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dirt bike question

DrPizza

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
My son has an '87 KX 250. Problem with the back brakes. Something happened to the rear caliper... "I need a new one."

Question: (I'm a complete bike noob when it comes to repairs) - what's preventing me from completely replacing the entire rear brake system - calipers, brake line, even the master cylinder, etc if necessary?

I'm thinking in terms of cars - there's not a lot to the brakes. I've changed the calipers on a car before; it wasn't a big deal. What's the difference from one caliper to another (for a similar sized bike, of course)?

The actual parts he claims he needs are next to impossible to find, because of the age of the bike, and are quite expensive (I'm looking at $500. I can replace the calipers on a car for well under $100.) I know it's pretty bad to make the comparison to a car, but really, how much of a difference is there between calipers that he needs the exact calipers manufactured for that exact year's bike?

I asked this question at the bike shop, the guy just grinned and said, "you'd have to get the exact calipers for that year's bike; they change them every year or so."
 
Bikes are like cars. A Camry caliper won't fit on an Accord, etc. Bike parts are always more expensive than car parts, because bikes sell in MUCH smaller numbers.

I did a quick search and found the following:
http://offroad.parts-unlimited.com/8/54/4236595
1701-0107 FITS MODEL: KX250 95-02 - REAR CALIPER $304.95

Looks like a 7 year spread using that part, so you may have some luck on ebay or other sites that sell used parts.

 
Thanks. I probably should say that I understand about the parts "fitting" - I just didn't think they'd vary that much.

Oh, and that 7 year spread... didn't include 1987.

I was just hoping to retrofit a newer year's rear braking system to fit the older 1987 bike, even if I had to swap out more parts.
 
Dirt bike parts are problematic, as they change so frequently, and they age in dog years too 1 year=7 normal years...

Set up a search on ebay to notify you is anything that matches that description shows up is your cheapest bet.

Another option is to find a used bike & scavenge parts from it.

Or buy him a Honda next time 😉

http://www.cyclepartsnation.com/pages/parts/home.aspx

You should be able to just rebuild the doggone thing, not replace it all...

http://www.moto-directory.com/salvage.asp
 
Depends on how much work you're willing to do. I'd probably use a cheap caliper from a similar-sized bike, and fab a bracket/adapter in the machine shop.
 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Thanks. I probably should say that I understand about the parts "fitting" - I just didn't think they'd vary that much.

Oh, and that 7 year spread... didn't include 1987.

I was just hoping to retrofit a newer year's rear braking system to fit the older 1987 bike, even if I had to swap out more parts.
Click to expand...

I would check out fleabay personally. There are always tons of cheap parts to be had there, especially for older bikes (though I'm not sure about an '87). If you know anything about metal working, you could just fabricate a bracket, there should only be two bolts holding the caliper onto the swingarm.

Another alternative is to possibly cut your losses and look for a newer bike, 500 bucks is probably worth about the same as the whole bike anymore.
 
Also, 500 is pretty damn high if you ask me. You could put a whole new rear brake system on for less than that. Check out the off-road catalog from dennis kirk, they usually have a lot of stuff for older bikes. Link to downloadable pdf catalogs

Aftermarket braided line ~40
aftermarket pads ~30
aftermarket rotor ~90
aftermarket caliper ~200

These are just estimates on my part, (I've done brake lines, Oversized rotor, and pads before for less than 150) and I know an aftermarket caliper for a dirtbike is around 2-300 bucks.
 
This is one of the last places to find out about fixing a dirt bike, if you have questions about acne or match.com your in the right place....


Tom
 
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