Howdy from Houston Texas yall. I have been lurking here for awhile and this is my first post. Although the KLX was always on my mind, I was leaning towards a WR250R but the cost had me thinking twice and I wished a nice used KLX would show up on CL here locally, and one did yesterday. An 09 with 3100 miles on her for $2500. The rest of this is a cut and paste I posted on the ADV site. I figure yall might be the better folks to ask, and a way to introduce myself.

Thanks in advance and Ill be back after checking out the HOTD.

I warned yall about me asking questions and here comes the first round after a little about me. I'm 53 years old, 6'1" and 212# without riding gear. So with riding gear Ill prolly weigh about 240#. I used to race MX, flat track and TT back in the 60s and 70s so I might be considered a tad aggressive for an old dude. My riding will be a mixture ranging from back roads, double track, single track with some trials type riding thrown in. The bike will never see a freeway and will most likely never see 70 mph. So low end grunt is a priority over freeway speeds.


From what I have read, Ill need to do some suspension work and I'm thinking that while I'm at it, I should get it done right and send both ends to Race Tech. Can anyone give me a rough idea on the cost and the spring rates?

When I get the bike I will most likely tear it down to the bare frame and do all the usual maintenance things while learning the bike from the inside out. Besides the suspension work, Ill be doing all the work myself so this is what Im thinking and I hope yall can point me in the right direction.

The way I see it, if I get the 09 for $2500 and was considering a new WR250R at ~$6700 OTD, I have $4200 to play with to make the KLX a better bike than the stock WRR. Of course I don't plan on putting $4200 into the bike. But if yall had $3000 to play with, what mods would you do?

Since I would have the bike torn down anyway having the suspension work done, this is my wish list so far.

Race Tech first.
FMF Power Bomb head pipe.
FMF Q4
D-606's front and rear
351cc big bore kit.
Pumper carb. PLEASE include link and jetting, and anything else needed for this like, would I need a new throttle?
New plastics
Renthal bars


I got this far so far and am definitely open for suggestions.

Or to make it simpler, if you had $3000 to put into your KLX and was my size with similar riding requirements, what would you do?

Thanks in advance.

 

All of the things you list have been done many times right here on this forum, and that's a good list. If you're going to have the suspension work done, I think Moto Pro might be as good as RT. I like RT if you're going to do it yourself and aren't already a suspension expert.

Why the new plastics? Do you mean the whole bike or just some farkles?

On the pumper carb, there are already some pretty good numbers floating around here. For more of a plug-and-play convenience, Bill Blue's setup is the easiest way to go, but others have applied some off-the-shelf adaptations.

 

Thanks. I'm not a suspension expert nor do I have the tools to do the the work, but if I knew what I was doing I could design and make the tools needed to get it done at work. I even have Nitrogen, BUT, I'd rather leave the suspension up to the experts. Moto Pro sounds like an option, thanks.

As far as the new plastics, the current owner said one of the side panels has a scratch on it, not that it matters, but half the fun is turning this into a "Project"! A few years ago I built a 89-92 KDX from the ground up, one Ebay piece at a time and had a blast doing it although it cost me more than I could buy a new bike for. Ill post a pic.

My plan with the KLX is since I have to pull the forks and shock off, I'm going to tear it all the way down to the bare frame. I may have the frame powder coated, I don't know yet, but I would like to build a one of a kind KLX. At this point, I haven't ruled out KX suspension and Ti bolts everywhere to lose some weight!

At this point, I'm not sure what I will do, but I would like to build the most farkled KLX ever done for less than what a KTM 450EXC costs, and less maintenance.

Thanks.

 

If you want the most farkled klx and don't mind getting your hands dirty, you can do it easily for the money you want to spend. My klx is pretty much modded with the exception of e-start with kx suspension pieces and motor mods and the parts could easily be sourced relatively cheaply. Building it is the best part! My brother is currently building a late model kx250 with a kx500 motor for enduro work so I have newer suspension I'd like to try.
Here's my upgrade list:
Stroker 331, fcr or 36mm mik pumper,kx500 forks in emig triple clamps, kx shock shaft, extended swingarm with kx500 adjusters, stroker linkage, team green hot cams, BG race muffler and headpipe, team green porting, klx250 & 300 tank\shrouds, shaved flywheel, black excels, 19" rear wheel, gussetted frame and footpeg mounts, remote hotstart\comp release, shortened kicklever, stroker idler gear and shift star, solid rear rotor, hinson kx125 clutch with kx500 clutch plates.

 

I'd like to see some pics of your bike!

 

It's a klx300 but everything applies to the current klx...here's the picture thread:
https://www.kawasakiforums.com/forum...-21590/page76/