Which two-stroke oil for a Kawasaki KMX200?

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

Based on the advice in this thread I decided to buy a trailie for the local back roads and - since G and others are always banging on about 2-strokes - I softened my opposition to smokers. Anyway, I managed to pick up a Kawasaki KMX200 from a friend for under £600.

It was fully rebuilt a few years back and has had very little use since due to my friend injuring himself shortly after buying it. As part of the rebuilt, all fasteners on the engine seem to have replaced with hex heads and frame was cleaned and repainted. It comes with loads of bits including a spare seat and most of another engine. Runs sweetly. Only problems are sticky front brake caliper and a pinhole in the tank. Other than that, looks good for the MOT, hopefully will be on the road in a couple of weeks.

So what two-stroke oil should I use? This fully synthetic scooter oil (Silkolene Scoot Sport 2) costs about £10 while the high performance version (Silkolene Comp 2 Plus) costs £16. Would a 25-year old KMX care either way? Should I just throw in any old 2-stroke bike oil from Aldi or some other chain? EDIT: I eventually bought Castrol 1L Power 1 Racing 2T from Amazon UK. This was cheaper for the same volume than the high performance Silkolene referenced above and because I'm an Amazon Prime member there was no postage to pay, so the total savings were significant. Thumbs Up

PS proof that you can fit an entire dirt bike and a shed-load of parts in the back of a car (we did take the petrol tank off) thus saving a ton of money in delivery fees. Citroen Berlingo Multispace FTW!

https://i.imgur.com/szLi9oz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EVIXqRQ.jpg

stuartt · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Jun 2012 Karma :

i'd go for the good oil .

Mira · Scooby Slapper Joined: 14 Feb 2009 Karma :

Other half says he used any old 2 stroke oil from the local petrol station in his kmx125. Ran it for about 5 years with no problems.
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Seb · World Chat Champion Joined: 19 Jul 2007 Karma :

Great choice of bike btw, I frequently had use of one and it accelerated like a bullet. If I wasn't forever in fear of it getting stolen, I'd have bought it in a shot.
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2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

Anything fully synth would be my choice. Like many more recent stroker's the KMX runs a plated bore, and you want to preserve this as well as possible due to the costs of a re-plate or having a liner fitted etc.

Get some more pics up when it's together! Thumbs Up

_mjs_ · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Karma :

I'd go for the expensive stuff based on the old adage 'oil cheap, engines expensive'.

Cool bike Thumbs Up

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Previous Bikes: 2006 Honda XR125L > 2003 Yamaha DT125R > 1996 Honda CB500
Current bikes: 1997 Kawasaki ZZR 600 E5 > 2006 Honda Varadero XL125V

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

andys675 · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Feb 2007 Karma :

castrol TTS, think its called power 1 TTS these days
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Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

[img]https://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u482/stevo1994/garage/garagepics008.jpg[/img]

The old 200cc, been in this state without the motor for 6years! Embarassed

[img]https://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u482/stevo1994/kmx%20decals/DSCF0655_zpsb34c7dee.jpg[/img]

The 125 that I'm just finishing off a few details on and still waiting for my blue seat to arrive.

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

bladerunner · World Chat Champion Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Karma :

Check the grade ....Jaso b,c,d etc as that's how we'll the oil performed in tests to an international standard.....semi synth and the kmx will be happy....fully synth and you pay a bit more but tbh if your just off roading you'll probably use a couple of bottles a year. I stay away from car lube ( brand ) stuff just because I don't like the looks of it rather than bad experience ! I've run the kdx200 on scoot oil for 2 years without issue but have swapped to fully synth to see if it keeps the smoke levels down a bit....pre mix @30:1 on the kdx .....just make sure it's auto lube type stuff rather than the thicker per mix only stuff........oh the KDX last had a new piston 12 years ago and still going strong Wink

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Current bikes...cbr929, KDX200's, Rd125lc mk2, RGV250's

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

Good point, i tend to stick to known decent oil brands, Rock oil/Silkolene/Motul/Morris/Miller's etc.

I think you can get Morris and Millers synthetic and Silkolene on-line in 5ltr cans, for £30-40, and that would last you ages.

You need 1litre of engine oil or transmission oil for the gearbox, and the coolant system takes just over 1litre of coolant. Not sure if ready mixed is cheaper than buying antifreeze and mixing yourself, but it's less hassle.

If the bike runs hot off road then try back flushing the rad and cooling system, and straighten out any bent fins etc. You can use a 70/30% water-antifreeze solution which may help with cooling too. The 200cc has a marginal cooling system for serious off road use, and was considered less reliable than the 125 in this respect.

If you going to use it mainly off road, you'd probably like 14/48T gearing instead of the std 16/50T. Having said that my 125 could pull a higher final drive on the road, so when it's run in and dyno'd, I'm going to try 15/48T it adds a couple of mph to each ratio, and makes for 85mph/10000rpm.

I'm trying to get my 125cc finished for the Stafford show on the 26-27th.

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

I want to show it at least once, before I start racking up the miles, and doing any further mods to it really. As much of a waste as it is of a decent trail bike, I won't use this off road again if I end up keeping it that is?

Maybe at Stafford someone will fancy a swap for a new project bike, something I've not had before? TDR250's are out of my league price wise, but I'm sure there's plenty of other old bikes that would interest me given the chance.

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

stevo as b4 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Karma :

Hi, I'm afraid that I brought this one 98% fully restored, so the previous owner had the paintwork done.

It was a mismatch of panels I'm led to believe, and I think he used some reasonable condition panels whatever the colour, and then had them professionally filled/primed/sprayed by a good quality car bodyshop.

The bike was originally a white one, but over the years with dirtbikes, it's common to end up with mismatched panels. I have no idea what colour all the panels are under the nice clean white paint, and I don't want to off road it in case I find out lol!

You can still get new OEM front and rear mudguards, and side panels from some Kawasaki Dealers, definitely in Black, but I think green are still also available and maybe a few in white too, but probably not a full set.

Speak to Cradley Kawasaki, Peterborough Kawasaki or Cornwall Kawasaki for assistance. When I last priced up some new panels, it came to about £150 I think, which is still much cheaper than a full pro prep and re-spray of all the plastics.

You can obviously use pattern/aftermarket headlamp units, and guards if wanted which may well be cheaper? I heard dirtbike plastics don't take well to re-painting, but someone has made a nice job of the plastics on my 125 that's for sure.

Looking forward to seeing pics of you 200 soon! You never know I might become inspired to get off my arse then? Laughing

slowlydoesit · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 14 Oct 2012 Karma :

dangerousdave · Traffic Copper Joined: 22 Apr 2011 Karma :

Another vote here for Castrol TTS here.

Used to run Rock Oil Semi-synth on my first KMX200 which seemed ok, although the engine went pop a few times.

I like the fully synthetic oil as it keeps the exhaust much cleaner with virtually no smoke.

Have to be careful with the KMX 200 as the exhaust valves do gum up with carbon deposits, and can snap in some circumstances. Again, the decent oil prevents the deposits for longer.
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1988 Kawasaki KMX 200

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dangerousdave · Traffic Copper Joined: 22 Apr 2011 Karma :

Another vote here for Castrol TTS here.

Used to run Rock Oil Semi-synth on my first KMX200 which seemed ok, although the engine went pop a few times.

I like the fully synthetic oil as it keeps the exhaust much cleaner with virtually no smoke.

Have to be careful with the KMX 200 as the exhaust valves do gum up with carbon deposits, and can snap in some circumstances. Again, the decent oil prevents the deposits for longer.
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1988 Kawasaki KMX 200

Previous: Yamaha YZF1000, ZZR600, KMX200, DT50, KX80, CG125, PF50