So back in May I bought a well used 1991 kx500. The bike was severely neglected and worn out. If it was a horse the only humane thing to do would be to put it down. Well I decided to bring this bike back from the brink of death. While looking for parts I came across OEM Cycle. I also found KXRiders.com. After doing some reading and talking to Sandblaster I sent the motor down to him so he could breath some life back into it. If you want to see the condition of the motor look at Sandblasters post he made about a 91 kx500 disassembly. I can not say thanks enough to him and Jason for all the effort and hard work they put into that motor. We will be talking about that motor shortly. The rest of the bike got all new bearings and bushings everywhere. frame was striped and re-painted. New plastics and a bunch of other parts too. The suspension will be going in to be freshened up here shortly. I wanted to ride the bike first so I could tell my guy what it needed.
Since I really never rode the bike first before tearing it down I had a undiscovered problem. The carburetor was shot also.
when I first fired it up after the rebuild it ran like crap. super rich and would not idle. I tried another carb body. it worked better but even with a 48 pilot jet it was still rich in the first 1\4 throttle. The problem was the Needle jet ( or seat ) was worn big at the opening and was letting fuel thru the main at and right above idle. So I bought a new carb and here we go.
WOW!
This thing a runner. I'm blown away on how good it runs. If it wasn't for the fact my arms are being torn out of there sockets you would never know its a 500. Its Smooooth. Very little vibration and revs quickly.
Power? More than enough. I've had 3 CR500's and this KX500 motor is better than any one of them.
Now as my user name is Singletrack I took her out to what else, singltrack trails. I live very close to the Tahuya state forest up here in Washington state. Its were I do most of my riding.
Even with all it power the bike did fairly well. Put her in second gear and just idle it thru forest. When it opens up grab 3rd twist the throttle and pray you can slow down in time.
OEM Cycle did a wonderful job putting that motor together. With the balanced crank and porting work its awesome.
I ran a compression check this morning before heading out to see what it was running. 215 psi! yes I said 215 psi. I'm glad I had them install a compression release.
I did 25 miles on Saturday and another 25 today. its a handful compared to my KTM200 but is still manageable.
For a 500 it handles quite well in the tight stuff. What was really fun was a couple of small hills I ride up. On my 200 I have to pin it in 2nd gear and hope for the best . On the 500 they were too easy. 2nd gear 1/4 throttle cake walk.
This is going to be a fun bike. A lot of hard work and money has been put in this bike so far with more to come.
I'm glad I did it. When I tell my riding buddies what I've been working on they think im nuts. Why would I want an old dinosaur when I have new bikes that are better suited for our area. Why because 500's are in my blood. There the beast you can never quite tame.
Sorry for not posting any pictures. The camera I was using got wet and the card inside was ruined. I guess I should have downloaded some sooner.
Once I get the suspension worked over and some new tires I will let you know how its working.
I have some questions to ask also but will do in another thread.
Once again thanks to OEM Cycle for the wonderful motor.
