Looking to buy a 2003 Kawi Lakota 300 tomorrow:



Looks similar in a lot of ways to the Bayou 250 with the automatic clutch.

Any opinions on this machine?

Anyone have one? Any info you could share? Reliability? Speed?

Thanks in advance!

 

No replies? Bummer.

Well I went to see the machine, and I got it for $1,500. Ran perfectly. Really smooth and strong engine. He had a buddy that works at the Kawi dealer do some carb work. Almost scary fast! I think I need to send my Prairie to his guy.





That being said, it has a few issues:

1. The front shocks are absolutely awful! I think they are frozen. They have rust seeping out of every joint. These MUST be replaced, as this machine is almost not rideable on any kind of terrain that isn't absolutely smooth.

2. The Left/Rear brake handle doesn't work. The handle and cable are good, and the foot brake works just fine. Strange... I took a look at the caliper, and it appears there is a separate mechanism for the hand brake. I looked on Amazon, and they sell the rear caliper, some with the secondary connection, (parking brake) some without. For $25, I got one that had both. Cheap enough, for sure!

3. The front headlight glass is broken out. Since the stock lights aren't very bright, I decided to add the LED pods I have on my other machine. Not sure where to mount the, (I've never had a machine without a rack before) I decided to use the existing bolts, and although the placement is a little strange, I didn't have to drill, and they will work fine there:


Then to deal with the broken headlight lens. I searched for a replacement, but since the light works just fine, I dug out some 3/16" plexiglass I had laying around, and I cut a piece to fit. I used some clear Gorilla double-sided tape (I LOVE this stuff!) and I wrapped the edges of the new lens and then used some brake cleaner to wipe the surrounding area, and stuck it in place. Looks stock. You just don't notice it, unless you look very closely. Very happy with the fix.

So it looks like most of my problems are fairly minor and solvable. Does anyone know shocks that will fit a 2003 Lakota Sport? That seems to be my biggest challenge at this time.