My Winter Project
 

A while ago, I mentioned in another thread that I was going to freshen up my '06 KLX. It was starting to look long in the tooth, so after some thought over some brews, I decided to do a frame-up makeover on the old girl. It needed a few bearings and new fork seals, so I'd have a lot of it apart anyway. The engine ran perfectly, so it wouldn't cost a lot either.

I realize that for what this bike is, this is a little overboard. It's just a little dual sport that isn't worth crap used. But I like the bike and I like doing this sort of thing. So I got the tools out.

DISCLAIMER: Some people think a dirt bike only has "character" if it looks like it was dragged through a swamp, then thrown down a flight of stairs. To them I say move along, there's nothing to see here. :D Like Deej, I like a clean bike.

So this is what I started with. My 2006 KLX250S; 340 kit, Mikuni TM36, my own headpipe/Supertrapp exhaust, suspension resprung and re-valved by Moto Pro, plus loads of other mods...

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After draining all the fluids, I began tearing her down. I used a ton of freezer bags to keep everything labeled and together. I also labeled the wiring harness and kept notes on what plugs into what.

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I wanted to powder coat the frame, swingarm, rack, and other parts like the footpegs and the kickstand. I decided to make it look more like the 2012 KLX and other new Kawasaki's. The swingarm would still be silver, but the frame and other parts would be black. I boxed everything up and took them to the powder coater.

While the frame parts were at the powder coater, I basically scrubbed, cleaned, and/or polished every part that came off. No sense in having a pretty frame and everything else looking like crap.

It took about 2 weeks, but I got the frame and other parts back from the powder coater.

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Since the engine was kind of in my way, I hurried up and installed it back in the frame.

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Next, I put new bearings, collars and seals in the swingarm, then mounted it in the frame.

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The triple clamps I decided to paint. Anodizing cast aluminum is hit-or-miss. Blacks sometimes come out as purples. I used Eastwood aluminum radiator paint in a 20% black. Since the triple clamps aren't a high-wear area, it will work fine. Then I put in new headset bearings and installed the triple clamps.

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Next, the footpegs, swingarm linkage, and wiring harness went back on.

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The wiring harness has to go on now because it runs under other parts like the airbox.

Wowza.. I am keeping an eye on this thread!

I now understand how Kawasaki puts carbs in KLXs. It's pretty easy with nothing in the way. ;)

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Next, the inner rear fender, airbox, battery box and shock were mounted. The left Works Performance frame guard had to be mounted because the swingarm bolt runs through it.

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The radiators were next on the list. When I cleaned them up, I was amazed at how much crud came out of the fins, even though they looked clean.

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Niiiice!!!

I then moved on to the forks. The seals were weeping, even after cleaning them out with a piece of plastic. I wanted to change their color too. When I tore them down, the Teflon on the inner bushing was a little messed up, so I got new inner and outer bushings, seals, and dust covers.

I sent the upper fork tubes out to be anodized black. They turned out well.

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All ready to be reassembled. I don't have a dampening rod holder, so I used my impact wrench to zip the cartridge back in. Yes, I know the upper fork tube is upside down in the picture. I don't know why I didn't catch that before I took the picture. The cartridge has a Moto Pro shim stack, that's why it's green and purple.

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The forks back on the bike.

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THAT is nice!!! Excellent photos. Keep us updated on the project. My compliments on your workspace, too. ;)

This is awesome! If I run into time, money and mechanical knowledge I want to do all of this!!! This really does look great so far, I am following your post.

2011 Fork Protectors on a 2006
 

One thing I wanted to change was the fork protectors. I wanted black ones, but didn't like idea of getting '93 KX125 protectors, mainly because I also wanted to route the brake hose on the inside of the fork leg like every other bike. I took a look at a new KLX at a dealership, and figured mounting the new style fork protectors wouldn't be all that difficult. So I went to ronayers.com and broke out my credit card.

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The stock fork protector is on the left (obviously), while a new 2011 KLX250S fork protector is on the right. Yes, they are radically different.

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The 2009 and up fork protectors each have 3 bolt holes, with only the front one lining up with any of the threaded holes in the '06 fork legs. Since they don't use a slider, it's not enough to just drill a hole in the protector to bolt on the side. The protector will just flop back onto the fork leg.

First I took a piece of clear plastic and bolted to the post cast on the side of each fork leg. Then I mounted up the protector and traced the outline onto the plastic with a Sharpie. After cutting the outline of the plastic, I used that as my template to cut aluminum pieces. I used 1/8", 6061 aluminum.

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After finishing the part, I could pick up 2 bolt holes on the fork protector, while mounting it to one bolt hole on the fork leg. I needed a 3/8" shim on the front of each fork protector to make everything line up.

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The aluminum bracket can then be bolted to the fork protector, and only the center bolt needs to be removed to unmount them. I had drill a hole in each fork protector to be able to get to the allen bolt.

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I went back to the Kawi dealership and measured a 2011 to make sure my fork protectors fit just like they do on the new bikes. Everything checked out. They don't flop around or lay back on the fork legs either.

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I'll have more to add in the coming weeks. I'm waiting for some parts to arrive and time to install them.

Wow! Mustang, that is a work of art. Keep up the great work!:cool: