Dirt Bike FAQ

The first thing I'd try is to do a google search for the type of bike you're talking about. There's got to be someone out there that carries what you're looking for. If that doesn't help any then I'd agree with the suggestion of ebay.

www.dirtytires.com/forums

I love seeing some of the answers people come up with.
You did not say 250F so there are no valves to adjust, If you forgot to say F then there are valves that require adjusting, but since its a Yam it would have to have a tremendous amount of time on it to see valves out of adjustment.

Two strokes require top end replacement at regular time intervals, not 4 years unless you only ride it twice a year. If you do not ride it hard you should replace the top end as outlined in the manual, You can stretch it out a bit longer.

Lube and adjust the chain every ride it may not need the adjustment but it will need the lube, Clean the air filter after every ride, and use filter oil.

Since fork seals were mentioned 90% of the time a fork seal leaks it has a small piece of grit stuck in it .you can easily clean the seal by using a piece of film and sliding it up in to the seal, do not do this if its not leaking. Seal savers help if you fold them back and clean them out also. Always put your bike on a stand with the weight off the suspension, never leave it sinched down.

Check Tires, Loose bolts, depending on your ability clutches may at some point need replacing. Tires need changing, your terrain has a big part in that. Spark plug etc.
Good Luck hope this helped

Just keep it washed, look it over, and maintain it and it will last for a very long time.

First thing I'd do is a full cleaning, almost taking the bike apart. Its easier to work on something when it's clean. Buy a silencer plug (Pro Grip makes a good one) before washing, keeps water out of the silencer. Before you go out riding, Air pressure (14 lbs) in the tires is good and check the air filter if its dirty (if you see dirt… its dirty). Also Lube the chain w/ a chain lube, NOT WD40 (explanation later) After ride is more important. Clean it again, after washing bike spray the engine, pipe, radiators, plastic, under the fenders, wheels, linkage, swingarm and chain with WD40 (the WD stands for Water Dispersal) then towel off the plastic as best as you can letting the mechanicals dry. After everything is dry, lube the chain (links, not rollers) then spray the engine again w/ WD40 and the plastic and tires and wheels w/ Armorall then wipe it down (it not only makes it look good, but dirt, mud and water come off easier the next time you clean). There should be grease zerks on the KDX so you should probably grease them every other ride or right after you get back from a really muddy/watery ride to blow out any water. Clean air filter every 2 to 3 rides. I would go to your local Kawasaki shop and get a Clymer repair manual for your bike.

http://www.frpoffroad.com/ is probably the best site for KDX products, Jeff Fredette has be racing KDX's for 20+ yrs and should have the parts you would ever want for it.

PS: Never WD40 or Armorall the brakes or seat… you won't like the results

There are a variety of good options for you. I would recommend a 4-stroke for trail riding for the wide powerband, the low end torque allows them to just keep on chugging. Though there are some perfectly capable 2-strokes out there for trails.
For trail riding, I would recommend against a moto-x or "racing" style bike. The gears are too close and the lowest ones are often too high for real technical trail stuff.
Some of the ones I am familiar with (through ownership) are the
WR-250 and the XR-250.
I moved up to the XR-250 from an XR-200 and it is a WORLD of difference. It surprised me greatly, so make sure you start carefully moving up from an 80. The engine is vastly superior, and it can do 3rd gear wheelies without popping the clutch . It's among the best off road machines I've ever ridden, the powerband is perfect. It also has disk brakes on both tires (unlike the 200), which you definitely want.

The racing derived bikes, like the WR (based off the YZ), is basically a racing bike with different gearing and a few trail oriented changes. Usually they keep the same high-output high-compression racing motors, which can be finicky. Some of them even recommend a rebuild after every racing season (or more frequent!), though trail riding doesn't put as much strain on it. The XR has an air cooled engine, which I've noticed can get VERY HOT in the summer when your not able to move very fast for a while. The racing derived bikes tend to be liquid cooled, but are a tad more high-strung. I've had issues with both bikes with hot starting, especially after being dropped (the XR not as bad, but sometimes it can be stubborn). If you get a bike that uses a decompress to help start (WR does, XR has one but doesn't need it), it helps if you can get one with an auto-decompress exhaust cam (greatly eases starting), or electric start (though I personally won't ride a bike that ONLY has an electric start). The WR I believe has come with a decompress standard for quite some time now (and I think electric start now too), but I had to retrofit my older model with the cam. 2-strokes do tend to start easier, I will concede that to them .

Things you want in a trail bike:
tons of low-end torque
disc brakes, front and back
lower, wide ratio, trail gearing
comfortable (enough) seat
probably more I'm forgetting…

almost all bike manufacturer's make a good trail bike around that displacement class. Hit up the bike forums and reviews and see what people have to say about the bikes your looking at.

best of luck on your decision and have a blast!

edit: forgot to mention, if you like the Honda CRF250, check out the CRF250X model, it is the Honda equivalent to the WR, with the different gearing, etc. from the full out racing bike.

Headlight, turn signals, brake lights, horn, mirror.

If your vehicle isn't registered, then you need to register it with your DMV and put on the license plate, and pay registration fees every year.

Your off-road tires may or may not be legal. There's probably a "dual sport" tire in the right size that'd be better for street riding.

Nope that's the price.. it's a chinese bike and they're extremely cheap…. my 200cc cost me just a bit less then 1k delivered, whereas, if i were to say of bought a yamaha, you could easily add another 6k onto that price.

the problem with them is not with the bikes, it's just finding a parts dealer…. if you can find a dealer that sells the parts, you've got no problems (i would help you, but there are like 3,000 diffrent types of chinese bikes… you gotta find a dealer that sells parts for your model, or hope like hell the part you ordered fits right.)

oh yeah, they also come partly disassembled (well most of 'em do anyways) with mine i had to put on the front wheel/fender, the handlebars, put the battery in and hook up the rear suspension… then just put gas in it, played with the idling screw to get it running right and off i went…

if you get the bike, when you get home and get it together if it won't start, or dies immediately don't fret… you need to adjust your idling screw…

careful on the new tires… they love to slip, especially on the street…. you're not on a crotch rocket so don't expect it to handle like one…. cuz if you try and pull off a tight turn right out of the box i garuntee your front wheel is going the opposite dirrection of your back wheel while you go flying off lol… i should know… it happened to me. no one warned ME about new tires.

stick to straight lines as much as possible til your tires get worn in a bit…. also take it easy on the new motor…. i know it's gonna be hard but don't go flooring it, popping wheelies or jumping it til ti's broken in a bit…

More than likely you will have to pre-mix your fuel.
I would say it will be either 50:1 or 30:1 or maybe even 25:1
but you need to check either with a manual, online or whatever your friend has with the bike. It might be marked on the tank!
Did he just replace the piston?
If I were you and you did buy it I would remove you barrel and take it to a reputable motorcycle dealer and have them re-hone the barrel and make sure your piston is new and that it has new rings on it as well.
Once you have done that you need to re-run in your engine with a richer mix of 2 – stroke oil otherwise you may seize your motor. You need to find out the ratio for running in!
Price wise! You need to have a good look at it be prepared to get the engine sorted otherwise you will end up being disappointed with your purchase!

Troy.

They are not better MX bikes. When is the last time KTM won an AMA title. KTM's are more expensive because they use some higher quality components like, better handlebars, tires, brakes, chains, sprockets, etc. KTM is the only one of the big 5 that uses a no-linkage rear suspension. This is a fairly big disadvantage in motocross/supercross. KTM suspension for MX/SX is harder to dial in, needs to be changed more often for varying track conditions and tends to be too "busy" in the rough stuff. It does however work well in the woods. KTM pretty much dominates woods racing because they spend tons of R&D time and money on developing the best woods bike in the world. KTM is known for having a very fast power plant, but it takes more than a fast engine to win at motocross.

I'm not certain if it's the same sort of bike or not, but there is this one:
BMX Bandits (1983)
starring David Argue, John Ley, Nicole Kidman, Angelo D'Angelo, James Lugton, Bryan Marshall
IMDb synopsis:
The plot is very basic: These criminals decide they want to pull off a big robbery and have some elaborate plan all put together. For the plan to work, however, they need police-band radios so they can hear everything the police are doing. These BMX kids find and steal the radios and the criminals want them back. This is the point where the plot just steps out of the way for the real purpose of the movie: exhibiting "rad" BMX stunts (most of which are just jumping off conveniently placed ramps around the city). So, these criminals chase these three kids all over the city, basically destroying their own car in the process, to get these radios back. They chase these kids through a water park, a mall, a soccer field, a warehouse, and a few other locations. This ends up being one of the longest chase scenes in cinematic history.

Also from this era is:
The Dirt Bike Kid (1985)
MTV.com synopsis:
Fourteen-year-old Jack Simmons (Peter Billingsley) takes it on himself to help his friend, Coach Mike (Patrick Collins), save his hot dog and soft drink concession. Mr. Hodgkins (Stuart Pankin) is a greedy, self-serving banker who is determined to raze Mike's hot dog stand and build a new bank on its site. Jack's primary resource in his fight against Mr. Hodgkins is a motorbike that does everything except speak French. With this motorized wonder, which starts itself, Jack tackles a gang of tough bikers and the infamous Mr. Hodgkins, taking him for a ride he will never forget.
NOTE: I couldn't find any details about it, such as if the chase includes a boxcar.

I would probably go with the general concise here and say go with a street bike if thats what you are going to do. But if you insist on getting a dirt bike for the street I would look no farther than the Honda XR series (XR200, XR400, XR600), or Yamaha (TTR225, TTR450) these are very tame bikes, yet if you wnat to do some dirt riding they are a lot of fun to learn on, you will need to buy some dual sport or street tires if you are going to ride street along with some turn signals and license plate. Real confidence builders, and bullet proof they will last a very long time with minimal maintenance. Otherwise Suzuki makes some very good dual-sport bikes. I reccomend checking out Dirt Rider, and Dirt Bike Magazine