarely seen in orange.

.

 

I'll play...

Many of us find the stock pilot jet is the correct size and backing out the fuel screw a little is enough. I tried a larger pilot and it was overly rich. The local dealer (a decent one, Carls Cycles) did a "power up" kit to my buddy's KLX300. Part of that kit was a smaller pilot jet (a 32 or 33 if I recall correctly, and his stocker is a 35 also). Supposed to make it snappier at low rpm. Note we ride 2500 ft and up.

On air injection, it certainly makes sense that adding air and burning the unburnt will increase exhaust temperature and velocity. But then why do we put larger diameter, less restrictive exhaust header systems on? Won't they decrease velocity? The largest benefit has to be in pollution control.

Don't know what to say about the crank breather mod other than folks like TNC who've tried it say little if any noticeable difference. It's not like the KLR (or maybe KLX650) that reportedly benefits from the mod. I went overboard with a separate breather hose and little filter for lots of breathing room. Wish I hadn't because it's kind of a pain and I just need to drill out the plug glued into the air box port and put back to stock location with perhaps a little larger breather hole.

You do have me curious with the power jet add-on. It would be interesting to try it with the TM36-68 carb, but I doubt I'll get there.

 

Be honest about it. You had your bike apart for a while before haven't you?

Besides, I've done a couple hundred tensioners in the past four months, most in the past two. So part of my chore is helping others in saving all those clanking rattling bikes. It's all priorities... that and having the garage warm enough to work. Of course you, in Tejas, don' gotta worry 'bout that, nor does my brother in his heated garage. So... GET OFF MY BACK!

 

Idridr, first, thanks for playing.

I know we put on larger pipes, but I'm kind of even questioning that to an extent after some reading about headers and exhausts in various hot rod and muscle car magazines. I'm wondering if keeping the injector to keep some heat in there could actually increase overall flow with the larger pipe, by keeping the velocity up higher, making up for the increased diameter. I do like a good aftermarket head pipe because 9 times out of 10 they are mandrel bent where the stock head pipe is not. The curves neck down even smaller.

Maybe I'm over-thinking it or just trying to avoid extra work. It isn't easy getting to the breather tube hole on the air box with the exhaust on the bike and it isn't a big deal to plug all the hoses back in for the pollution equipment. That's part of my questioning about some of the things being done. If there's no gain why bother?

I will re-emphasize the Dial-A-Jet being functional to supplement the lean jetting on the OEM carb and on a flat slide too. It will be on my bike as it has on the 650 as long as I own them and the carbs will be essentially untouched.