Always wanted a dirt bike, as a lad, a few friends had them and they were generous enough to let me ride them from time to time.
A 2001 KX250 happened to come my way that was in need to some work. It was clear the previous owner enjoyed tinkering with it, but unfortunately it was running really badly. He may have been scared of it, as it was completely de-tuned, air and fuel setting were a mess, the compression was lowered with thick gaskets, air reed valve was replaced with a de-tuned version. The ignition timing was off the mark and the flywheel magneto needed slight adjustment also.
The sprockets were replaced with non standard sizes. I pretty much had to go through the whole bike.
Here's the bike as I got it.

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Most of this bikes work is mechanical, and I'm not a mechanic. I was able to get this bike very cheap as the owner had bought a newer (4stroke) bike and this one was just his tinkering bike by the looks of it. Being a 2stroke also helped with the price, it seems these are not popular at all these days and I fact Kawasaki doesn't even make them anymore, although parts are still available.

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I didn't mention, part of the deal was a spare engine and a few parts thrown in.

A few pictures of stripping the bike down.

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I decided to re-paint the frame. The under side was in bad shape, and it hadn't been done since new. Kawasaki lime green is the colour (K12).

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Looks like a fun project, Okami! 2-cycle bikes & scooters had better power to weight ratio, but could not meet tighter emissions standards, so they have been discontinued.

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Water separates the people of the world; wine unites them.

"If you have good manners and are well spoken, you can be welcome anywhere." -Mom, 1959

In the parts, there were some new piston rings and gaskets, so I decided to change them



There were parts missing in the exhaust valve (kips) so that absolutely wouldn't have been functioning. I had to order parts for that.

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The carb was a mess, all the wrong size needle and jets, parts missing from the air adjustment screw, the floats were set wrong and the throttle needle was on the wrong clip position and the reed valve had been tinkered with. I had most of the parts in a box as part of the deal, but had to order a few rubber O'rings and a new reed valve.

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I'm now in the process of building the bike back together

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Fanatastic work, as always - especially from one who claims not to be a mechanic. I thought it was a miracle when I finally figured out a trickle charger for my motorcycle battery so I didn't need to change or charge it everytime I got to the cabin, which is only a couple times a year. Beyond that, I am lucky to get gasoline in the right place - but I love to ride, this looks like a fun project for you.

I love this! Thanks for posting. I'd particularly love to see more close-ups of how you're doing the various things. I've never done anything like this, and it's fun to live and learn vicariously.

So, your wife plays music in the background while you're working?

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I don't have as many Festools as Fred. Or Marcou's, or Brese's, or Lie-Nielsen's, or Lee Valley's, or Blue Spruce's, or Harold and Saxon's, or...