Greg Hitchko’s $25,000 Time Machine: A Masterclass 1999 KX250 Splitfire Rebuild

What happens when a “simple rider” project turns into a deep-dive obsession with period-correct factory parts? You get Greg Hitchko’s 1999 Kawasaki KX250—a build that north of $20,000 and hundreds of hours to perfect. This isn’t just a restoration; it’s a meticulously crafted replica of the bikes piloted by legends like Ricky Carmichael and Nate Ramsey.

When Greg Hitchko started his 1999 Kawasaki KX250 project, he told his wife it was just a “bike to ride.” $25,000 later, he’s produced what might be the cleanest, most period-correct Pro Circuit Splitfire replica on the planet.

From the Kashima-coated factory suspension to a seat cover actually used by Ricky Carmichael, this isn’t just a rebuild—it’s a time machine. we asked Greg five questions about this amazing build be sure to watch the video whe your done reading the article.

What drew you to this specific bike? Was it a childhood dream, a lucky barn find, or just a platform you’ve always wanted to build?

I was bike-less at the time and was looking for a nice “rideable” KX250. There is something about the green bikes that just calls my name, whether it be the color, its history of riders, or the “KX” just sounding so cool. It was a daily Facebook Market Place grind of trying to find something that wasn’t beat and I didn’t have to put a lot of money into. I had zero intentions of building it “all out.” Maybe replace a few wear parts, add some bars, tires, pipe, seat, and call it a day. 

One day I came across a very well preserved 1999 KX250, all stock, aside from the rear tire, rear sprocket, and ODI handle bars. Unfortunately it was during COVID times, and the seller I was buying it from was very familiar with the market. He had bought it as a barn find simply to flip. I paid $5K for it…I’m not happy about the amount of money spent on an over 25 year old bike, but it definitely led to a pretty cool future finished product. 

I started out with those simple mods I had mentioned above, but one day while scrolling the “Bazaar” forum on VitalMX, I stumbled upon a set of OG Pro Circuit triple clamps that someone was selling. I had never, EVER, thought to spend money on triple clamps, but discovering how rare they were along with their cool factor, I convinced myself to cough up the $550 plus shipping. This led me down a deep dark rabbit hole of “period correct” or “era specific” parts searching, which my wallet hates me for. These included a market of wicked rare, wicked expensive, Pro Circuit, Factory Kawasaki (KHI), and DSP carbon fiber parts, that I never knew existed. 

The 1999-2002 Pro Circuit KX125’s are some of the most iconic bikes in motocross history.  Since finding the PC triple clamps, it was now “game on” of trying to build a tribute KX250 to one of these years. My initial plan was to build a 2001 Mike Brown themed bike, but one of my parts connections offered me up a 1999 N-style seat cover that was said to have been on Ricky Carmichael’s practice bike that year, I quickly pivoted. That $400 transaction led me down the path to build a 1999 Pro Circuit Splitfire tribute bike.

What was the condition of the bike when you first rolled it into the garage? (Scale of 1–10, how much of a “basket case” was it?)

For a 25 year old bike, it was a 7.5 out of 10 I would say. The bike maybe had about 20-25 hours total on it. I swapped for some purple Renthal Twinwalls, put new chain and sprockets on, new Dunlops, a GUTS Racing purple gripper seat cover, a JSV cone pipe, and rode it! No top end rebuild needed, it still had strong compression. 

Then like I mentioned above, once I tasted the blood of those rare PC triple clamps, it sparked a 100% overhaul of the bike. My new two stroke project for YouTube amd Instagram was born.

3. What has been the most challenging part of the restoration so far? (Finding rare parts, etc.)

Sourcing all of the “period correct” parts was by far the hardest part of a build like this. It is stuff that simply isn’t made anymore which makes it extremely difficult to track down, and when you do, you better be ready to pay the piper for it. I don’t call my builds “replica” because I consider those types of builds to have 100% of the correct parts used like back in the day. 

You’ll notice me use the words “tribute” or “themed” builds because I partner with various companies in the industry whose products I trust and use on an everyday basis. Some of which were not used on the race team bikes, for example, Dunlop tires, and instead Bridgestone, Wiseco piston, instead of Vertex, etc, you get the point.  

But all of the Pro Circuit parts including the clamps, works pipe, axle blocks, clutch cover, ignition cover, link arms, clutch perch and more are simply not mass produced any more because the market has moved to four strokes. Then add all of the DSP and BERG carbon fiber bits, include the air box steamliners, water pump guard, glide plate, frame guards, mud flap brace, along with the Factory KYB one piece kashima coated/DLC forks, and two piece Factory KYB shock. These are the parts that are very difficult to find, and VERY expensive. Only a handful of people in the world have these bits in their garage.

4. Do you have a favorite tool or resource that has been a lifesaver during this pROJECT

My favorite tool of the build was actually something that I created to help me torque down the cartridge in the front forks to help properly put them back together. I was able to get the forks apart during disassembly by using an impact gun to remove the inner cartridge from the bottom compression adjuster, but putting them back together would be a different story. So I ended up creating a pronged cartridge holding tool out of a curtain rod to hold the inner cartridge in order to torque it back on to the compression adjuster unit. I explain the entire process in the suspension rebuild video of the build series on YouTube.

From the YouTube build series, a gentleman by the name of Harry Foltz had reached out to me about the engine building part of the build. When these bikes were prevalent during those years, he had gone through the Team Green training program and was a tech. He helped walk me through porting the cylinder like they did back in the day. I matched the sub-exhaust valves to their ports, so when they opened and closed there was 100% flow through the ports and exhaust gases no longer “hit” or came in contact with the edges of the ports. I also did the same thing to the main exhaust valve. I also polished up the exhaust ports as well to maintain a smoother exit for the gases and to maintain cleaner port ways.

On the intake side of things, he walked me through eliminating all of the unnecessary casting in the cylinder as well as guided me create a textured surface which helps keep fuel suspended in the air stream instead of having it puddle on the walls. This entire porting process I estimate to have taken 25-30 hours give or take. I never truly timed it.

5. If you could go back to Day 1 of the build, what’s one piece of advice you’d give yourself?

Don’t over think things. I feel like I spent a lot of time deciding on what I wanted to do, or waiting on the right moment to buy something or get something done. Long story short, don’t sweat the small stuff. Make a decision and move forward with it. If something needs to be changed or you need to make a pivot on a part of the build, it’s not the end of the world, it’s a learning experience either way. 

Yes I spent a lot of time searching for parts, but I feel like the build could have been done much sooner if I had been more decisive on things and just got to work.

Final Verdict

This KX250 is a testament to the “golden era” of two-strokes. By combining rare “unobtanium” parts with modern engine coatings and structural reinforcements, Greg Hitchko has created what might be the finest 1999 KX250 in existence.