Author Topic: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics  (Read 4977 times)

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Offline dmg

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92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« on: January 06, 2010, 04:26:57 PM »
Here is the list of mods and improvements. I took the entire bike apart down to the frame and motor. Every single nut and bolt came off. My dad helped with most of it just for fun. He spent hours

Frame and swing arm powder coated
triple clamps powder coated
bar clamps powder coated
sub-frame fixed and powder coated (chain had rubbed a thin spot so I had a friend reinforce with more aluminum)
new ProTaper ATV mid bars (last year)
Hand/lever gaurds
Gas cap vent
V-Force II reeds
Window mod piston with new top end bearing and collar
Cleaned the entire top end of all carbon
Disassembled/cleaned KIPS valves and regreased with MOLY grease
Fabed a new mounting bracket for the top of the pipe before getting it powder coated
Twin Air filter
KX250 fender mod
new barrel/carb spacer (rubber part)
FX gripper seat
new carb hoses
new top bottom stearing bearing and race
greesed or replaced all swingarm brearings
polished rims
polished motor
polished pipe
straightened out all radiator fins if bent slightly
sanded front and rear rotor (original pads were still good)
MSR skid plate added
Works connection frame guards added
painted rear brake gard
painted front number plate(didn't turn out very well)
new front fork guards
Waiting for the new front fender to come in
new chain and sprockets in Dec of last year
Front suspension was refreshed by RaceTech
Rear was done last year




Offline dmg

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2010, 04:31:39 PM »
A few more

Offline Friar-Tuck

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2010, 04:32:03 PM »
  OOhh.. :-D   8-)
   Better than new!
  Tuck\o/
"The Truth Has No Agenda"

Offline maddoggy

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2010, 04:37:57 PM »
wow dmg, the bike looks awesome! really nice work. you should be proud. i think the black and green will look great!

Offline blueoval

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2010, 04:39:05 PM »
OMG, that is INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL!  Great Job. 
If some is good, and more is better, then too much is JUST RIGHT!  B.O.

Offline Polar-Bus

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2010, 10:47:29 PM »
Here is the list of mods and improvements. I took the entire bike apart down to the frame and motor. Every single nut and bolt came off. My dad helped with most of it just for fun. He spent hours

Frame and swing arm powder coated
triple clamps powder coated
bar clamps powder coated
sub-frame fixed and powder coated (chain had rubbed a thin spot so I had a friend reinforce with more aluminum)
new ProTaper ATV mid bars (last year)
Hand/lever gaurds
Gas cap vent
V-Force II reeds
Window mod piston with new top end bearing and collar
Cleaned the entire top end of all carbon
Disassembled/cleaned KIPS valves and regreased with MOLY grease
Fabed a new mounting bracket for the top of the pipe before getting it powder coated
Twin Air filter
KX250 fender mod
new barrel/carb spacer (rubber part)
FX gripper seat
new carb hoses
new top bottom stearing bearing and race
greesed or replaced all swingarm brearings
polished rims
polished motor
polished pipe
straightened out all radiator fins if bent slightly
sanded front and rear rotor (original pads were still good)
MSR skid plate added
Works connection frame guards added
painted rear brake gard
painted front number plate(didn't turn out very well)
new front fork guards
Waiting for the new front fender to come in
new chain and sprockets in Dec of last year
Front suspension was refreshed by RaceTech
Rear was done last year





She looks fan-friggin-tastic !!!   

PS: Adding aluminum to the inside of the sub-frame is OK, but I have a better method. (PM me for my trick method to modify the inside of the sub-frame to prevent ugly chain slap)
01' KX500
'84 GPz1100
'87 GSX-R  750
'06 HD Fatboy
'73 Kawi H1
'03 CRG KX500 Shifter kart

Offline hughes

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2010, 11:47:08 PM »
Very nice rebuild. Now go ride it and enjoy.
Open Class 2-Stroke Kawasaki KX500
Yamaha 2005 YZ250
Richard Hughes
Dirt Hammers - Online Off-Road Journal
hughes@dirthammers.com
http://www.dirthammers.com

Offline dmg

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2010, 03:20:00 AM »
Lessons Learned during the build

1)   Not all powder coat colors/types are the same. I did the swing arm in a color called brushed nickel, and it chips very easily. Bump it with a wrench and you will leave a mark. The black I used seems more pliable and durable.
2)   None of the really good engine cleaners work very well for an extremely carbon coated top end (KIPS, etc). A wire brush, a dremal with a wire brush attachment, a good exacto knife, and some serious elbow grease will be needed.
3)   Make sure you mark ALL the holes with press fit bearings or races before you send it in for powder coating. The powder coat is very difficult to remove without changing the shape of the hole you are removing it from. They missed one of the swing arm bearing holes on mine, and it was a PITA to clean out.
4)   The mod to the carb boot that goes into the reed valve was also a PITA. The directions say to use a hacksaw, but that seemed like it would destroy the little tiny rubber lip that provides the seal. I ended up using a dremel with a thin cutting blade to cut the tabs flush. There is no way to do it with a razor blade. I would love to hear how others have done this.
5)   REAR FENDER MOD
a.   This almost cost me two fenders. The directions at the top of the site assume your sub-frame is PERFECTLY square. What should be stressed a little more clearly is that you need to drill a hole on one side of the fender, THEN elongate the two holes under the seat, THEN squeeze the fender into the subframe, and lift lower this last side of the fender until it sits straight looking from the back. The hole WILL NOT be in the same location as the other side. This sensitivity is due to the fact that the new fender is under a lot of pressure because you need to squeeze it to fit it in the frame. This is hard to visualize until you try it. The directions on the website gave me the impression that the two holes under the seat wer the most important for getting the fender to sit straight. THEY ARE NOT. My main point in this is: DON?T DRILL THE SECOND SIDE OF THE FENDER UNTIL THE VERY END.
6)   Don?t use oven cleaner on your top end to get the carbon off. It works, but it will leave your top end looking poo. It makes a mess. (It says on the can, do not use on aluminum. Listen.)
7)   The MSR skid plate requires a new hole to be drilled for the mount closest to the brake lever. This thing was actually kind of a pain to install.
8)   94 KX250 rear fender DOES NOT FIT
9)   Seat mod for the new fender was very easy
10)   Be careful when you build a new mount for the top of the pipe. This mount is VERY close to the tank, and you don?t want anything rubbing on the tank.
11)   BABBITS shipping is very slow!!
12)   Motosport.com was great.
13)   Callaway Motosports in Riverside, CA was very quick to get part from Kawasaki. Most of the stuff I needed, they could get the next day. Chaparral  Motosports SUCKS. I hate that place. Anything you need to order takes at least a week, sometimes two, and they are just as close to the Kawasaki factory as Callaway.
14)   Almost no one stocks parts for my 92 KX500 anymore. I had to order almost everything.


Offline flyingfitz

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2010, 05:21:03 AM »
Awesome job.  My 95 is getting tore down next week. I hope to have a similar end product.  I have some questions and comments:

If you had to do it again, would you powdercote the swing arm or soda blast and leave it bare?

Did you use gloss, semi-gloss or statin on the frame and clamps?  Would you change that decision?

I am contemplating powdercoating the wheels and hubs black.  Based on the finish you used on the frame and clamps, what finish would you use on the wheels?

What did you use to clean up the tank and side covers or are they new?  They look awesome!

What method did you use to polish up the externals on the motor?

I used a very sharp utility knife blade to cut my rubber boot.  It worked well and did not ruin the seal.  I then took the v force 2 reed apart and used the base as a template to mark the location of where the boot meets the base. I then used a very sharp exacto blade to rough shape the inside of the boot to the mark and then blended the boot to smoothly match the new base with some sandpaper.  It took a little time but turned out great.  I'm not sure how much it helps but it is trick!

Why did you fab a new mount on the top of the pipe.  Mine appears fine as is?

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.  Again, Great Job!

Fitz

Offline kxraptor

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #9 on: January 07, 2010, 10:24:20 AM »
Great looking bike.I 2nd the comment on Babbits,extremely slow poor service.

Offline dmg

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #10 on: January 07, 2010, 03:52:13 PM »
Awesome job.  My 95 is getting tore down next week. I hope to have a similar end product.  I have some questions and comments:

If you had to do it again, would you powdercote the swing arm or soda blast and leave it bare?

At first I was very dissapointed in the swing arm. I thought it was way to shinny. It turned out, it matches the rims pipe, motor, and frame guards great. I would however recommend a more durable color. I will contact the guy who did it and ask about the difference between the colors I used.

Did you use gloss, semi-gloss or statin on the frame and clamps?  Would you change that decision?

The black is semi-gloss. It looks good. It is just flat enough that it doesn't show finger prints(don't know that that means much on a dirt bike)

I am contemplating powdercoating the wheels and hubs black.  Based on the finish you used on the frame and clamps, what finish would you use on the wheels?

I almost did my rims black and bought green spoke nipples(RAD Manufacturing). After much thought, I think it would be more worth while to just buy new rims, and powder coat the hubs. To be honest, I mostly skipped it because I didn't want to spend any more time off the trails, and I new it would be a big job lacing them after the powder coating.

What did you use to clean up the tank and side covers or are they new?  They look awesome!

I used a power buffer with a foam pad on LOW speed with some cleaner wax and then polish. They look better in the pics than in person, but they are pretty good for how old they are.

What method did you use to polish up the externals on the motor?

My dad spent hours on the rims and motor. He used Mothers Aluminum polish, and a foam ball that you put on a drill. I think it is meant for polishing car rims. Mostly it was just a ton of elbow grease. Lots of rags too.

I used a very sharp utility knife blade to cut my rubber boot.  It worked well and did not ruin the seal.  I then took the v force 2 reed apart and used the base as a template to mark the location of where the boot meets the base. I then used a very sharp exacto blade to rough shape the inside of the boot to the mark and then blended the boot to smoothly match the new base with some sandpaper.  It took a little time but turned out great.  I'm not sure how much it helps but it is trick!

Why did you fab a new mount on the top of the pipe.  Mine appears fine as is?

Not on the pipe. The top frame mount for the pipe. Mine broke several times. This time I had a special bracket machined at work, and welded it on. It will never break. I will try to post a pic this weekend when I pull the tank to change a jet.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.  Again, Great Job!

Fitz

Offline dmg

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Re: 92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics
« Reply #11 on: January 07, 2010, 03:54:59 PM »
One more thing. I bought some clear graphics panels from FX to cover and protect a few parts.

The swing arm in the pics is wrapped on three sides (not the inside) with this clear "sticker".

It held up fairly well at Lucerne last week, and you really can't see it from more than 5 feet away.