Why, you ask, would anyone spend the time and effort to convert a motocross bike into a
woods racer, when so many other bikes can be had perfectly set up for woods riding? The
answer is simple: I don't know, but it sure is fun. Don't get me wrong, you have to love
tinkering with bikes and have a healthy amount of experience in the saddle to know exactly
what is needed to do a MX conversion. It's not easy, and certainly not something you want
to do in a hurry. Fortunately for me, I found an outstanding deal on a new 2003 KX250.
Trust me, if you want to be first in line and pay at or near retail price for the latest, greatest
MX bike, it won't be economical to turn it into a woods racer.

Here's what I did, in order of priority:
Forks revalve                $145
Shock revalve                 150
Shims                                50
Shipping to and from      45
Gun case (Walmart)       18
Fork Springs                     80
Shock Spring                    80
Total Cost            $568
A Perfect Match
MX suspension and a cheap plastic gun case
from Walmart.
After
Before
Too Close for Comfort

Notice the grind job on
the pinch clamp bolt.
Enduro Engineering
hand guard bolts work
even better.
No, it's not supposed to look
like that. This happened on the
very first ride.
 Not supposed to look like this,
either. IMS put a pair of pegs for
a late-'90's CR250 in a
package labeled for my '03
KX250 (IMS was kind enough
to exchange them for the
correct pegs). The correct pegs
fit just fine.
Click <here> to see the
rest of the mods and the
completed conversion.
There you have it. This
is why you need to get
a really good deal on
an MX bike in order for
the woods conversion
to make economical
sense.


The KX250 Woods Conversion
Step 1: Revalve the suspension
Trust me, motocross valving in
the woods is bad. Very bad.
Sometimes you wonder if the
suspension is even there at all. I
sent mine to Drew Smith at
W.E.R. Racing. I wanted a
specialist in woods suspension
tuning, and Drew is the guy. For
springs, I went with .42's up front
(.44 is stock) and a 4.8 in the rear
(5.2 is stock).
Step 2: Add flywheel weight
The KX250 is purported to have
more flywheel weight than most
MX bikes. It needs more. I'm
starting with an 11-oz weight from
Steahly Racing, which may be
more than I need. We'll see. Many
woods riders complain about MX
bikes being prone to stalling, but
after riding with the stock flywheel
in the woods, it wasn't nearly as
bad as I expected. Steahly has
many weights to choose from,
and I may go lighter later on.
Step 3: Get a larger gas tank
Two gallons just won't cut it for a
2-hour hare scramble, unless
you like stopping for gas (I don't).
As of August 2003, IMS is the
only larger-capacity option for the
'03 KX250 (Clarke's tank will be
available later this year - both
tanks are just a bit more than 3
gallons). The good news is that
the IMS tank fits very nicely. The
bad news is that if you use an
upper triple clamp that has pinch
bolts angled inward toward the
steering head (think KTM), the
bolts may make contact with the
IMS tank when the handlbars are
turned in all the way. No good
solution except to get out the
heat gun and mold the tank to fit
the clamp. To increase
clearance, use allen head bolts
like those that come with Enduro
Engineering hand guards.
They're a flatter, "pan head" style.
Total Cost: $200
Step 4: O-ring Chain
Most MX bikes come with
standard chains, which won't last
very long in the nasty conditions
often experienced in hare
scrambles and enduros. I like
the RK X-ring chain.
Total Cost: $50
Step 5: Get stronger footpegs.
The KX250 isn't designed for
crashing in rock gardens, which
is one of my specialties. I bought
a pair of IMS Pro series pegs,
which are much stronger.
Total Cost: $90
Suspension                   $568
Flywheel Weight              100
Tank                                   200
O-ring Chain                       50
Footpegs                             90
Total                   $1,108
See the other mods