How well do you like your KX250F/K5 conversion

[sandblaster]

Yeah, the 17MM was a pain and I ended up drilling it with the 43/64" any way.
That's what is cool about this site.
We can share this kind of info and save others a lot of guess work, dollars, and time.

[1989kawasaki]

i cant wait to see it completed!!

[sandblaster]

Me to. 
I'm afraid it's going to take a few months but I really want to do it the right way, at least as right as I can do it 
I am also taking measurements and a lot of pics to try and fill in some of the gaps that seem to be missing from other builds.
Who knows, I may do another if I like the way this one turns out.
My friends are already begging me to do some for them.

[sandblaster]

1-15-11
Found a nice crack in my clutch cover...
Time to go see Mr. Tig


What I'm doing next is checking the clearance between the right engine case and the swing arm.
I have the frame, swing arm, and engine bolted together without the shock so I can test the full range of motion of the swing arm.
To temporarily hold it in the correct position I am using a piece of .154" or 3.91MM steel that fits in between the cylinder and the frame.



I may have to adjust it a bit later but this is fairly close for now.
As you can see by the next photo, it is a tight fit with the swing arm in it's neutral position.

[sandblaster]

That part of the swing arm actually has a raised embossed area that is making it a close fit.
I believe I can machine the swing arm about .015" deep by about .25" wide and it will be fine.
I may also have to machine a bit of the clutch cover as shown below.



I am holding off on that until I see how well the swing arm mod works.
The last thing I want to do is make the mating surfaces between the clutch cover and the right engine case any narrower.

With the swing arm all the way in the up position you can see that it already has enough clearance.

[sandblaster]

This is what happens on a four year old MX bike that has not had the bearings lubricated.



I was going to replace them anyway but I figured I'd show those non believers what happens with even relatively new bikes if you don't maintain them. 

[sandblaster]

Here you can see the raised part of the swing arm that is preventing the clutch cover from bolting on.



Just a minute or two with a hand grinder and sander.



As you can see, this easily creates the clearance needed.

[sandblaster]

The clutch cover fits perfectly without machining it.
Grinding the swing arm was all that was required.



Now for the next part, rotating the engine until the pipe clears the water elbow that sticks out from the right side of the cylinder.

[kxpegger]

Now for the next part, rotating the engine until the pipe clears the water elbow that sticks out from the right side of the cylinder.



Invert the cylinder water pipe ( bolt it on upside down) and buy 180 degree water hose. That's how Service Honda did it on my AF!

[sandblaster]

Perfect.
I have the hose kit and was wondering if it was possible to do that.
I'll check the hoses I have.

[sandblaster]

Right on the money.
Thanks!



Only thing you need is some green hoses 

[kxpegger]

Right on the money.
Thanks!



Only thing you need is some green hoses 

Wow! You're on a mission! I think I do like the green better.

The bottom water pump pipe to radiator hose pipe may rub on the KIPS inspection cover depending on where you place the bottom radiator tank pipe. If Service Honda would have located the water pipe on the bottom radiator tank angled slighty forward this would not have been a clearance problem as it would have pulled the hose away from the KIPS inspection cover. They welded the bottom radiator pipe straight down. As your project progresses I can tell you everything SF did right and what they did wrong! PM me if you have questions. In most cases I can provide pictures.

[sandblaster]

Thanks kxpegger!
You can rest assured that you will be hearing from me 

[sandblaster]

1-29-11
I've been really busy and have put no time into my project... Until tonight.
My next step was figuring out how to mount the lower frame rails to the lower frame.
Keep in mind that I am not a metal worker 
This is where I was at:



Both sides had the frame rails cut but I needed to remove the inner frame rails from the outer part of the frame.
So, I slowly removed the welds until I could see the crack that is between the inner frame rails from the outer part of the frame



It only took a few minutes and they were out.
Now I am ready to tune up the rails and they will slip in nicely.



Since I do not have many fabrication tools I used the following:



It was inexpensive and easy to use.

[sandblaster]

To tune up the rail guides and the rails I used a small hand file.:



With just a few minutes of filing all the edges were cleaned up nicely.