tell me something about the 1989 kx 500 - i found one don't know much about them

[Kawasakinut]

found a 89 kx 500 for a good price just wanted to know more about them. may finally pull the trigger  on one of these beasts.

[don46]

So, do you want to know about an 87 or 89? 87 stay away, 89 in good shape I'd probably jump on it, I had one brand new. The forks were still right side ups, but man did they work good. Motor parts are pretty much interchangeable with 500's up to 04, I think the 89 still used the older style flywheel, much lighter than 90 up,  good bike, realizing it's 20 years old I'd still buy it if it was in really good shape.

good luck

[Kawasakinut]

$800 and close to my house. might go see it tomorrow!  ohh sorry i wanted to know about the 89!

[thxthirtytwo]

i just bought my first 500 last month. it is an /89 as well. i paid $1200(cdn).
it looks like mine is a little rougher but it was well maintained. i haven't regretted it.
i don't think you could ask for more bang-per-buck.
i have found it to be a tough machine to ride on tight, twisty trails. but on more open terrain it is a blast.
every morning after i ride all my 'hang-on' muscles are sore, (shoulders, upper-back, arms, hands). that seems like a good sign to me.
if you can afford it, grab it.

[Kawasakinut]

  haaha thx i saw you just replied. well i went to look at the bike and here is what i found. all the parts are there. front fender is cracked ( no big deal ) rear brake pedal is grinding the case cover, pobably an easy fix new bushing i presume. wouldn't start at first but the guy put in a new plug and it fired right up ( when he was kicking it over with the old plug there was alot of gas draining from the carb plug was good and wet. no leakage from the motor ( base gasket, clutch or tranny side) . It had all the right bolts everywhere.

  I even rode it pulled up easy in 1st and second, i only got to get into it in 1st 2nd and 3rd but the tranny shifted clean

  popped the radiator cap before i fired it but coolant looked a little low couldn't tell if it was green or not, took some on my finger ( i guess to check for grit or something but didn't feel anything.

  seemed like this bike had good compression although the person selling it kicked it over, but the bike had power when i rode it .clutch felt fine no stutter or pull when the lever was engaged.guy  said he did the front forks with race tech (no way for me to tell though!   pipe was good shape not dents. said he redid the packing.
the only thing i am concerned with is the top and bottom end. i didn't hear any bad or unusual sounds but i'm not and expert about that.    bike was (lightly) surface dirty but looked like it would clean up well. could use a new chain a bit rusty but could just need lube. tiers where decent. suspension worked pretty well.so what have i missed?   

   

[BDI]

The one thing I can say is that it's kinda old but the price seems fair. Looks like you could be getting yourself into another resto project. I like to look at the bottom frame rails of a bike and the under side of the swingarm. This will tell you alot about the way a bike has been ridden. Then you need to decide how well it's been maintained. I would think about what your plans to do with it are. If you plan to buy it and then stick a grand into it making it sweet, then you may consider looking at something newer. You can get a lot newer 500 for $1800 to $2200. just something to think about and there's alot to be said for not having a bike all torn apart for a year.

[KX500freak]

is it sitting at your place allready kawnut ?
do you have both the 250 and now the 5hunny ?
thats sweet if so 
lets swap motors 

[Kawasakinut]

The one thing I can say is that it's kinda old but the price seems fair. Looks like you could be getting yourself into another resto project. I like to look at the bottom frame rails of a bike and the under side of the swingarm. This will tell you alot about the way a bike has been ridden. Then you need to decide how well it's been maintained. I would think about what your plans to do with it are. If you plan to buy it and then stick a grand into it making it sweet, then you may consider looking at something newer. You can get a lot newer 500 for $1800 to $2200. just something to think about and there's alot to be said for not having a bike all torn apart for a year.

thanks for the reply bdi. i did look at the bottom of the motor , no leaks but while i was under there i really did'nt spot anything unusual with the frame just alot of paint missing. the one thing you mentioned (the underside of the swingarm)i didn't check that  and i should have. on my 250 the swingarm looked like someone took an axe to the bottom of it all the way down its length, missed that one too 

basically i just want a bike thats going to run and that i can ride until i get my 250 up and running. after that i would probably switch projects. another thing about this bike there wasn't an ounce of chain lube on the chain, i didn't really like that either.  also wouldn't start unless a new plug was put in, but  could that just possibly mean the carb just needs to be tinkered with?    anyway i just may end up with a couple bikes  200 kx 2500, 1989 k5 and who knows what after that.  only thing i'm really concerned with is the top and bottom end of this bike all the rest could possibly be fixed in a short time.   

[Kawasakinut]

is it sitting at your place allready kawnut ?
do you have both the 250 and now the 5hunny ?
thats sweet if so 
lets swap motors 

haha not yet freak, i'm taking my time deciding on this bike "something i did'nt do on my last purchase". At this point i'm not looking for a straight up project i just want to ride for a while, but i know one thing i do want a k5. I got to ride this beast, crazzzzzzzzzzy power. bike came up in 1st, 2nd and third like cake! first time i've been on a bike i 1 1/2 years. i quit messing with road cycling  for now so now i'm back to the sport i really love, but i am going to do at least one triathlon next summer, just to say i did it.           

[gwcrim]

I think I saw that one in the Pgh. Craigslist.  I have an '89 that I'll sell you for the same $800.  It's sort of a beater bike but then what 20 yr old, $800 dirt bike isn't?  It starts right up with no carb/fuel issues at all.  Though I'm in Ohio, I can be in dahntahn Picksburgh in 45 minutes. 

[thxthirtytwo]

sounds not too different from mine.
it had both fenders cracked and patched back together. the shifter is also cutting into the case a bit. forks had been redone.
although mine had almost new sprockets, chain and tires.
mine is super loud, (probably the normal decibel's for this bike). i live in a place where i can ride out the front door and up into the mountains. i immediately thought about quieter pipes so that the community wasn't calling the cops for riding through town on it. (i used to ride my little old 125 and it bothered no one.) but what BDI says is true. the money it would take to quiet the pipes, rejet, etc. it would be cheaper to buy a new bike. at this point i've decided to do some minor repairs like the shifter and maybe some plastics. and just ride the hell out of it. when i've got more money to spend on a bike, i'll sell this one and put the extra money into a newer bike. for now i'll just have to trailer it to the mountain.