Hello everyone!
I've been slinking around for a bit....and I was wondering if anyone wanted to follow along. This'll be a pic heavy thread, and there is going to to be plenty to laugh at.
Mostly me being a weirdo idjit.
So some background real quick:
I am a long time rider and all that....blah blah blah....anyway.
I also do a fair amount of 'Themed' stuff for a couple of Mad Max Motorcycle Rides, and local events(some of which I help host)
on top of hitting the Big One(Wasteland Weekend out in the Mojave).

This is usually something I do on my Sidecar rig, since it is a family affair and my cub was small and for a while the Wife was unable to ride herself
cause she had her knee replaced after a Swordfighting injury.(our life is odd...okay?)

Rig Family


Now that Cub's older I am letting him ride with the Wife since she's back on her bike and I wanted something to bomb around on solo.

Wife's Wasteland Ride (a TW200) she did all the work on this herself....

So I shopped around and found a 09 KLX250SF for sale localish that was having issues. So I bought it and so began this lil journey.


This is how I acquired KLaX....



So in this thread I will be outlining how I went from a (what I thought at the time was a ) bone stock KLX to the thing I call KLaX....

 

I'll be collecting some build pics and videos, and making a timeline of the evolution.
Expect a bunch of updates in the next few hours/days as I consolidate info.

ALSO: Dear MODS, if this thread is in the wrong place please let me know or just ya know...MOD it.

 

Okay, so first things first.
When I bought the bike it was not working right for the PO.
"It runs hot all the time, and it smokes. also seems under-powered" was the info I got.

I got it home and like the knuckledragger I am, I tore it apart.
There was a ton of carbon buildup, and the rings where pretty FUBARed.

This is how I 'Get to know' new toys...


The head was kinda YUCK

SLIGHTLY caked on valve

this was the ring....that gap don't look right.


Also the Cylinder was scored pretty bad.



Also the head gasket and/or jacket journeying seemed to be leaking, and the coolant was dumping into the motor/clutch oil.
It was creamy slime.


Inside of Clutch cover. The whole bottom end was like this.

I also discovered after making some measurements that at some point one of the POers had done a Big Bore...and I think the issues were with the install.
So first thing I did was reach out to Mr. Blue, him being the Trusted Expert on upsizing the bore..and we exchanged a few emails and phone calls about it.
He agreed that something had 'gone wrong' here.
So I packed up the top end and sent it off to Wichita for him to have a look at.
I got a lil distracted then, because as much as I wanted to have this KLX ready for my trip out to the Mohave that year....I knew I need to make other plans.
So I got back to finishing some updates on my Sidecar rig for the trip.
Which actually worked out great cause one of my Tribe wanted to have a mobile trading booth at Wasteland, so I used the Rig to tow their cart around.

We haz wares if you haz barter.....

So this project was on hold...until I heard from Mr Blue and/or got back from California.

 

So After spending about 10 days in the Mohave for a 4 day event(yeah...it's like that...), we were packing up to roll back to the Midwest.
I of course called to check in with Mr. Blue before starting the trip home.
He informed me that he had looked over the top end, and had no idea what HAD happened to it, only that it was to quote him "not happy about it".

We discussed it a bit, and he informed me had worked his magic to resurrect it, and he could ship it out the next day.
I took this chance to offer to stop by, and pick it up from his own hands...because WHY WOULDN'T I?!?
He was kind enough to offer his home address and not only did I get to pet my shiny new top end ASAP...we spent a good little while have some really fun conversations in his garage.
This man is a treasure you guys.....A TREASURE!!

I am smiling like a loon, cause THIS was a great day.

I got home...eventually....and discovered that parts had arrived, including my Kreiger Cam tensioner Get one here.
The Wife and I put unpacking from our return on hold and got busy doing installs.
As an educational film...here is how NOT to do this efficiently and quickly.

 

So in addition to the Big Bore/JE Piston set from Mr Blue, and the Kreiger Cam Chain tensioner, I got a couple of bits-n-bobs like grips, new hoses and a thermostat.
I could hear No 5 calling me Stephanie so we got to work...

I reset the shock to stock height and took this chance to fix the gawd awful attempt at exhaust wrap the PO had done.
You do know that if you Bake it fits better...right?

Bake for 33 1/3 minutes at 412 degrees....or something.

Anyway we did a test fit of required parts and then had to take a lil bit of a break because of seasonal work issues....

Don't I look patient?
As a bit of foreshadowing...the Zuma project in the background doesn't know it yet...but it's a future parts donor.
I spent the run up to full winter doing some testing/riding and generally abusing things....
Which how I decided I needed A) Better knobbies and b) the clutch was not happy about the added power. Also let's recall the SLIME....so much slime in there.

made a chain guard outta sign off the wall...

I had cleaned and re-soaked the clutch plates but they still seemed 'slippy' so I figured I should replace them.
So I tore it back apart...and replaced plates and springs with a

I also went ahead and drained/flushed the bottom end of the case to make sure I got all the 'Uck' out...and since we where up on the stand, I took the opportunity to change out sprockets (+1 rear/-1 front).


As I played Humpty Dumpty with it (AGAIN) I went ahead and redressed a little.
Shucked all the stock plastics and packed them away, added a chain guard and front fender made from signs off the shop wall, and a few pouches and bits to improve the 'look' before the next Mad Max Run in Killwalkee

 

I did find that the electric start didn't seem to like the Big Bore...it would drag a lil.
Maybe I imagined that...BUT it gave me the justification I need to jam a kickstarter in.
Which I wanted to do ANYWAY....because why not?

I also wanted to add some 'flair' to the new kicker...so a coat of paint and electrical tape was added.

Do you think it's noticeable?



I still wanted new shoes for him, so I picked up a Kenda K270 5.10x17 on the front and decided I liked it.

It clears the fork....BARELY

I also decided I didn't like the 'too clean' look of the headlight, even with it hidden behind a leftover piece of chainmail from an old fighting kit.
As foreshadowed, there was a dual headlight setup laying around off a Zuma I was reworking for a buddy.
So I decided to swap that in. I added some loose LED spots to make the Brights more...Bright.

That lens flare yo!

I'm pretty sure that is everything to date.....
Again, I am far from the smartest or most able person around...and I understand most people don't get the reason for why I do what I do the way I do it.
But I figured it would be good for a giggle.

Thanks for making it this far! Please feel free to poke with any questions or comment.
​​​​​​​*Making popcorn*

 

Other things I forgot to add to Mod List.
He already had a FmF pipe and header.
​​​​​I deleted the airbox in favor of a UniPod 2-stage filter.
Re-jetted the carb to match all that...I'd need to find my notes to tell ya what I settled on.....
Replaced clutch cable along with perch/lever.
I replaced chain with a good o-ring one same time as sprockets.
I've also go some Riggs saddlebags for longer hauls and camping trips.
​​​​​​​Ummmmm...I think that's it.....


Future stuff.
Gonna redo the rear tire to match front.
Really thinking about a larger fuel tank.

 

Totally Awesome, they could of put your bike in Mad Max and it would of been right at home.

(2) Bonzas.

Cheers Geo

 

We got a pretty diverse Crew. There are good shots of my sidecar rig in this one....

 

LOL!...that event sounds like a hoot. I'd never heard of it. At first I thought you were talking about "Burning Man" or such. Did many people die during your 4-day event? It looks like there would have been lots of violence, mayhem, and death...LOL!...JK, of course.

You did some good work there getting all the PO stuff sorted out. I was curious on the airbox delete. I realize you don't need the dirt/water protection as you would for real off road/trail, but I was curious if the CV carb gave any hiccups due to the lack of dead air space...that is if I understood the type of filter setup you used.

On a larger fuel tank, I think I'd suggest the 3.7 Acerbis tank. I use it for my S model for remote, dirt rides where the 1.9 OEM tank just doesn't do it. I'd think the more bulbous look of the Acerbis would fit your desired effect even better to add to the "menace" factor. Even though it was designed for the KLX300 and '06/'07 KLX250S, it fits the later models with very little tweaking, and the slight mismatch at the tank and front of saddle encountered on the stock setup would make no difference on your rig.

Good idea on the clutch. The 351 taxes the OEM setup a bit, and it looks like you added a little more weight, so that's a good upgrade. Don't know exactly how you use the bike, but if you feel the front brake is subpar, a common fix is a braided front brake line. That OEM unit makes the brake feel fairly wimpy IMO. I think Bill Blue and others carry a direct replacement.

Man, on your engine teardown and pics of the carnage, it looks like the PO was running diesel fuel or such looking at the valves...LOL! You presented a great story and technical process here, and I appreciate all your effort.