I am thinking about buying a KX 500 motor and building another bike,which one?

[Extranasty]

  Let me say I have never owned a KX 500 but have owned a 1994 KX 250 and bought it new. I have ridden KX 500's and found them to be totally superior to the newer CR 500's I have owned if you understand how to use a 500 correctly and do the point and shoot.In my opinion the 87 and 88 Cr's were the best 500's Honda made and in 1989 Kawie 500 said Seeya!.

                My 94 KX 250 was way better riding than my Honda's but the Honda's were flat out made better quality wise IMO so I never truly switched.

           I have built multiple Cr 500 aluminum framed bikes and had a Service Honda 2003 CR 250 500 build.

            Here is what I have found out,yes the 500 Kawie motor is superior to a Honda in the better power department and has way more potential. So I will probably do one but chasses is the ? and any help would be great. Right now I own a 2005 CRF 450 CR 500 and a 2004 CRF 450 Cr 500 that were built locally.
             I am 6 foot 5 and preferred the 2004 CRF 450 500 better than the SH and 2005 CRF 450 500.The 2004 model works better at high speed than the other chasses and better in sand hookup as well as bigger ergos.The other bikes were better in turning in some ways and more agile but you payed to much of a price on rough straight sections and I have found you will never get a 500 motor to handle trully like a 250 because of the crank gyro so for me a 500 is better at brake sliding into a turn and you do the point and shoot and stabilty on fast sections is better and more important to me.That is where the old KX 500 killed the newer Honda steel framer.I have a 2005 RM 250 roller I was thinking about doing because the old chromoly rides softer and I am an old man.Any help on chassis selection from those who know would be great for a big oldman who is kinda quick off rode.Thanks alot!
     

[81cr450]

If you do that 2005 RM conversion please post some pics as I'm very interested. I'm putting a big bore kitted k5 motor in a 2001 cr250. If I do another I was thinking I'd look long and hard at a RM chassis

[500donk]

I put a 01 kx500 motor in a 08 kx450f frame and have found the feel and handling are unreal. I'am not a big bloke, but I can just as easily throw my kx500af around in the bush as my cr250 07. The other thing is that the kx450f 08 is a good looking bike. Throw a big 500 fmf pipe on it and you get people stopping you on the trails asking you about the bike. And besides the cut and stunt to the frame and the mods to the radiator its not big a conversion in my opinion. Also the newer the frame you put it in the better the suspension technology you get to play with. Helps with getting that big 500 power to the ground in the rough stuff and lets you ride a bit longer. I dont see the point of doing an AF conversion and putting the motor in to old a frame because the main reason that most us do this conversion is that we would love to buy a 500 2 banger off the shelf at our local kawasaki dealer with the new look and suspension and handling, but unfortunately the big manufacturers will never do that again. I know that Service Honda builts them but the price with importation is pretty pricy.

[Extranasty]

Thanks for the replies,yaa it does stink that nobody makes a modern 500 and with todays technology you could make a power band a mile wide really trashing the 450 4 strokes in overall gusto!

                MPS builds these bikes and one of the builders who worked for George Varnelli told me the KX 450 and the 2002 thru 2004 CRF chassis turned out the best if you understand a 500 shines when you are riding in conditions where speeds are 40 to 80 MPH. He said the KX was better because of newer suspension but the handling was similar. I have never ridden a KXf 250 or 450 but have owned CRF 250 n 450 as well as CR 250 and found the bikes were better in tight conditions but at speed the CRF 450 2002 - 2004 was way more predictable in FL sand and once you changed the triples and fixed the suspension they were good.

         MPS is in Ohio and they have alot of sand as well so it maybe because slower geometry chasses work better in sand? I like them regardless the older CRF has bigger ergos and I here the older KX 450 was a boat as well and fit larger riders. Is that true? Here is what I did not like about the CRF 2002-2004 models the chasses was stiff as hell and in order to get it to work for me for off road I put a pair of 98 RM 250 coventional forks on it to add a flex point at the steering head and it worked real good and I could ride much longer but the fork action was nowhere near as smooth as the stock fork. So then I built a 2005 CRF 450 because everybody said you had to have one and also mainly to try and alieveate the stiff frame problem I had with the 1st gen 450 and it was a step backwards for me because ergos were to small and bike did not like sand as well to TWITCHY period. So then MPS sold me a RM chasses to try and go back to chromoly to try and solve the stiffness issue but I have taken a 5 year break from riding so I never built it.I want a modern 500 that has big ergos and is not stiff as a board and handles good. The RM 250 chasses are known to want to turn even when you want to go straight. Any input would be great. The newest suspension compoments I have are 05 how much better is the new stuff?  Thanks!

[Friar-Tuck]

Hey Xtra, there are a few posts with a kx-5 in a KTM 525 chasis somewhere. is that worth considering?
  I'll look for the links...
  Tuck\o/

Hee Hee  http://s1139.photobucket.com/albums/n541/Kracer1/KXTM-500/

[Extranasty]

yaa orange is great especially around holloween.    I think I will dress up as a 70's blackman 

[The Flyin Hawaiian]

I finished my conversion a few months back. Its a 02 500 engine in a 04 KX250 chassis. I too am not fond of the harsh feeling that I get from the al frames, had a 00 CR250 and have ridden a few al framed 450s/250s. My bike is mainly a east coast tight woods bike. It handles much better than it did with the 500 chassis. Its stable but still turns very well, maybe not quite as quick as a RM or CR but better than a YZ. It was suprisingly easy to build w/o any major frame mods. Suspension is 04 KX250 that was revalved by WER (Works Enduro Rider). I may try a set of revalved, late model DRZ400 forks to get it to eat up the rocks better.(when riding in those conditions) I run the lower 03 seat, 04 and up had a taller seat. Here in Southern NJ we have alot of sugar sand and tight woods and so far it has worked better than I expected.

[Extranasty]

I always wanted to do a KX 250 but thhe reason I did not and I do not want to be negative was I found the KX frames to be made out of inferior metal compared to a Honda. I always loved Kawies but they wore out to quick so I only bought one.

          Actually it pissed me off because the KX 500 and 250 were superior to Honda's offerings but quality and support were inferior to Honda. I always loved the Kx 250 handling wise.

        I am glad your bike works so well! I have never ridden a aluminum bike I thought was not rough riding so how good are the new ones?

[The Flyin Hawaiian]

I jumped ship from Kawasaki in 93 because of the saggy foot pegs and a bunch of other things. I came back by accident in 04 when I blew up my 02 YZ250 and needed a bike to start the race season on. My wife went to the ISDE in 03 and she rode a 03 KX250 (she also worked at a Kawi dealer). I bought her a second one so she had a practice bike to ride while her race bike was crated and shipped off to Brazil, it was gone for 7 months! When hers came back I started riding her other one and found it to be on par build wise to my CRs and YZs. Better in many ways. The myth about Honda being built better and lasting longer no longer holds true. The later model KXs, 03 and up, hold up just as well. My wife is still riding her old 03, she has a 07 but likes the 03 better. A RM build would be interesting though!

[Extranasty]

Thanks I appreciate the info because I like chromoly and the extra support a perimeter frame has to offer for the torque of a 500. How big are you and how good is the bike in the rough at speed. and does it ride smoother than the aluminum bikes withh less fatique, thanks.
    Honda is not what they used to be at all.

[wpmarineltd]

just to add quickly , there is one company who make new 500+cc 2 stroke mx bikes and thats maico

not that i would want to steer you away from the K5 but just adding incase non of you were aware .

[wpmarineltd]

http://www.maicointernational.com/html/mx-2010.html

^^^^^ have a butchers guys ..

[Extranasty]

thanks but no thanks on a Maico, 700 cc 2 smoke but parts in the futre and limited support plus cost. I am probably doin a RM 250 with a CR 500 motor since CPI and RPM are doing all kinds of motor hop ups on the CR and I have plenty of spares. I have already started it. and it be da real afro engineered special I got goin.