Just bought a plated 1991 KX500 a week ago. Rode it for the first time on Sunday at the Eddiville GP track in south-central Washington. First impressions are as follows:
Uh, where's third? Oh well, hope it will pull fourth gea...braaaaap!!!
Good gravy! This thing's got torque!
Clutch pull is a little stiff though.
Forgot how flex-y 20 year old forks were.
Wish the seat wasn't a banana.
So anyway, I don't have 3rd gear so I rode the course entirely in 4th gear. Worked fine for the GP track. Took it on the moto section and was wishing I had 3rd. Will be tearing it down shortly.
I'll have to wait until I tear it down to be sure, but I'm guessing 3rd gear slipped on the shaft (took out a c clip or bent a shift fork). Anyway, undercutting the dogs would keep the gears from loading other components axially, so that seems like a good idea.
I can't get over how tractor-like this motor is! Pulls right of an idle. Interested to see what the insides look like. I peeked through the spark plug hole before I rode it and it's got a brand new piston (shiny), but the cylinder is scuffed. The airbox was full of sand, so I can only assume the motor is too. The bike came with an extra cylinder and head. The extra cylinder is off a shifter cart and wildly ported. Not sure what to do with it. The head has goofy dimples (hammer and center punch) on half of the squish band. I was told that this was to prevent pinging. Not really buying it.
Motorrad, could you PM me contact info for getting my head modded and a compression release installed? That looks like a slick setup.
Does anyone have experience with the Magura hydraulic clutch? They're magic on KTMs and Husabergs. Are they just as good on a KX?
So this is the beginning of the tale of a KX500 motor and me. Hopefully I'll start a dualsport thread in the general section pretty soon. Waiting to see if the plates transfer along with the title. Crossing my fingers.
