Kawasaki KMX200

Last October I spent hours and hours trying to find a cheap motocross bike to ride around the fields and bridle ways near where i live on ebay.

I finally came across what was advertised as a mid 80s Kawasaki KX 200. It said it was a bit atty but ran fine. I waited until the last bid and won the bike for £431 at that point i didn't have a trailer so we went to collect it in an estate car.

When we arrived the bike wouldn't start. The man said it was probably the coil that needed replacing and knocked £30. So we paid and then spent ages trying to force this huge motocross bike into the back of a car. Finally (i don't know how) we succeeded.

I got it home and spent hours on it until one day a couple of weeks after I'd bought it, i decided to have it serviced to see if there was anything wrong with it. After being told that the whole engine was useless and that it was a 1990 KMX and had a DEP race exhaust and Renthal handlebars it turns out the oil tank had also been taken off to save weight so you have to mix it with the petrol before putting it in the bike, I set about stripping it down and rebuilding it. Now 6 months later and me about £500 poorer it's running fine. It's had a whole new water pump, cleaned piston and bore, new air filter box and element, new forks new sprockets, new wheel and tyre and various other engine parts.

The Kawasaki KMX was basically a road going version of the KX. The styling of the bike, the frame and the suspension made them ideal for offroad use. There is a 125cc model and a 200cc model.

The engine is a liquid cooled single cylinder 2 stroke with reed valve induction and kawasaki's KIPS system (kawasaki integrated power system) which gives the bike that bit of extra grunt. And has a Mikuni carb on it.

The front suspension is by a pair of oil damped coil-spring telscopic fork legs. The rear is a single shock Uni Track mounted above the swinging arm pivot.

The front and rear brakes are discs brakes which are better than drum brakes.

The whole bike with a full tank of fuel will weigh about 120kg. The steering is good and control is excellent. The gears have got a good ratio because in first gear you can climb anything on it. I have sat at the bottom of some steps and fired up the engine and ridden up no trouble.

The only thing that lets it down is its cooling system. It only has one radiator while most other motocross bikes have two. This means that if you ride for a very long time the engine will eventually overheat.

The parts are usually easy to find for it. but the best place to get them is breakers. I was quoted 200-300 pounds for just a fuel tank new and got one of a breaker with its cap on for £50 all it needed was spraying the right colour.

You should be able to pick one of these up in good condition for about £1000. They are amazing fun and i would recomend them to anybody who doesn't feel ready for a 250cc but wants to move up from a 125cc bike.

I believe there are a few on biketrader at the moment and i am selling mine to move up to a 250cc somewhere around Christmas time so if anyone interested it will be £1000 with free delivery within reasonable distance.

Excellent Bike Five stars