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(Above) The only major change to the '84 KDX is the redesigned fuel tank
and a new piston. (Below) The KDX has a digital countdown clock and
odometer,·A mode button on the handlebar selects either readings.
Test: Kawasaki KDX200-A2 enduro
Can the best
get even
better?
By Kit Palmer
Last year's Kawasaki KDX200-A1 was simply
the best 200cc enduro machine available.
Many would even argue that no enduro bike
was better. Notonlywas the 1983 KDXanexcellent competitive piece, it also
seved well as a s'uperb desert/
woods/canyon playbike for the
not-so-competitive rider. The
30
is now oval instead of round.
A 32mm Mikuni carburetor feeds
into a fully reed-valve intake port,
same as in '83s. The choke knob is
located on the left side of the carbo
200 was light, had a powerful motor
Ignition is COl and timing is 21°
and the suspension worked. There
BTDC at 6000 rpm. An alternator
just wasn't much the KDX couldn't
powers a six-volt, 25-watt headlight
do well.
and 5.3-wall taillight. A NGK B9ES
Kawasaki knowsa good thing when
spark pi ug is stock.
they have one, so the 1984 KDX200-A2
Tucked within the engine cases i a
is not dramatically changed; instead,
six-speed transmission, and the clutch
it is refined.
is the usual wet multi-plate. The
However, refinementdoesn'talways
chain is D.LD. #520 and the countermean improvement.
shaft sprocket has 13 teeth, the rear
The air-cooled, single cylinder twosprocket 48.
stroke motor received only one change.
The single downtube, tubular frame
A new, slightly-reshaped piston is
is made out of chrome-moly steel and
used. Many pistons last year were misis painted black. Rake is 28°, [rail
manufactured with the wrong shape
4.76 inches. Wheelbase is 56.3 inches,
and would seize up when they became
overall length 86.4 inches. The 200
hot. The new piston cures that probhas a ground-to-seat height of 37
lem. The bore and stroke remai ns the
inches. Ground clearance is quite
same at63 X 58mm as does the actual
high at 13.4 inches, which is good
displacement at I98cc. Compression
because the KDX has no skid plate.
ratio is 7.7: I.
New are two grab handles where
The exhaust pipe exits the cylinder
the frame loops over the rear fender.
on the left side of the frame's front
The handles are located on each side
of the fender and make the bike easier
downtube then snakes around to the
right side of the bike. The U.S. Forto toss around when loading and un§try. ~fPiulmenl;aI?Pt:qv.ed.~iJ~'l~!.. • _ !q'l.c1ing"ipt a truck or ~ n, p[}'< e,.n
pulling out of mud holes, uphills,
etc.
The Uni-Trak rear suspension uses
a single nitrogen-gas-filled, remotereservoir, Kayaba shock. Preload is
fully adjustable; compression damping is adj usted by a. four-po ition
click knob located just underneath
the top shock mount. We received
our 200 with the shock set on the
number two selling; number one
being the softest and four the stiffest.
The shock was set up for riders approximately 150 pounds. Wheel travel
is the same as in 1983, 10.24 inches.
The air-adj ustable, tele copic
Kayaba fork features one minor
change: The drain plugs are now
located behind the fork leg instead of
on the side. When they were on the
side, the screw heads got smashed in
rocky terrain, making them impossible to remove. Front travel is also
unchanged at 11.02 inches. Kawasaki
recommends 15 ounces of lOw oil in
each leg with no air assist.
.
Both front and rear tires are fourply Dunlop K790s: A 4.00-18 is used
in the rear, while a 3.00-21 graces the
(ront. The rims are aluminum alloy
and the front and rear hub assemblies
are now the same as those on the KX 125
motocrosser, which use the semistraight-pull spoke design.
Front and rear brakes are drums;
however, the front brake assembly is
not the double-leading link-type
which many non-disc brake machines
now use. The front drum is 4.7 x 1.4
inches in diameter; the rear is 4.3 x 1.2
inches in diameter.
In a move hoped to give the fuel
tank more capacity, the lower left
portion of the fuel tank is lowered,
compared to the 1983 tank, and the
overall width narrowed, so capacity
remains nearly the same at3.2 gallons
The(largegas <4P I1'\
