Hi Ya. Been in the process of swaping out my 04 500 into a 96 frame I picked up a while ago. The 04 frame was showing signs of wear underneath the cradle tubes with holes starting to appear. The 96 frame is a minter and looks as though it has had very little use. All threads are good, no dings or dents. Also decided on using the 96 swingarm which I got as well. The 04 needle rollers are seized fairly solid in there and its looking a little tatty, where as the 96 is quite good. Re- bearinged everything on it with AllBalls stuff. All good.
Then I come to the rear caliper. Seems the carrier or holder is quite different between the two. The "T" section of alloy the holder slides on is welded at a different hieght on the inside of the swing arm on the 04. So I could remove the T slidey alloy bit and re-weld it where it needs to go or just get the correct holder to fit, which would be easier.
Went to the online parts fische site and looked. The part number is the same for both the 96 and the 04 (140-79) and the look identical. Hmmm.
Any one know when the change occured or if there is a crossover between ther 125/250/500 ?
Cheers !