KX500 Pride Still Alive

[2-Stroke Tom]

I thought everyone would appreciate this discussion I've been following on a District 37 AMA desert racing forum. For those of you who aren't familiar w/ District 37, if you were a professional desert racer on a KX500, District 37 was the proving ground due to the intense level of competition. The post subject reads, "Is a KX500 Still Competitive". People still have mad respect for the bike still, and Destry Abbott even chimed in and stated that the 500 was the best motor built! Nothing like accolades for the KX500 from one of the most accomplished desert racers around. Enjoy!
http://www.district37ama.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46203

[Motorrad]

Funny most complain about vibes....

Now that I have balanced mine how I think it should be..

My 2002 KTM dual sport 4 stroke vibrates more than my K5 


Ill vouch that not much in the DESERT will touch mine...   few suspension mods... some motor mods...  Best bike for the desert in my Oppinion..   all the new bikes (al frames etc) are too designed around a motocross track (where the money has been since the early 90s).. and I feel their handling in the desert shows this...

Up in your neck of the woods (D37) its probly not as apparant.. but down here in D38  home of High speed and lots of sand.. it shows when you Fly by a new bike that is getting head wobbles... and your K5 without the damper turned on yet, is like its on rails...

[sniper1]

     Awesome and the K5 is the only open class bike I've ever ridden that doesn't have any headshake at high speeds whether at the dunes or on the street or hard pack it's like the bike is on a monorail

     I've never lost a dragrace to another regular swingarm open class bike at the dunes either which is saying something for the K5 with minor power modifications something should have put me in my place already we'll see in a few weeks when I hit the dunes again after a long layoff.

     I see the 2 strokes making a comeback no matter what the manufacture says the market dictates what it wants and the CR250 is being ridden so much hinson started making the basket,hub, and pressure plates again what does that say about the 2 stroke comeback?

     K5 is the best open class 2 stroke engine IMO!

Check this video of the dream team on K5s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyU6bFStqSM

[2-Stroke Tom]

All of the pros had steering stabilizers to calm the headshake. On the bomb run (start of the race) I used to see a few of the top pros (Ty Davis, Brian Brown, Destry Abbott) hold the KX500 wide open for a couple of minutes. These guys don't need open sand to reach these speeds, that's why they are pros. Mind you, most of them ran pretty stock engines because of reliability and even if one of them had a motor making way more power, it means nothing in a desert race if you can't even hold the stock bike wide open. That's why I'm not looking for ways to squeeze every bit of power of my bike. Team Green had it figured out and their record showed it. I spend most of my time riding my 500 to improve my skills, and rarely work on it other than maintenance.

I made my why up to the expert class when I was racing 250s back in the early 90s, and still could never come close to holding the bike wide open the ENTIRE bomb run. Let up just once for a split second, and your competition with less power will pass you. Even now, there are 125 two strokes that will come in the top ten overall. Usually a pretty young guy. Imagine how fast you would have to ride a 125 through all of the technical stuff to keep up with all the other bigger motors that can open it up on fire roads and lake beds. Put one of these kids on KX500 and look out!

Sniper, that video is pretty cool. I bought one of those KX500 practice bikes that was Brian Browns. Vibration isn't too bad, but the crank is balanced. The engine has the stock carb (properly jetted), stock reeds and cage, FMF desert pipe, and some mild porting that I haven't seen yet. One of the Team Green mechanics told me to use fresh reeds, new gas, clean air filter, and a fresh spark plug to keep the bike running at it's peak. Of course new tires are more important than making a few more ponies. Reminds me of drag racing when I would see the guy with the ported and polished aluminum heads, trick cam, etc., yet he's running with old spark plug wires or incorrect jetting and gets spanked by a low dollar budget build.

[alward25]

Now that I am back in the NW I have been able to really test the woods abilities of my 500.  I slapped 14/50 sprockets a new set  of Michelin s-12 xc's and went to Diamond Mill outside Tillamook, OR.  What a blast!!!  Better tractor than my buddies KTM 450 woods bike.  He said that It sounded like a little diesel and was pretty quiet with my PC 304 silencer.  Tractor gear was sweet and all other guys in the group did not like getting showered by rocks when we raced out on the logging road on the way back to the truck.
Looking forward to making some videos this summer.  K5 pride lives on!!!!

[450 OX]

thanks for posting that Snipe,I forgot all about that video. gonna have to dig it out and watch it! If anybody cares that clip is from Time to Ride 1. that entire video is awesome!

[Polar-Bus]

All of the pros had steering stabilizers to calm the headshake. On the bomb run (start of the race) I used to see a few of the top pros (Ty Davis, Brian Brown, Destry Abbott) hold the KX500 wide open for a couple of minutes. These guys don't need open sand to reach these speeds, that's why they are pros. Mind you, most of them ran pretty stock engines because of reliability and even if one of them had a motor making way more power, it means nothing in a desert race if you can't even hold the stock bike wide open. That's why I'm not looking for ways to squeeze every bit of power of my bike. Team Green had it figured out and their record showed it. I spend most of my time riding my 500 to improve my skills, and rarely work on it other than maintenance.

I made my why up to the expert class when I was racing 250s back in the early 90s, and still could never come close to holding the bike wide open the ENTIRE bomb run. Let up just once for a split second, and your competition with less power will pass you. Even now, there are 125 two strokes that will come in the top ten overall. Usually a pretty young guy. Imagine how fast you would have to ride a 125 through all of the technical stuff to keep up with all the other bigger motors that can open it up on fire roads and lake beds. Put one of these kids on KX500 and look out!

Sniper, that video is pretty cool. I bought one of those KX500 practice bikes that was Brian Browns. Vibration isn't too bad, but the crank is balanced. The engine has the stock carb (properly jetted), stock reeds and cage, FMF desert pipe, and some mild porting that I haven't seen yet. One of the Team Green mechanics told me to use fresh reeds, new gas, clean air filter, and a fresh spark plug to keep the bike running at it's peak. Of course new tires are more important than making a few more ponies. Reminds me of drag racing when I would see the guy with the ported and polished aluminum heads, trick cam, etc., yet he's running with old spark plug wires or incorrect jetting and gets spanked by a low dollar budget build.

Says a lot about the elevated relibility of the KX500 if Team Green runs fairly stock engines. I like "close" stock as well !  So many less headaches, so many more hours of run time... 

My only ongoing gripe is the dam footpeg buzz vibrations. Hammering a K5 down hardpack logging roads makes my foot soles go numb after about a 45 min of riding...

[454SS]

Tractor gear was sweet and all other guys in the group did not like getting showered by rocks when we raced out on the logging road on the way back to the truck.

One of the best parts of owning this bike.  A 450 throws up a good roost but an open 2 stroke is painful...if it's in front of you!