On this week’s 2-Stroke Tuesday Carson Brown tells us a little bit of the story behind building his KDX220 project and why he thinks it’s one of the best off-road woods bikes ever built. If you want to see the mighty KDX220 in action scroll to the bottom of this page. We promise you won’t be disappointed in what this machine can do with Carson at the controls. For the full story on this build check out the February 2024 printed issue of Dirt Bike Magazine.

We found this particular 1997 KDX 220 on Facebook Marketplace for a pretty good deal. It wasn’t in the best shape but we knew it would be a fun build. 

Naturally the first order of business after getting this gem home was to really asses what was needed. As you probably expected a complete engine rebuild was needed. We got online and ordered all the rebuild parts needed from Motosport.com and sent the cylinder off to Southern California so Pro Circuits Mitch Payton could work his magic. 

Before we installed the dunlop tires the wheels got new purple rims and oversized spokes connected to the refurbished OEM hubs all put together by Kristen and the crew at Dubya. 

The pipe was a Platinum 2 that had to come from the rafters in some old stock room because we don’t see it anywhere on Pro Circuits website and the silencer was originally built for a KX250 motocross model.

 Guts Racing seat foam covered by a retro purple gripper cover. Other chassis bolt-on items included Devol Racing aluminum guards and skid plate, complete Works Connection clutch perch system, Renthal bars and drive system,

The KDX200/220 was one of the best woods bikes ever made in my humble opinion. It’s simple, and cheap. The engine with its KIPS power valve was super smooth and torquey back in the day; kind of like a 4 stroke without the weight and complexity.