1990 KX 500 to 2006 KX450F Conversion Project

[Kwackerman]

Hey guys, I'm new to KX Riders, but I've been riding, racing, and wrenching on Kwackers for many years.  I own a 1990 KX 500 that I've been racing since my Dad bought it new for me as a Christmas present in 1992. I love her and affectionately refer to her as "The Beast." I've primarily used her for enduro and hare scrambles riding in the southeast and Midwest.  I know, I'm crazy, but she goes really good in the woods, despite the awesome power.  It's all about throttle control and short shifting. 

I purchased a 2006 KX450F roller off eBay a year or so ago and I finally got tired of looking at it sitting in the garage and decided to do this project.  Unfortunately, I had to sell my 2007 KX 250 to fund the job, which was very painful.  In the end, I think I'll be glad for marking this off my bucket list if nothing else.  I mailed my 450 frame along with the engine mounts and radiators off the 500 to George Fanelli (some of you may know him) at MPS Racing in Monclova, OH.  He's very experienced at doing these conversions and he's going to mod my frame and provide me with an airbox adapter and custom Dynaport pipe. I should get all that back from him in a couple of weeks and then it'll just be an assembly project after that. 

I wanted to attach some pics of the olé girl in modified/stock form with all the little goodies I've put on her over the years, so you can see she's already pretty formidable, but I haven't figured out how to post a pic yet.  I'm going to part her chassis out, so if you know anyone with a stock KX5 who would like to upgrade their bike on the cheap, I'll post some information about all the stuff I'm selling too.  I'm not looking to raise funds as much as I'd like to help someone else improve their KX5 experience, so it'll be inexpensive. 

I'm really looking forward to this build.  I'm going to make sort of a time lapse YouTube video of the build too, starting with the bare frame.  Hopefully that'll be pretty cool too.  More to follow in a couple of weeks, Howie

[sandblaster]

Hi Howie and welcome to the best K5 forum on the net.
You can post pics like this:
http://www.kxriders.com/forums/index.php/topic,10040.0.html

If you can't figure it out email me the pics to oem-cycle@comcast.net
Be sure to include your user ID or the thread title "1990 KX 500 to 2006 KX450F Conversion Project"
That way I'll know where to post the pics when you send them.
Can't wait to see what you do on this project.

[Kwackerman]

Sandblaster, I tried to email you some pictures, but they wouldn't send.  I'll get that figured out, soon I hope.

A couple of quick updates: I removed the head and mailed it to Larry Wiechman in Roscoe, IL yesterday morning for the decompression mod.  Considering I nearly ripped my right calf off in Germany trying to start the beast wearing a pair of Merrill's (stupid idea) and couldn't ride for two months while my leg recovered, I'm really looking forward to that magic little button.

I have also ordered about $1,500.00 in assorted parts and accessories so as soon as George gets my frame mod done and sends it back (should be by Halloween or there abouts) all I should have left is a big bolt together party.  I'll probably miss the first race of the winter hare scrambles series here in MO, 2 Nov, but I should have the beast running in time for round 2, 9 Nov.

I do have one question:  What's the best way to bore the engine cases out without disassembling the motor, or should I not try that?  The KX450F swingarm bolt is a couple of millimeters bigger than the stock KX5 bolt.  I'm thinking I'll get someone to help me hold the motor on the drill press and just bore it out.  Is it that simple or am I setting myself up for trouble?

[sandblaster]

I drilled mine out one at a time using a 43/64" bit.
Worked like a charm.

[Kwackerman]

OK, thanks.  Sounds good, I'm just lazy and didn't want to split the cases unless I absolutely had to...

Thanks for the tip on the drillbit size too.  I haven't had time to measure that yet.

[Kwackerman]

OK guys, I got my frame back from George Fanelli at MPS Racing last night, so I'm about to tear in on this build.  I have some parts I still need to order and get in, but I'm going for it.  I'll post some pictures on here as I go, and I'm going to make a time lapse video of the entire build from the bare frame up to the first test ride.  That should be pretty cool...

And for those folks who had a lot of BAD things to say about George, I'm going to post some close up shots of the frame and the mods he did to it.  Personally, I am very pleased with my interaction with George; his responsiveness, his crafmanship and quality of the welds on the frame; headstay he fabricated, mods to my radiators, and the cost.  I'll post some pics of his work and you can be the judge.

I think I finally figured out how to load photos on here, so here's a couple of shots of me racing the old version of the 1990 K5 in mostly stock trim.

Howie

[Charlie500]

Interested in seeing some pics of MPS work... Haven't seen anything good from them yet...

[umberto]

Any updates on the pics?

[scooterVOOII]

He's probably still trying to get the motor to fit into that frame, that he got ass raped by Fanelli on.

[Kwackerman]

Hey guys, sorry it's been so long since my last update.  I've had some challenges with my build and I've been really busy and haven't had time to work on it much.

So, let me begin with my experience with George Fanelli: Overall, I'd give George a grade of 'C' on his services.

He charged me $1,000 to mod my frame ($200 discount), including engine mount bolts, one modified radiator, and an aluminum plate for the air box. He did the job within a month and my engine fit like a glove.  He was very responsive to my questions concerning the frame and assembly, e.g., how to route the radiator hoses.  I know, you're asking, 'Why the 'C', then?

I have two reasons for the 'C' grade:

1) The way he cut, stretched, and re-welded the two front frame down tubes was inconsistent.  One was almost perfect and looks real nice.  The other one is crooked (according to George, that was intentional) and it looks bad (to me).  I'm a perfectionist!  His explanation for the crooked down tube is that when he cuts them they 'spring' into a natural position, which sometimes is not straight.  He then cuts and raises the junction with the main frame and inserts a 4" piece of tubing reconnecting the two halves of the down tubes.  In my case, the tubes on one side are visibly out of line.  George assured me that his technique prevents undue lateral stress and makes the frame stronger and prevents cracks. Maybe that's true, but I don't like the way it looks! In all fairness to George though, other than that one point, I'm very pleased with the frame and the way the engine and everything else fit.

2) He convinced me to buy a custom pipe from Dynoport he designed and for which he has an exclusive contract.  The MPS pipe cost me $400 and it's a beautiful, ceramic coated pipe.  When I took it out of the box, I loved it.  Then I tried to mount it on the bike.  It didn't come close to fitting. I called Rich at Dynoport and he was very curt (rude) with me about the pipe.  He refused to hear any of my explanation as to the problems with fitment.  He made it clear that George designed the pipe and if there was a problem I needed to take it up with George, not him.  I took it from his attitude that this is not the first time he's received one of these calls about the 'George' pipe.  I blame them both for being unprofessional and not working together to fix the design and take care of their customers.  Shame on them both.  I now have the bike and pipe at a local fabricator's being modified, which will cost me even more $. Also, after I talked to Rich, I texted pictures and an explanation of the problem to George and he has yet to respond to me.  That was five weeks ago!

I will post some pictures of the frame and pipe and you can decide for yourselves, what you think of the quality.  In George's defense, he did a pretty good job till we got to the pipe issue.  And, I have a buddy I race with who is a Yamaha dealer and former two time ISDE team member, who bought a George-built YZ 300 hybrid and he loves his bike.  At the end of the day, that's what really matters...

[Kwackerman]

Here are some pics:


This shot shows the custom head stay, front engine mount and you can see how the frame down tube on the right is not straight, compared to the one on the left.  You can also see the welds, which are pretty good, but not the best I've ever seen. They do look very sturdy, which is what matters most on a race bike, like mine.  We'll see how they hold up under race conditions.

[umberto]

I'm having trouble seeing the pics Kwakerman.

[Kwackerman]

I'm having trouble loading more than one pic at a time...


This pic is from the front and you can really see how the down tube on the left is crooked, while the one on the right is great.  If he had only done them both like the one on the right, I'd be a happy camper, with the exception of the pipe debacle...

[Kwackerman]

Here's one with the Bike a little further along in the process:


This shot is with the engine in the frame and the swing arm on.  I have to admit the engine fits perfect in the frame.

And, yes, I modified my clutch cover and installed the outer two-piece clutch cover from a 1996 KX 250.  I have a ton of picks of how I made the clutch cover.  Maybe I can figure out how to load them in the KX 500 modifications thread.  It was really easy and only cost me $40 in welding.  I already had the 250 clutch cover and I did the entire job in my garage with just a cut-off wheel in about two hours. It looks and works like factory!

[Kwackerman]

Here it is with the radiators and forks on: