after going to a local homemade track i finally got a chance to actually do last weekend 70 miles of woods riding at the tomahawk trail in northern michigan on my 1998 kx 500,this was some of the most technical tight trails i have been on and honestly it was not that much fun to ride on any bike unless you need tight trail practice.i thought it would be bad in the woods from what people said but i liked it and only needed 1st and 2nd gear(barely any shifting due to the low end torque of this monster.i have the 14 oz.steahley flywheel weight and a procircuit works pipe,works connection rear spring,wiseco piston.stock gearing.other than that its fairly stock,i thought it was fine for woods riding,the power is awesome but you do need to be an experienced rider to ride the 500.i can go so much faster over the whoops and as soon as i hit an open section than my previous 250,i do admit i can fling a 250 around more easy than the 500 but in my opinion the 500's power is so vicious it is worth it..i love the bike and have not even got used to it yet.i have heard more nonsense about how the 500 is only a desert bike and is not manageable on woods trail riding but the bike is and obviously these poeple cant ride hard and fast,handle the power,or?