00
00
O"'l
.......
The KDX200 is based on the KX125 . It features a new frame. a water-cooled motor. disc brakes and bottom linkage Uni-Trak raar suspension.
New Bikes: 1989 Kawasaki Dirt Bikes
Refined KXs;
redesigned KDX
By Kit Palmer
.
-
Kawas aki Motor Corporation w ill release a
full lineup of Kawasaki off-road mo torcycles for 1989, including five KX motocrossers and one enduro model , the all-new
(Above) A power-valve (KIPS ) has been added to the new KX500 , (Below)
The KX125. as well as the 250 and 500. features a 19-inch rear wheel .
..
bigger disc brakes and new seat padding.
24
KDX200.
Obviously, the biggest news
ยทยท
f rom K awasa k 1 IS t h e ~ d'lea II Y
.
changed KDX200 which, In
th e past. has been one of Kawasaki 's
best selling off-road models. For 1989
the KDX is completely new from the
ground up.
Over the years, the KDX has seen
only modest changes since its inception back in 1982, when it was
developed with the weekend trail
rider and part-time enduro competitor in mind. Now th e KDX looks
and is serious.'
The 1989 KDX is based on the
Kawasaki KX125 and 250cc rnotocrossers , and hardly anything has
been carried over from last year's aircoo led KDX. T he new KDX features
a water-cooled motor inside a KX
frame , with front and rear disc
brakes, the same ones used on the
KX models.
The motor features the Kawasaki
Integrated Po wer-Valv e System , sixpetal epoxy resin reed valve, a Keihin
PWK35 crescent-slide carburetor and
an. Electro-Fusion aluminum
cyhnder.
The frame is basically the same as
the 1987 KXI25 with a semi-doublecradle mainframe made of lightweight high-tensile steel with a bolton steel rear left sectio n.
Suspension on the new KDX is,
again, similar to the KXI25 with the
bottom link Uni-Trak system and a
Kayaba piggyback reservoir shock.
The swingarm, however, is built
strictly for the KPX, containing the
quick-release rearwheel design and
snail-cam chain adjusters.
The front fork features l6-way
external
r ebound
damping
adjustments.
'
.
To make the KDX enduro ready ,
it comes wit h some of the necessary
hardware such as plastic han d
guards, a U.S. Forestry-approved
aluminum silencer with a spark
arrester, a heavy flywheel, large fuel
tank, head and tail lights, tapered
rear fender and an odometer. The
odometer, however, is different from
