Sink, you were right on with your plan.

Tip of the day:
Dont listen to trolls.

 

Oh and I never bought one mod with the thought of later selling the bike. I will never sell this bike. The bike rocks. After not riding for 20 years on an off road bike I can't believe all the time I wasted without a bike. Old, bold, and riding off road baby!!!

 

Yes you do need the skidplate ...If you go down hard on the right side you have a waterpump to deal with possibly getting smashed on rocks....utah sport cycle is #1 here with protection for the price.

My FMF fit very well but the FSW header actually caused my problems.The slip-on is top notch.It's been washed 1 time since July and it looks like new except where the bike skidded across the ground on the silencer can itself on hardtop.just some minor scuffs.power increase with my setup is quite impressive IMO as it will wheelie 1 and 2nd with OEM gearing when i lean back.
I'm just stating some facts for this fellow.
Best bang for the buck is to get the exhaust and a jet kit along with a high flow air filter (twin air,Uni) ,gut the emissions equip and get a 43-45 tooth rear sprocket with a good set of tires.
For all around use the 606's are great but for more off road running a set of K760's would be better and for 80% street-20% O.R. I'd recommend a set of Dunlop D607's.

 

i dont know how i would do it again if i had to....i got the BG because it was the only with out a wait.... for sure get new tires, and a 13t, and rejet it. those are cheap things that make a decent difference.

 

On a cheap budget you can rejet, stock KLX 300 headpipe and muffler, 13 tooth sprocket, UNI filter, and Kenda tires for around ~$250-$300. The stock 300 setup will net you around the same power increase as a slip on for under $100 shipped. It doesn't look or sound as good but if you are after the power gains, I'd start there and then go witha "real" system after you sort everything else out. Dollar for dollar theexhaust systems return the least HP for the most price. For the price of the FMF full system you aren't far from a sleeved 331, and only $200 shy of a brand new coated 331. The big bore will give the most HP/dollar. The pipes are the icing on the cake though, they look good, sound good, and do add power but there are other things you can throw $500 at.

 

...or plan on doing? If you never plan on doing gnarly trails, then some of those things won't be necessary.

My bike has been transformed from the stock dual sport to a trail bike that I can ride on the street. If you plan on riding tough (subjective - what's tough for one person may be easy for another) trails then youshould alsoplan on falling down. First, protect yourself (helmet, boots, guards, etc.) and then your bike.

For bike protection, the Utah skid plate is great. It has lots of scrapes and bashes that otherwise would have been inflicted on the bike itself. Strong handguards/bark busters will both protect you and the bike. Other stuff to help protect your bike would be relocating the front brake line (get a SS line from Bill Blue) and a shark fin for the brake rotor (haven't found one for the front yet). ...and radiator guards.

Next for the trails would be traction and gearing. The stock tires absolutely suck in the mud -- almost anything else is better. Dropping to a 13T front will help, but getting to a 3.5 ratio (or more) will require a rear sprocket and chain swap. The re-gearing will help both with the uphills and downhills.

As for more power, it really not necssary for the trails, but it feels good. The "free mods" should suffice until you have more resources.

 

I actually agree with alot of what IG said too, but the pipe thing man....we've done this to death. I've got a pipe comparison thread where I actually compared a BG and a Muzzy. The BG touched the air box. The Muzzy touched the foot peg if you tried to fold it down. Didn't notice really any difference in power, and just different tones of sound. So basically it came down which one you think sounds/looks cooler. I've proved it.

Anyway yeah the skid plate is handy too I think, but totally depends on your riding.

Jets, pipe, air filter, and the free mods are what I'd do first (and is what I did first). Also skidded my tires when the back one was bald.

Oh and the 13t sprocket.

 

I'm glad to see so many people agreeing with me and my advice. Regarding the skidplate, go for it. But for most situations it's a waste. I've went down in about every conceivable fashion on dirt, rocks, have even been ran over while racing, etc. and never smashed a pump. But hey, if it trips your trigger go for it. I guess it is there if you ever do happen to fall on the water pump.
I totally forgot about the 13-tooth front sprocket, that's the FIRST mod you should do. Then rejet, pipe, airbox/filter, get rid of smog stuff and then enjoy your new bike- again.
Deej- not everyone keeps their bikes forever, and I'd be willing to bet you don't either. It's a feeling we get when we have something we love and are satisfied with but there's always something better that we fall in love with. I'm not saying that you won't keep it forever, just that for most everyone on here, they won't so to sink so much money into mods and then sell it and not recoup that cost is something to think about especially for such a young man like sinkoman who doesn't even have money to do this with.

 

Completely has to do with how advice is delivered man. If you start dictating what people should do, or their stupid, then yeah it causes heat for sure.

I can relate to falling in love with vehicles. I'm going to miss my dodge. We've been everywhere, man. But, I hate the long box and I want some more comfort....and more power.

Sames with my bike. First bike I've ever rode, let alone owned (well it was my brothers klx that i tried first) so its sentimental. I'll definately be doing the big bore because right now I dont need 450 and probably wont ever realistically. I can do anything i want on my KLX except cat walk the thing. So 340 should take care of the rest when I decide its time. But forever? Probably not, I'll probably break it testing out my crash techniques.

 

yes, looking back I regret selling my KLX as I've said before. It was hasty and "the grass is greener" thing. Well, if I would've kept it I had big plans. I had sitting in a box from forum member mmarc a 300 cylinder just waiting to be bored. And I had always wanted a real carb too, but tuning that kind of scared me away from pursuing it further. As I ride on the streets a lot I just couldn't justify it. I let it all go when I sold it.