I helped a friend move furniture yesterday, and he ended up giving me a 1979 Kawasaki KDX 400 Dirt Bike. It does need a little work before it is rideable, but not too bad. mainly some cables and crank seals. I can easily touch the ground with my feet when sitting on the bike (being 6'1 I guess it isnt that hard to do, ).

However, I am pretty new to Dirt bikes, and I am already aware that a big bore 2-Stroke may not be the best thing to get on, in fact, if it were a KX (full race MX'er, it would have been immediately sold.

Does anyone here have any experience with a Kawasaki KDX like this? So, would this bike be somewhat ok for someone with limited experience like me, or is this a death wish?

(pics below are not of mine, may add some of my own later)

 

I had an 84 KDX200. Any bike can get you hurt if you act crazy on them,but these are mild mannered street and trail machines unlike the KX.

 

I had a 1981 KDX 175. They are as serious as the KX 125 . The are race bikes but the sport is call "Pure Enduro" it's a timed cross country race with 3 displacement classes.

They all made them, the bikes were called "Pure Enduros". Suzuki called their's a "PE" ,Yamaha "IT" and Honda "XR" Honda was a 4 stroke , Can-AM was the "Qualifier" HUSQVARNA was the "WR". and KTM was the "GS".

These were out of the crate competition motorcycles with reed valve motors not general purpose dirt bikes like the Kawasaki "KE".

They are geared taller and can cruise all day at 60 mph where as a KX 125 would scream to red line and blow up at the speed in short time.

Here is a link to the sport. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enduro

All I can say is "Hang On".