FastDoc, Spud, and the Anti-Prius

[SpudRider]

As FastDoc can attest, my Zong is very fun to ride, and is capable of traveling to a lot of beautiful mountaintops in Idaho. My Honda XR650L is also a pleasure to ride with its monster torque, and excellent off road capabilities. However, the 196cc engine in my Zong sometimes lacks power at Idaho altitudes, and my Honda is sometimes difficult to wrestle while exploring new trails in the mountains. Therefore, I recently decided to add a powerful, but much lighter, dual sport bike to my stable of motorcycles.

As we all know, Brother Bill, a.k.a. FastDoc, is the undisputed King of Craigslist! Therefore, when FastDoc discovered a street legal, 2-stroke, Kawasaki KDX 220 for sale near his home, I asked him to check it out for me. Brother Bill graciously agreed to examine the bike, and discovered it was a very good deal. Therefore, I wired FastDoc the money, and he bought the bike for me. The last weekend of September I traveled to Brother Bill’s home to pick up the bike, and enjoy his gracious hospitality while riding the local trails in Washington.

I had never ridden a 2-stroke motorcycle before. Therefore, when I arrived in Washington on Saturday afternoon, Brother Bill gave me a quick primer on 2-stroke motorcycles. FastDoc is an excellent teacher, and after I got accustomed to riding the 2-stroke a bit on the local streets, Brother Bill mounted his KLX250S, and we went riding in the mountains. Doc is blessed with a large number of excellent trails very close to his home. Therefore, I certainly enjoyed the beautiful scenery as I became accustomed to my “new,” 2-stroke motorcycle.





Needless to say, I quickly discovered riding the 2-stroke was an absolute blast! The KDX 220 is extremely nimble, and only weighs about 245 pounds when fully fueled, and ready to ride. Also this bike makes great power in all six gears! I quickly learned to respect the wheel lifting torque when the bike hit its power band in the lower gears.





My KDX 220 is geared very low for technical riding on steep, tight trails. Nevertheless, FastDoc still clocked me at 75 mph as we rode the pavement connecting several trails that afternoon. Needless to say, riding the 2-stroke on the street is absolutely joyful, as the light, powerful little bike whines, makes smoke, and angers all the Prius owners! After riding several hours we returned home before sunset, and planned to go riding the next day, weather permitting.

P.S. A previous owner removed the kickstand on my KDX, so we needed to hold the bike up for all these photographs. Needless to say, I am going to order a replacement kickstand for this motorcycle.

Spud