Kx500 fork upgrade

[Captainc]

I'm really sorry about this if you guys have covered this before, but what is the best fork upgrade for my 89 kx500. A lot of the guys we race with seem to have modern forks. Which is the best way to go? What clamps etc ?

[sandblaster]

Get 97-04 KX500 triple, anything up to 2015 KX450F forks, axle, wheel, and front brake caliper.
Bolt it on and ride it.
I would recommend that you re-valve and re-spring everything to match front and rear but at least get the rear done and set your sag.

[Captainc]

Get 97-04 KX500 triple, anything up to 2015 KX450F forks, axle, wheel, and front brake caliper.
Bolt it on and ride it.
I would recommend that you re-valve and re-spring everything to match front and rear but at least get the rear done and set your sag.

Thank you very much, I didn't know what to do as we are racing in Evo class, but we were the only bike running original suspension. I'm sure the bike would be transformed? Also does any of the later shocks fit the 500?

[sandblaster]

90-04 can be interchanged but I'm not sure the 89 can be interchanged.
If you pull your shock off your bike and measure it we can verify.
KYB - 12.0MM OD - BODY DIA 53.5MM - Upper tab: 20MM - Upper tab hole ID: 10MM - Lower Mount INTERNAL: 22.8MM – LOWER MOUNT EXTERNAL 41.7MM - Lower mount hole ID: 10MM - Eye to Eye: 450MM – FITS AT LEAST 90-04 KX500

[Motorrad]

Some one measure axle offset on late model kx500 forks for me.....


I still think kawi was hiding things from us in literature

[manco]

I can add that a 1987 and a 1998 triple clamp interchange. How the steering stops, fork tubes and gas tanks interact when mixxing parts I am not sure. I speak from experience of both triple clamps loose, bare frames and no gas tanks installed.