I may be looking to sell off my 99 Kawasaki KDX220 to my brother or a friend if I can find an 86-88 Kawasaki KDX200, the last of the air cooled engines, and the first of the power valve exhaust ports, with disc brake front, and the 88 model was the first year of the Keihin PWK35 flatslide smoothbore carb... an 88 with a fork upgrade would be the ultimate in ruggedness, simplicity, and power while maintaining the vintage appearance... an upgrade to rear disc would be nice. 86 was also the first year of the new piston design which was run through the entire rest of the KDX200 model's lifespan, therefore the same Wiseco pistons fit from 1986 through 2006!
I'd run a round KDX headlight/plate from the first 3 model years on it for more if a vintage appearance...
Also, the other bikes I had really considered and recommend friends look for is the 1981+ Yamaha IT200 and 250. They were the lightest bikes of their class at 198lbs to 212lbs, and had aggressive peakey engines with a real punch, vs the PE's broad and very tractable powerband. 1986 got a disc brake on the last year of the IT. No power valves but they have reeds and make ample power and smiles! Pre-81 were much heavier (175 weighed what a PE250 weighs) and had a 1st generation monoshock nicknamed "YamaHop" rear suspension, noted by high mounted shock under seat and steel A-shaped swingarm, vs the more modern conventional aluminum swingarm on the 1981+ redesigns.
I had not considered any Maico bikes as I was under the impression they were more motocrossers, and besides, even the 400cc 2 strokes of this period had an insane amount of power, and a 2 stroke mx engine would likely have a very serious powerband hit, which could be seriously detrimental riding Eastern USA woods! 175 to 250cc is mode than adequate for 2T woods riding
Basically any of the PE series is great, although 78-79 PE175's I don't believe currently have a source for new pistons available. TS185 pistons will bore into the later PE175 cylinders 1980-1984, and it has been discussed that perhaps the earlier TS185 model pistons fit the earlier PE175 engines as well.
1980 model PE's got aluminum swingarm, more travel, redesigned engines, and a PE400 which was a PE250 chassis with a completely fresh design engine, unlike the PE175/250 which were basically like similar or slightly older model year RM parts designed with slight alterations to be more enduro-oriented.
A 1980 or 1981 KDX175 also is a very curious bike for me... 1979 needs some monoshock linksge/bushing swaps to upgrade to the 1981 Uni-Track parts.
I'd run a round KDX headlight/plate from the first 3 model years on it for more if a vintage appearance...
Also, the other bikes I had really considered and recommend friends look for is the 1981+ Yamaha IT200 and 250. They were the lightest bikes of their class at 198lbs to 212lbs, and had aggressive peakey engines with a real punch, vs the PE's broad and very tractable powerband. 1986 got a disc brake on the last year of the IT. No power valves but they have reeds and make ample power and smiles! Pre-81 were much heavier (175 weighed what a PE250 weighs) and had a 1st generation monoshock nicknamed "YamaHop" rear suspension, noted by high mounted shock under seat and steel A-shaped swingarm, vs the more modern conventional aluminum swingarm on the 1981+ redesigns.
I had not considered any Maico bikes as I was under the impression they were more motocrossers, and besides, even the 400cc 2 strokes of this period had an insane amount of power, and a 2 stroke mx engine would likely have a very serious powerband hit, which could be seriously detrimental riding Eastern USA woods! 175 to 250cc is mode than adequate for 2T woods riding
Basically any of the PE series is great, although 78-79 PE175's I don't believe currently have a source for new pistons available. TS185 pistons will bore into the later PE175 cylinders 1980-1984, and it has been discussed that perhaps the earlier TS185 model pistons fit the earlier PE175 engines as well.
1980 model PE's got aluminum swingarm, more travel, redesigned engines, and a PE400 which was a PE250 chassis with a completely fresh design engine, unlike the PE175/250 which were basically like similar or slightly older model year RM parts designed with slight alterations to be more enduro-oriented.
A 1980 or 1981 KDX175 also is a very curious bike for me... 1979 needs some monoshock linksge/bushing swaps to upgrade to the 1981 Uni-Track parts.
