Queen of Spodes 89 KX125 Kawasaki complete rebuild

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This build was posted at another site.
I received permission from the owner of the bike to post here:

Earlier this year I bought a project bike not knowing what all I would get into. I've asked for some help along the way but thought I'd share a few pics of the bike before I got it and now that I am working on it.

Here's the bike from the Kawasaki brochure:

left side

queen of spodes 89 kx125 1.jpg (100.19 KiB) Viewed 10261 times

and the right side:

queen of spodes 89 kx125 1-1.jpg (62.81 KiB) Viewed 10261 times

I have no illusions about my resto coming close to showroom quality, but I hope to get it in the same ballpark.

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Here are a couple pics from a previous owner.. from what I learned this bike had been passed around to a couple people after being rescued from a bad owner. Nobody wanted to dive in, and after taking it apart I see why!

note the 88 graphics on the radiator shroud

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Next, strip down

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Some close ups of years of abuse/neglect

Doesn't look so bad here?

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Check out that sprocket!

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right side. engine was drooling fresh oil from somewhere...

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swingarm was dirty but serviceable

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footpegs & mounts trashed

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Carb & boot crusty

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lots of corrosion here, but the bike put out a nice fat blue spark

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orange RTV, tell tale signs of shade tree mechanic

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clutch pack looked pretty good considering the outside of the engine and frame

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had to grind down the sprocket welding to get the cases apart

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no idea what was going on here... the more i looked at this bike the less I tried to think about it. haha.

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source of the oil leak - cracked drain plug threads. have to find some different cases...

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crank and rod looked ok and spun freely. sending it off to get rebuilt with OEM conn rod & bearing kit

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Found some cheap cases on Ebay.. they were painted forest green. The side I needed is in decent shape though, so I just need to get these soda blasted.

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queen of spodes 89 kx125 3-1.jpg (77.08 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

ok setting the engine aside for the time being...

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Here's the gas tank that came with the bike.. it was pretty grimy and a little stained. I picked up a nicer tank on fleabay (not pictured)

queen of spodes 89 kx125 3-2.jpg (56.23 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

Ok so now I move on to the forks. More WTF goodness would be discovered...

89 kx's had the nice 46mm conventionals.. a lot of people ran these into the mid 90s (chunking the USD's that came on early perimeter frame KXs). good forks.

But look closely at the axle holder on the right leg. see anything?

queen of spodes 89 kx125 3-3.jpg (73.18 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

Let me enlarge that for you...

queen of spodes 89 kx125 3-4.jpg (72.84 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

Previous owner had a 87 or earlier front wheel mounted up.. those wheels had smaller axles.. so they used their "ingenuity" to make this penny spacer to hold the loose axle in the 89 legs.

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queen of spodes 89 kx125 3-6.jpg (69.55 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

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Got the legs off and disassembled on the work bench. NOTE I wrote up a how-to on this process - click here. You will need a special tool to get the legs apart. Follow this thread starting here.. I have pics of the tool and how it works just continue reading this thread.

queen of spodes 89 kx125 3-7.jpg (78.25 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

First set of forks in storage:

queen of spodes 89 kx125 3-8.jpg (79.57 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

Found a second set of legs that looked a LOT better - picked them up and broke them down too so I could pick and choose the nicer components from both sets

queen of spodes 89 kx125 3-9.jpg (133 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

Internals were pretty descent on both legs so I went with the ones that looked a little cleaner.

queen of spodes 89 kx125 4-1.jpg (98.46 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

Rebuilt and ready to install

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Shock looked crusty and abused. Removed spring and sent to a Race Tech service center here in GA.

ps if you have tips for a better way of removing the spring please reply & give details

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shock ready to be shipped off

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shock received back from Race Tech service center with next to no packing material inside. Shock was sticking out of the box when it arrived. I was not impressed after having spent about $250 getting it rebuilt.

queen of spodes 89 kx125 4-5.jpg (90.44 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

Need to get the original spring blasted and powder coated.. but thats for later.

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Linkage that came with the bike was frozen up pretty good.

queen of spodes 89 kx125 4-6.jpg (77.76 KiB) Viewed 10260 times

Luckily I spotted a set on Ebay that was fully disassembled. Good for rebuilding

Pressing out the bearing races

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Shock mount was rusted up pretty good.. had to press this little one out (wouldn't come out with my vice)

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Got all of the bearings replaced and this piece is ready to go

queen of spodes 89 kx125 4-9.jpg (71.72 KiB) Viewed 10260 times