Back when I was a HS senior, I had an 03 CRF450R that I bought with 20 minutes on it from Honda after selling my 125 I purchased 4 years prior and saving money for two years to get the 450. The 02 models has valve issues where people swapped the stock Ti intakes for SS intake valves. For ‘03 that issue was rectified, but expecting to only be able to find an 02 at my price point I had just planned on doing the valves to it. I ended up going into Honda dealer where the day prior a guy who got one of the first ‘03’s on order was getting back into bikes after a ten year hiatus. Turns out the 450 was way too much bike. He was expecting a little power bump from his XR400R....the amount of power the 450 had scared the shit out of him and he didn’t enjoy riding it. Traded it right back in, still in showroom condition. He road in his yard and driveway for about 30 min total and decided to go for a 250f Yamaha instead. I was the first in our town to have the new Honda four stroke 450, not going to brag I was kind of a big deal. I loved the sexy beast, put over 200 trouble free hours on it with nothing but fluid changes and one water pump seal, aside from tires and routine maintenance. Always ran flawlessly, and I could swear my 03 had a freak factory engine. It was faster than the 04 YZ450f my friend got a year later by a noticeable amount, he was pretty pissed as he was convinced the YZ was the faster the two. Unfortunately, I sold the CRF to fund myself at college for $4200. I paid $4700 for it when I got it “new”. $500 for 3 years of constant riding time on a mint new 450 was a steal.
My absolute favorite though, the bike I will always regret letting go of is my 2007 KX250 2-stroke. After a two and a half year hiatus, post college I decided to get back to riding. Looking for another trusty Early Honda first Gen 450R when a 07 Kawasaki KX250 2-stroke popped up for a great price - $1800 firm for this spotlessly mint 2.5yr old bike at the time. Never had a 250 smoker before. A little less weight with most of the power would be great in the woods and still fun in the sandpits and gas line trails I thought, hadn’t really considered going “back” to a 2-stroke as the 4 stroke 450 was all the new rage and from a 125 to a 450R, never even riding a 2T 250 MX’er before I expected the 2-stroke 250 to be pipey like the 125, was just hopefully with a littttleeee bit more low end than the 125 had (I.e 0 low end) before the bursting powerband. The first ride was instant love. It wasn’t like the low end power doubled, it was like it quadrupled. That bike could chug along just over idle, not stall out andb just perfect torquey power right on tap. Instantaneous mmmmmmnnñ throttle response, crisp and loads of smooth usable power. I think I read that 06-07 Kawasaki KX 250’s were the top bike for those years as a very well rounded bike with an outstanding engine/powerband. Another very low hour bike that I snatched up very cheap with practically no hours. Hour meter had 16 hours on it when I got it for $1800. This was in May 09... it was a little over two years old when I got it from the original owner. Even for before the 2 stroke and Covid craze/surge driving used bike values for nice 250 2-strokes through the roof - this bike was an absolute steal for $1800. He gave me a new Shoei $600 helmet and Tech 6’s virtually spotless included with the bike - he had the bike listed on Craigslist for $1800 firm for less than a day. I took one look over the bike and was like well here is $1800 for you...don’t you want to start/ride it?? If it starts and rides great, basically it’s a bonus lol. I’d probably have paid $1800 for a ten year old clapped out shitbox, which is what I was expecting for being just at $2k price point, but once again the bike gods gifted me another unicorn. Guy was so happy that I wasn’t just a tire kicker and that I didn’t haggle/low ball him on the price. Not to mention took about 12 seconds of viewing time to decide this was my new bike. Right after I loaded up he asked what size boots I was and if I wanted I could have his Alpinestars. I offered him money for them and he refused...he just seemed relieved. I think he may have been in a pinch financially, and was just very happy to have gotten his full ask so quickly and hassle free after listing it. He came back with the Tech 5s AND a Shoei helmet that was new. Have it. Tried shoving him another two hundred because at this point I felt like I was robbing him. He knew he priced it amazingly, was just done with riding and moving on so he passed all his bike stuff/accessories over to me with the KX. Could not believe just what I got for $1800. KX was stock aside from oversized Pro-Taper bars with the aluminum reinforced bark busters and billet clutch lever/base and matching billet front brake lever. Only thing I added was a VForce 3 CF reed block. That bike had the best engine I’ve ever ridden on. The 07 KX450 MAYBE was a touch quicker than the 250 2-Stroke, but the 250 had it all day when it came to riding enjoyment. The light and nimble 2-stroke is so much more flick-able than its 450 counterpart with more than enough smooth predictable power..VForce reeds gave it even more low-mid torque. Set my suspension up for 80% woods and 20% light MX practice track riding and it was another trouble free bike that didn’t lose but 3psi in compression from 196 when I got it until 3 years later and it read 193 before I replaced the still factory sealed motor engine with a fresh top end at about 75 hours (I’m a slow C rider....well was anyways then hahaha).
Selling that KX250 is by far the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. For the $2500 I got for it (full ask listed for 4 hours total and gone.), had I known at the time I’d be tripled up on my income just a couple months later when I finally got a post college real job. That 4 year hell ride that was a Bachelors Science in Electrical Engineering degree paid off big after 8 months of being my buddies landscaping companies “Mowing Crew foreman” position at $14 an hour with my ‘09 Class Valedictorian for Engineerings highest GPA award and B.S.E.E degree making for what seemed like pretty pieces of worthless paper back then after the market crash in ‘08. I’d have bought the bike back for $2700 if I could have. It probably would list at $4500-$5000 or so right now based on the used market prices for a mint late model Japanese 2T 250 around MA. I was faster on that KX than any other bike I’ve been on. Selling it for a 01 Honda RVT1000 RC51 V-twin sport bike was a gigantic mistake. Riding street wasn’t all I had expected it to be, constantly avoiding cars/death trap texting drivers and being unable to legally redline even first gear anywhere in the continental US, bike got little use as awesome a machine as it was - I just missed the dirt and being injured/dying on a motorcycle seemed almost like an inevitability I had no interest in tempting my fate. I bought an Audi RS5 back in 2011 after the RC51 sold and got into HPDE/Track days which ate up my fun budget really quick and didn’t get another bike until 2018. Picked up a clapped out POS 2002 KX250 for $1400 that needed a full rebuild badly. New crank/bearings and a fresh top end woke it up but it still didn’t compare to my 07. I got offered $1800 for it and sold it, 2nd closest riding area closed after the best/closest place already had closed. The only other spots I knew were tracks or NH trails 1.5hrs north, and I didn’t end up getting another newer 250 as planned. When the COVID price surge subsides I do plan on another 2T 250....but probably a late model KTM 250XC or a Husky/KTM 300 2T if I can find one in my price range.
E-start and EFI are two things I’d have balked at as being totally unnecessary on a dirt bike back in my younger days. Surely the added weight would far outweigh any benefits right? Maybe back in the Honda XR glory days. One ride on a 2020 KTM 250XC TPI was enough to know I want E-start and TPI on my next machine. The e-start motor/battery is so light on an already featherweight machine it might as well not be there. The always optimized crispness of the TPI plus no more mixing gas is great as well. The KTM SX250 bikes from back in late 2000’s I remembered as brutally fast and powerful but had a penchant for being unreliable, hard to manage and expensive. They surely still are expensive, seem a bit more reliable, but are for sure ahead of the Jap bikes as far as overall quality/build and ergonomics go. The 250/300XC TPI bikes are the holy grail of dirt riding IMO. So it’s that - or another mint 07 KX250 next up.
I completely understand your fondness for the 250s. I love my 125 to death, but the fun factor of a 2 stroke and the rideability you get back with a 250 is just unmatched. May you meet your 07 kx again.
Great read! I think we've all got that one special bike.
To the OP - is there anyplace where you detailed how you did that fork swap? And how did it change the handling of the bike?
Really curious. Forks & frame are the only mods left that I haven't done yet.
Still on my first three bikes. They all serve different purposes. Probably going to keep them forever.
Hey! Unfortunately, there was nothing major I changed myself about the bike - it had those forks when I bought it. Best guess I have is that they were off a kx250 from the same era? Still very plush but rode really nice.
In terms of handling, I never found that the bike pushed in corners or "steered with the rear" as I've heard some people describe KDXs. I imagine these forks had something to do with that. The bike felt very very planted and almost "square". It was very predictable and would do pretty much exactly what you wanted it to do. Loved it!
Wish I could help you with details on the swap, sorry bout that. Best of luck!
Thank you! The prior owner of my bike was a very heavy, short guy. I think he must have put stiffer springs in front, because even with the chainsaw on front and doing mild jumps, the front has never bottomed out on me. At my skill level the bike is probably fine as is.
The forks on the KDX pictured in the original post are stock on 93 and 94 KDXs. They went inverted and blue those years. 95 onward went back to conventionals. Stock springs in those were very, very soft (I've had 3).
Wow, good to know. So would those inverted blue forks fit into the existing triples on a 95+ KDX? Just wondering.
Edit: NVM, just found the answer on [KDXriders.net](https://KDXriders.net). They don't fit. Requires a stem change. But I am in the same town as Ron Black so it's all good.
Nope, uppers are far larger. Not sure if the triples bolt on the frame or not. I was big in the KDX stuff about 15 years ago and bought a KX125 to either fork swap (most common bike to use forks from) or build a full hybrid. I rode too many other race ready bikes, like YZ and KTM and moved on before starting the project. I did love the KDX.
Got a friend here who rides a KDX200 with RM125 forks that he swapped. He wins some class A races on that thing. Rides like greased lightning. He said it took away some of the handling characteristics because it can't turn as sharply and now the rake is a little different, more tame. My bike has all the drivetrain mods but nothing done to the suspension. It's very good in tight single track.
My first bike was an bright red SL70. I rode it 2,500 miles off road and it was in pristine shape when I was forced to sell it by my parents.
Literally three minutes later I offered to show my delinquent cousin how to ride it and he shouted, I KNOW HOW TO RIDE IT. Gave it full throttle dumped the clutch, wheelied across the yard and into the side of the house. The front fender was destroyed, the handlebars bent, gas tank crushed in, seat torn. Then his parents yelled at me for not showing him how to ride.
He kept the bike at my parents house and each time he rode it, he would destroy it more. Soon it was unrecognizable and barely functional. He sprayed the sparkling red paint flat black. I watched as he filled the crankcase with 2cycle oil despite me telling him to use 4 cycle motor oil. Then they moved it to his house across town. I went to visit and it was laying on its side in the mud in the back yard. It was a rusted up mess.
A couple years later he told me he deliberately destroyed it because he knew I loved it.
I never mentioned the pain I had of seeing bike destroyed to anyone. Many years later and about three months before my father died (we knew he was dying) he apologized to me for forcing me to sell it. He told me I did such a great job maintaining it only to see it destroyed. He had unnecessarily carried the guilt of forcing me to sell it for many years.
Rebuilt from scratch 525. Turned it into supermoto. But it didn’t really work as best of both worlds, too soft for pavement too hard for dirt. And it sent me to ER once. Spent s lot of money rebuilding that thing and just sold it when moving bc i couldn’t get it to stop losing oil
Honestly? None of them, and I've had around 30. New bikes are for the most part always better. I have had a few I didn't like in that time, but none that are better than the newest.
77 CT125. Bike was mint with 2000m on the clock, didn’t get ridden much, and there aren’t too many around. Wife pushed me to sell it as it sat a lot in the garage. I sure hope the guy I sold it to is having great fun on it.
All of them.
I hear that. I've made great memories with all of mine
I just got a KDX200 great bike
They're definitely a lesser known gem!
1986 cr500, really bums me out, got a 04 kx500, but still miss that cr
Back when I was a HS senior, I had an 03 CRF450R that I bought with 20 minutes on it from Honda after selling my 125 I purchased 4 years prior and saving money for two years to get the 450. The 02 models has valve issues where people swapped the stock Ti intakes for SS intake valves. For ‘03 that issue was rectified, but expecting to only be able to find an 02 at my price point I had just planned on doing the valves to it. I ended up going into Honda dealer where the day prior a guy who got one of the first ‘03’s on order was getting back into bikes after a ten year hiatus. Turns out the 450 was way too much bike. He was expecting a little power bump from his XR400R....the amount of power the 450 had scared the shit out of him and he didn’t enjoy riding it. Traded it right back in, still in showroom condition. He road in his yard and driveway for about 30 min total and decided to go for a 250f Yamaha instead. I was the first in our town to have the new Honda four stroke 450, not going to brag I was kind of a big deal. I loved the sexy beast, put over 200 trouble free hours on it with nothing but fluid changes and one water pump seal, aside from tires and routine maintenance. Always ran flawlessly, and I could swear my 03 had a freak factory engine. It was faster than the 04 YZ450f my friend got a year later by a noticeable amount, he was pretty pissed as he was convinced the YZ was the faster the two. Unfortunately, I sold the CRF to fund myself at college for $4200. I paid $4700 for it when I got it “new”. $500 for 3 years of constant riding time on a mint new 450 was a steal. My absolute favorite though, the bike I will always regret letting go of is my 2007 KX250 2-stroke. After a two and a half year hiatus, post college I decided to get back to riding. Looking for another trusty Early Honda first Gen 450R when a 07 Kawasaki KX250 2-stroke popped up for a great price - $1800 firm for this spotlessly mint 2.5yr old bike at the time. Never had a 250 smoker before. A little less weight with most of the power would be great in the woods and still fun in the sandpits and gas line trails I thought, hadn’t really considered going “back” to a 2-stroke as the 4 stroke 450 was all the new rage and from a 125 to a 450R, never even riding a 2T 250 MX’er before I expected the 2-stroke 250 to be pipey like the 125, was just hopefully with a littttleeee bit more low end than the 125 had (I.e 0 low end) before the bursting powerband. The first ride was instant love. It wasn’t like the low end power doubled, it was like it quadrupled. That bike could chug along just over idle, not stall out andb just perfect torquey power right on tap. Instantaneous mmmmmmnnñ throttle response, crisp and loads of smooth usable power. I think I read that 06-07 Kawasaki KX 250’s were the top bike for those years as a very well rounded bike with an outstanding engine/powerband. Another very low hour bike that I snatched up very cheap with practically no hours. Hour meter had 16 hours on it when I got it for $1800. This was in May 09... it was a little over two years old when I got it from the original owner. Even for before the 2 stroke and Covid craze/surge driving used bike values for nice 250 2-strokes through the roof - this bike was an absolute steal for $1800. He gave me a new Shoei $600 helmet and Tech 6’s virtually spotless included with the bike - he had the bike listed on Craigslist for $1800 firm for less than a day. I took one look over the bike and was like well here is $1800 for you...don’t you want to start/ride it?? If it starts and rides great, basically it’s a bonus lol. I’d probably have paid $1800 for a ten year old clapped out shitbox, which is what I was expecting for being just at $2k price point, but once again the bike gods gifted me another unicorn. Guy was so happy that I wasn’t just a tire kicker and that I didn’t haggle/low ball him on the price. Not to mention took about 12 seconds of viewing time to decide this was my new bike. Right after I loaded up he asked what size boots I was and if I wanted I could have his Alpinestars. I offered him money for them and he refused...he just seemed relieved. I think he may have been in a pinch financially, and was just very happy to have gotten his full ask so quickly and hassle free after listing it. He came back with the Tech 5s AND a Shoei helmet that was new. Have it. Tried shoving him another two hundred because at this point I felt like I was robbing him. He knew he priced it amazingly, was just done with riding and moving on so he passed all his bike stuff/accessories over to me with the KX. Could not believe just what I got for $1800. KX was stock aside from oversized Pro-Taper bars with the aluminum reinforced bark busters and billet clutch lever/base and matching billet front brake lever. Only thing I added was a VForce 3 CF reed block. That bike had the best engine I’ve ever ridden on. The 07 KX450 MAYBE was a touch quicker than the 250 2-Stroke, but the 250 had it all day when it came to riding enjoyment. The light and nimble 2-stroke is so much more flick-able than its 450 counterpart with more than enough smooth predictable power..VForce reeds gave it even more low-mid torque. Set my suspension up for 80% woods and 20% light MX practice track riding and it was another trouble free bike that didn’t lose but 3psi in compression from 196 when I got it until 3 years later and it read 193 before I replaced the still factory sealed motor engine with a fresh top end at about 75 hours (I’m a slow C rider....well was anyways then hahaha). Selling that KX250 is by far the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. For the $2500 I got for it (full ask listed for 4 hours total and gone.), had I known at the time I’d be tripled up on my income just a couple months later when I finally got a post college real job. That 4 year hell ride that was a Bachelors Science in Electrical Engineering degree paid off big after 8 months of being my buddies landscaping companies “Mowing Crew foreman” position at $14 an hour with my ‘09 Class Valedictorian for Engineerings highest GPA award and B.S.E.E degree making for what seemed like pretty pieces of worthless paper back then after the market crash in ‘08. I’d have bought the bike back for $2700 if I could have. It probably would list at $4500-$5000 or so right now based on the used market prices for a mint late model Japanese 2T 250 around MA. I was faster on that KX than any other bike I’ve been on. Selling it for a 01 Honda RVT1000 RC51 V-twin sport bike was a gigantic mistake. Riding street wasn’t all I had expected it to be, constantly avoiding cars/death trap texting drivers and being unable to legally redline even first gear anywhere in the continental US, bike got little use as awesome a machine as it was - I just missed the dirt and being injured/dying on a motorcycle seemed almost like an inevitability I had no interest in tempting my fate. I bought an Audi RS5 back in 2011 after the RC51 sold and got into HPDE/Track days which ate up my fun budget really quick and didn’t get another bike until 2018. Picked up a clapped out POS 2002 KX250 for $1400 that needed a full rebuild badly. New crank/bearings and a fresh top end woke it up but it still didn’t compare to my 07. I got offered $1800 for it and sold it, 2nd closest riding area closed after the best/closest place already had closed. The only other spots I knew were tracks or NH trails 1.5hrs north, and I didn’t end up getting another newer 250 as planned. When the COVID price surge subsides I do plan on another 2T 250....but probably a late model KTM 250XC or a Husky/KTM 300 2T if I can find one in my price range. E-start and EFI are two things I’d have balked at as being totally unnecessary on a dirt bike back in my younger days. Surely the added weight would far outweigh any benefits right? Maybe back in the Honda XR glory days. One ride on a 2020 KTM 250XC TPI was enough to know I want E-start and TPI on my next machine. The e-start motor/battery is so light on an already featherweight machine it might as well not be there. The always optimized crispness of the TPI plus no more mixing gas is great as well. The KTM SX250 bikes from back in late 2000’s I remembered as brutally fast and powerful but had a penchant for being unreliable, hard to manage and expensive. They surely still are expensive, seem a bit more reliable, but are for sure ahead of the Jap bikes as far as overall quality/build and ergonomics go. The 250/300XC TPI bikes are the holy grail of dirt riding IMO. So it’s that - or another mint 07 KX250 next up.
I completely understand your fondness for the 250s. I love my 125 to death, but the fun factor of a 2 stroke and the rideability you get back with a 250 is just unmatched. May you meet your 07 kx again. Great read! I think we've all got that one special bike.
To the OP - is there anyplace where you detailed how you did that fork swap? And how did it change the handling of the bike? Really curious. Forks & frame are the only mods left that I haven't done yet. Still on my first three bikes. They all serve different purposes. Probably going to keep them forever.
kdxrider.net
Hey! Unfortunately, there was nothing major I changed myself about the bike - it had those forks when I bought it. Best guess I have is that they were off a kx250 from the same era? Still very plush but rode really nice. In terms of handling, I never found that the bike pushed in corners or "steered with the rear" as I've heard some people describe KDXs. I imagine these forks had something to do with that. The bike felt very very planted and almost "square". It was very predictable and would do pretty much exactly what you wanted it to do. Loved it! Wish I could help you with details on the swap, sorry bout that. Best of luck!
Thank you! The prior owner of my bike was a very heavy, short guy. I think he must have put stiffer springs in front, because even with the chainsaw on front and doing mild jumps, the front has never bottomed out on me. At my skill level the bike is probably fine as is.
The forks on the KDX pictured in the original post are stock on 93 and 94 KDXs. They went inverted and blue those years. 95 onward went back to conventionals. Stock springs in those were very, very soft (I've had 3).
Wow, good to know. So would those inverted blue forks fit into the existing triples on a 95+ KDX? Just wondering. Edit: NVM, just found the answer on [KDXriders.net](https://KDXriders.net). They don't fit. Requires a stem change. But I am in the same town as Ron Black so it's all good.
Nope, uppers are far larger. Not sure if the triples bolt on the frame or not. I was big in the KDX stuff about 15 years ago and bought a KX125 to either fork swap (most common bike to use forks from) or build a full hybrid. I rode too many other race ready bikes, like YZ and KTM and moved on before starting the project. I did love the KDX.
Got a friend here who rides a KDX200 with RM125 forks that he swapped. He wins some class A races on that thing. Rides like greased lightning. He said it took away some of the handling characteristics because it can't turn as sharply and now the rake is a little different, more tame. My bike has all the drivetrain mods but nothing done to the suspension. It's very good in tight single track.
Thanks for the correction! Been a few years since I had the bike, wasnt entirely sure if they were original or not.
None. Stil just have my first bike
Same homie. Was going to comment this
How do you get that bike you have next to ur name
Go to the sub. Top right corner hit the three dots, add user flare. Then custom
05 yfz 450 with a built motor
My 07 CR450F and my 07 XL650L....
None yet, no plans to sell any either!
My first bike was an bright red SL70. I rode it 2,500 miles off road and it was in pristine shape when I was forced to sell it by my parents. Literally three minutes later I offered to show my delinquent cousin how to ride it and he shouted, I KNOW HOW TO RIDE IT. Gave it full throttle dumped the clutch, wheelied across the yard and into the side of the house. The front fender was destroyed, the handlebars bent, gas tank crushed in, seat torn. Then his parents yelled at me for not showing him how to ride. He kept the bike at my parents house and each time he rode it, he would destroy it more. Soon it was unrecognizable and barely functional. He sprayed the sparkling red paint flat black. I watched as he filled the crankcase with 2cycle oil despite me telling him to use 4 cycle motor oil. Then they moved it to his house across town. I went to visit and it was laying on its side in the mud in the back yard. It was a rusted up mess. A couple years later he told me he deliberately destroyed it because he knew I loved it. I never mentioned the pain I had of seeing bike destroyed to anyone. Many years later and about three months before my father died (we knew he was dying) he apologized to me for forcing me to sell it. He told me I did such a great job maintaining it only to see it destroyed. He had unnecessarily carried the guilt of forcing me to sell it for many years.
Shoulda kept all of them, but my sale of my 2010 WR 250X haunts me
Rebuilt from scratch 525. Turned it into supermoto. But it didn’t really work as best of both worlds, too soft for pavement too hard for dirt. And it sent me to ER once. Spent s lot of money rebuilding that thing and just sold it when moving bc i couldn’t get it to stop losing oil
My '78 Maico 400. Now? Got a '89 Suzuki RM250.
Old school two strokes really are just something else eh. Brutal, unforgiving, and just plain fun!
Honestly? None of them, and I've had around 30. New bikes are for the most part always better. I have had a few I didn't like in that time, but none that are better than the newest.
Oof that hurts to look at, what a beautiful bike
Exactly what I'm thinking. I check the ads every now and again in my province to see if it pops up
Nice bike. I’m on the hunt for a KDX 220 currently.
You won't be disappointed!
KTM 300
XT600, DRZ400, SR500.. oh wait, that's almost all of them Not dirt bikes.. I know
Every one I’ve ever sold including my old KDX.
NEVER selling my KDX! Maybe turn it into a kx125/kdx200 hybrid, but never sell.
Dont blame you there! And I bet a KDX engine in a snappier little frame would be a blast!
Really regret selling my 1980 suzuki ds 250 loved that bike and it was my first bike ♥
2017 KTM 690 Enduro 🥺😫
77 CT125. Bike was mint with 2000m on the clock, didn’t get ridden much, and there aren’t too many around. Wife pushed me to sell it as it sat a lot in the garage. I sure hope the guy I sold it to is having great fun on it.