The links below spell out the lidless CVK setup recipes.
Consider getting your bike fueled properly, idle to redline..

 

Thank you! I've read most of it, but it appears to be written in Klingon...or maybe Romulan.

It appears to run quite well as is and I'll likely just leave it like that for the foreseeable future, maybe having another look over the winter.

On to the wheel/brake project and the rest of track season before some tire frees up.

 

Finally swapping the SM wheels for the dirt wheels. Front is on easily but the rear w/42 tooth sprocket seems like it is asking me to swap to the SM 38 tooth sprocket. The chain isn't long enough. Is this the path most folks take or is there a better idea? i'm using it this weekend, so no time to buy a proper sprocket for this go around. Thank you!

 

The SF, since the rear sprocket is smaller (I thought stock SF was 39T) comes with a shorter chain by two links. If I remember correctly it's 106 links for the SF and 108 for the S.

Would you be interested in selling your SF wheels?

Also in reading your original post I see you weren't too satisfied with the Galfer brake line. I was thinking about getting one too as I was under the impression that it would increase stopping power a bit. Does it really not do anything though?

 

Thanks for the chain info. I think they are 104 and 106...but it is hard info to find! The Internet is full of incorrect lengths for both.

Not selling the SM setup as this is how I normally ride it. Just bought the dirt setup to fill in the winter months. Sorry!

A stainless line is a stainless line. It works as it should, but I think that the master cylinders these come stock wtih seem like crap. This sucker moves an inch or more before anything happens. Maybe that is how dirt bikes are. None of the bikes i've owned in my life work like this. Normally they catch right away, even if they're spongy. The brakes work fine, but the lever movement is excessive.

 

No worries on not selling the SM wheels!

I wonder if there's an easy and effective master cylinder upgrade for us from the Kawasaki parts bin, like from the Ninja 300 or something.

 

I would love to know about that if it exists!

The other thing I can't get an answer to is cast wheels that fit for 17" on both ends so that I dno't have to deal with tubes when it is a street bike.

 

You should check out and bleed your brakes. Either that or I have one magic KLX. I have a braided line hanging on the wall in my shop. My 09's stock set up can anchor the bike down hard enough I can do a stoppie or could lock the brake if I want. I am a two finger brake operator with a shortened lever to fit behind the alloy hand guard rails. It definitely has the power even only using two fingers. So I haven't bothered with the stainless line.

The 300 uses the same size master cylinder. If you look at swapping master cylinders you need to understand how it all works. You need to know both about the hydraulic leverage and the mechanical leverage. To get more pressure at the caliper you need to go smaller on the master cylinder piston or go to a bigger caliper. Either more piston area at the caliper or less piston area at the master cylinder. If you apply 1 lb pressure on a 1 square inch piston you have 1 psi. If the same 1 lb is applied to a 1/2 square inch piston you have 2 psi. Problem is the smaller piston will require more movement to push the amount of fluid, so you need to be careful just how much difference there is. Plus, in addition to knowing the hydraulic leverage, you have to know how much mechanical leverage there is with the lever itself, how much distance from the pivot to the hand area and the distance from the pivot to where the lever hits the master cylinder piston.

I would venture to say if the Ninja 300 is using a bigger caliper than the one on the KLX it will possibly be using a master cylinder with a larger piston, putting it on the KLX would make short lever travel, but a very wooden feeling brake. You have to squeeze like Superman to get some braking. Like I said, be careful what you do. I've done some work converting my one Gold Wing, unlinking the brakes and having to go to a master cylinder with a larger piston because my caliper piston area was twice as large. The single caliper master cylinder I had would pull to the grip barely starting to work. That master cylinder ended up on my SR500 to work the one 500 Interceptor twin piston caliper I grafted on to it. I also converted an 89 Gold Wing linking all three calipers to the hand lever, which took the largest master cylinder Grimeca made, but it worked well. It seems backward to go smaller to increase hydraulic leverage, but that is the way it is. But, different master cylinders may call for different piston sizes than would make sense due to the mechanical leverage of the brake lever itself. In researching swapping the master cylinder from the stock XSR700 master cylinder to a top quality Brembo radial master cylinder the piston size actually increased due to a difference in the lever. The XSR has a 14mm, Brembo recommended their 17mm radial master cylinder. Ya gotta know what it takes.

I'd do the bleeding of the brakes first. Go to Harbor Freight or a place like that and get one of their vacuum bleeders, does the bleeding in no time. Just have to not go overboard with the vacuum. All the seals are designed to work under positive pressure in the system, not negative pressure. it can possibly suck air past a piston seal at the master cylinder. I do very low vacuum.

I hope this helps a bit.

 

yeah, no...

It has been bled a few times. The pistons are all working fine. It feels like a crappy design, like Suzuki street bike brakes. Swap for the Yamaha calipers and master and it is magic.

The 250 has brakes that work fine, but there is a ton of lever movement before anything happens, like the caliper piston has a spring in the middle. I added adjustable levers just so I could move it out instead of crushing my fingers. lol I've never ridden anything like it.

Still...had a hoot on my first dirt ride today. A good introduction. The area we rode in: https://gravelmap.com/#11.56/35.4344/-80.0392

Short video of part of the ride:

 

I have been trying to source (and trying to install what I'm buying getting $40-ed to death) open hand guards that will fit on the SF. I do not want closed ones. I'm just trying to stop some wind when we get below 50F.

I thought that this would be universal, but none that I've bought so far fit on the bars due to lack of real estate with the grips, controls, perch mounts, etc. Has anyone fond a decent set that actually fits? If so, can you post close pics? I've hunted around the site but info seems very limited for open style and the pics ar from 10' away...and of the front of the guard. I need to see the mounting. Thank you!