Won't a GasGas be a good replacement for my KDX?

[karlp]

This may be a bad place to ask this. I don't many of you would say,"No! The KDX is far superior!"
I ride an '02 220 with a KX125 front end on it. I really like the bike and as I've worked with the suspension it just keeps getting better. I have not done much to the motor except a pipe.
I've ridden a buddies 200 and it was far more solid and precise in the handling and steering department, I've ridden a 300 and felt it was a bit "fat" and slow to turn, the 250 (XC?) I rode last week seemed just right.

I've never met anyone who said "I used to have a KDX, I'm glad I got rid of that thing!' Usually the opposite, there seems to be a bit of regret in any one who has had one and gotten rid of it.

My intent is to get a 250 2T soon. The KDX seems to be reaching its limit, speed wise.

The question I'm asking is to those who have moved from other, lesser bikes to the GasGas, are there any regrets? Did you find your times and endurance greatly improved?




(I believe I'll be keeping the KDX with the KX front end, the KX with KDX front end, and the KX 100 for the wife and kid. The Husky 50 has to go, its too small for me now )



Karl p

[fury1]

I know when I switched to riding a gas gas I found much more confidence in trail riding,I had a 94 kdx and when I would use the kdx instead to play for the day,it felt heavy,underpowered and didnt turn vey well, that doesnt mean they arent great bikes,but bikes get better every year and the kdx hasnt improved since the late 90s, the impression of a KDX I get is this: great bike ,however when you push them the weakness of the bike is visible,its a starter bike that CAN be competitive,but doesnt like to be pushed hard, when Im pushing my gas gas for all im worth it never threatens to buck me off or fails to climb any hill,I would keep your KDX as well,but a gasser will be head and shoulders above it,its better than your KDX at everything and anything as far as stock bikes go

[karlp]

Thanks for the reply, your impression seems to match my experience. I ride with some pretty fast guys on modern bikes and i sometimes feel like I'm going to break my neck at any moment if I push the KDX any harder.
We have a ~20 mile loop of real tight single track. I can get 14 3/4 miles into it in an hour, which is matching any of the guys except two or three who are card carrying "A" riders. They can get through the whole loop in an hour, if they wanted to.
Time to find a dealer in Coastal Alabama

[Hawkeye]

We have about a dozen active riders in our club, mostly B riders, but we have a couple of C's and A's scattered in the mix as well. There are 7 Gas Gas bikes and 4 KDX 200's between the guys. All the KDX's have been resprung, revalved, with pipes and silencers. The stock Gas Gas bikes feel more nimble, narrower, and give the C riders in our group more confidence in their abilities. Both would love to get on a Gas Gas, but can't justify the purchase since neither guy gets enough riding time in. One of the other 2 KDX riders is a fast Senior A guy who put a TON of money in his KDX. I mean a TON, a set of Ohlins forks, a Works Performance shock, porting, pipe, silencer, plus a big tank. He is not so enamored of the Gassers (most of us have 300's), but I've ridden his bike and know that he would be faster on my bike. I think it is hard to talk up a revalved stocker with mild engine mods when you have dumped around $4K in mods to your KDX.

My opinion is that the KDX was overdue for an upgrade, and instead Kawasaki killed the bike, and they made that decision back in 2002. The KDX will always be a great concept - quiet, reliable, low cost and everywhere. Owning one is a different story. A frustrating story, because stock the forks are too soft, the seat is like a pillow, the powerband is choked off stock.

Even our club C riders noticed the big improvements that some engine and suspension work made to their KDX's and their riding got better immediately. Honestly, I think they would have been better off picking up a used or leftover GG, jet it correctly, change the fork oil, turn some clickers and go ride. The old saw about unreliable Spanish bikes has been vanquished. Gassers last a long time.

[Cruiser]

I ran kdx's for years, one of my first an 83 with a 240 kit, and last a 91 with engine and suspension mods. I went KTM for 1 year then to gasgas. Coming from a kdx you will feel right at home on a gasgas. My 97 felt very kdx like but skinnier. Minor mods and its great. Went to my 03, almost no mods, its way fun. I trade off with guys in my club who ride kdx's and they love riding my bike. I have a couple guys thinking gg for thier next bike. If they rode more they would already have one. One of the guys has one of Fredettes personal bikes, major mods and he likes my GG better.
You cant go wrong. I'm sure there is someone near you that has one, try to get a ride on one.
Good luck!

[karlp]

What is the difference between an EC and a DE?
250 EC is listed on the Products page
250 DE seems to be what is for sale

[Dave]

The EC is the Euro (and possibly Canadian?) spec. bike. It has a relatively high power alternator with a very heavy flywheel. That flywheel may be the reason for your dislike of the 300. The EC also has a complete road legal (in Europe that is) wiring harness and a multifunction speedometer.

The DE is a US spec. bike, similar to the XC you rode, and has a much smaller flywheel and 35W alternator. The wiring harness very simplified - front and rear lights only. I believe lights are an option.

As to your original question, I came from a KTM 380EXC and really miss nothing about it. OK, maybe one thing, the 380 could pull some impressive 3rd gear holeshots

[JoshP]

Karl,

I just switched to an EC 250 from a 96 KDX 200. I had my suspension worked, motor was bored to a 240, etc.. and man it was fast, but last weekend (After breaking the GasGas) I took out the KDX and I don't think I will miss it very much at all. Not to talk smack about the bike since it's a great bike and you can do just about anything on one, but bottom line was it's a lot of work to make it ride fast. On the Gasser it's almost too easy to go fast.