Lack of use/what to do.

[Danger4u2]

After cleaning the carb, tank, petcock, air box, new air filter and fresh mixed gas
there are a few things over looked.  Repack the muffler. Check the reed cage.
I'm using the stock reeds and cage on this bike.  I do have a reed spacer, it's about
3/8 of an inch.  Upon inspection of my reeds I found one to have a small chip on the
corner. I'll get a picture in a few day before I put everything back together.
The chip is an issue but it still seals.  I plan to get the bike running with it.
After that I have 2, I've heard, hard to find V Force Delta 2 reed cages
made by Moto Tassinari. I'm not up on the how and why of a reed spacer
and the V Force cage, I'll have to go through some of the old threads to check it out.
Stock cage on the left.

[dave916]

D'ont think using the reed spacer would do any harm / even though the vf2 may not block the boost port like other reeds
89on motor had a way lower crankcase volume than the 87/88 motors that the main reason i think the reed spacer on 89on motor should work good
Even with a reed spacer the 89on motor will still not be near the case volume of the 87/88 motor

[Danger4u2]

Hey Dave thanks for the insight. 
Feel free to chip in here, I'm not to old to learn something new.
We have, on kxriders, quite a bit about reed spacers but I also found surfing around
on dirtriders.com... an Eric Gorr post,

This is what a reed spacer does;
1) Increase the volume in the crankcase
2) Lengthen the intake tract
3) Lengthen the distance from the piston face to the reed tips

http://dirtrider.net/forums3/threads/reed-spacers-and-the-two-stroke.57662/

[sandblaster]

So you have the holy grail of reeds just laying around? 
I couldn't find my post on here about getting the most out of it but here is a link to the Motorrad method

http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=484#p1945

[Danger4u2]

Great write up, thanks for the link.  I knew the ears had to be cut off but after you
finished, your work looks like it came from the factory.

[Motorrad]

I have a solution to the lack of use...   Give me your BMW

[umberto]

So you have the holy grail of reeds just laying around? 
I couldn't find my post on here about getting the most out of it but here is a link to the Motorrad method

http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=484#p1945

My 500 motor came with one of those reed blocks, and I didn't use it for exactly the reasons you listed in your post.  Thank you to Sandblaster and Motorrad for showing me how to make it work!

[Friar-Tuck]

Great to hear from you again my good man! Those Beemers apear to be pretty tough,
  there's a show called "Long Way Round" where two guys document their travel across europe and end up in New York.  I'm pretty sure it's on netflix or amazon prime. 
   Anyway, glad to see your doing well ,
 Tuck\o/ 

[Danger4u2]

Hey, Friar-Tuck,
Yes I've seen that show.
I thought I would add some content as I get my k5 out of retirement.

When you remove the subframe be careful not to break this white plastic piece,
take your time and flex it out of the way

I use this tool a lot, it's sold as a cotter key remover but it works great for breaking loose radiator hoses or in this case the rubber tube between the pipe and silencer. Just slip it under the rubber and work it around the pipe. The stepped rib on the rubber joint between the pipe
and the silencer goes on the pipe side.

I have an after market AC brand subframe and a ProMoto Billet kickstand I can't remember which one came with this little bushing but watch that you don't loose it.

Winter is coming, had to break out the heater for the dog, she's getting old.  You can see how discolored the gas tank gets when you leave gas (that turned bad) in it for more than a year.

[Danger4u2]

I repacked the FMF Power Core silencer.  There's no easy way to do this.  
But next time I plan on spot welding a metal tab that I can get a hold of with my knocker.
This time with the hook attachment of my knocker I pulled off one of the
press fit aluminum nuts on the pipe side.  So I switched to the end cap
and pulled it out with one of the nuts.  I lightly tapped the perforated
pipe that runs through the "can" getting it apart.
I used a spray can of carb cleaner to clean all parts.
Use masking tape to hold the packing as you reassemble the silencer.
Using high temperature silicone, wipe a thin skim coat on the end cap
and the perforated pipes cap to help seal the silencer.
I had the regular silicone not high temp. we'll see how that works.
Make sure the packing doesn't bunch up as you stick it back together.
Make sure the perforated pipe mates with the pipe in the end cap,
line up the holes and install the little bolts.

[Danger4u2]

It's a good idea to check the copper washer between the exhaust pipe and the cylinder.  
There's 2 o-rings on the pipe that seal the cylinder to the pipe.
When removing the pipe, after removing the tension springs
I take the 2 nuts off on the upper mounts.  
On the lower mount I remove the bolt and leave the
rubber isolator on the pipe so the pipe can be twisted and
moved forward.  It's very easy to bash the center mount on
the radiator, install a small piece of cardboard for protection.
Don't ask why I know to do that.
All the replaceable parts work in harmony. Wear on any one of
these parts make the others break down fast.  When installing the
pipe it needs to hang in a neutral position.  Any stress on the rubber
mounts will kill the life of the other 2.  Lock tight is your friend
on the 3 nuts and 3 bolts used on the rubber mounts.
My springs, mounts, copper gasket and o-rings were in useable condition.
I rotated the o-rings in their grove and smeared a very thin coat of
copper anti-size on the rings to aid the insertion into the cylinder.
The last picture shows how my pipe does not fit flush on the
copper washer, the o-rings seal, might be part of having an
after market pipe.  I thought about adding a second copper washer.

[Danger4u2]

The swing arm pivot bolt is over looked on most bikes.
It's a long bolt that runs through the frame, swing arm
and on most dirt bikes, the engine.  Over time dirt and water
will rust it in place. Or it will develop wear groves that hang
up on the edges of the holes it has to travel through to be removed.
Raise the bike to get the back wheel off the ground. 
Insert something under the wheel that just fits so the wheel
won't drop when you remove the bolt.
Worst case scenario remove the nut and spin the bolt with an impact
gun while your friend taps the other end with a long punch and hammer.
Clean and then sand the bolt with fine grained sand paper.
Scoop some water proof grease with your punch and apply
it to the holes of the swing arm, frame and engine.
Smear the first half of the bolt (thread  side) with grease
so you have a clean end to hold onto as you insert it into the frame hole.
Tap lightly to get it started, grease the rest of the bolt.  You may have to
wiggle the backwheel/swing arm to get it to go. On the k5 it calls for
58 foot pounds of torque.
On the kx500 you need to remove the brake peddle to access the nut.
That's a good  time to clean and grease the brake peddle pivot and bushing.
There is a recessed groove in the bushing of the peddle, make sure
to fill it with water proof grease. Here again I'm a Bel-Ray fan.