Shiny bits!

[D0N]

I love shiny bits 

UPS dropped off the gnarly woods pipe and turbine core spark arrestor.

If my head ever comes back from Larrys, I'll be able to go for the maiden voyage! 

[ktmdude]

Oooo shiny! looks great!

[DFL BIG BORE]

the gold wheels look sweet,give it a old school look. you might need to rotate kicker arm forward so it doesnt hit pipe

[D0N]

THANKS

The kicker does hit the pipe.  I was just going to put a kicker rubber on it.

I'll try moving it like you mentioned.

[snoopjonnyjon]

I recall going two splines forward when I put a Gnarly on mine. It did make the bike slightly more awkward to start, as the lever is higher and more forward, but you get used to it.

[D0N]

I went down to the DMV yesterday and with fingers crossed... got the KX5 all street legal in NY!  I was just waiting for the guy to say... "Are you crazy? You can't ride a KX500 on the street!" but he didn't.

The first ride, the fuel line came off the petcock and spewed most of my gas onto the highway. I had just put 2 gallons of gas in it and about 2 miles later I'm running out of gas?! WTF? I look down and gas is flowing out.  I got running again and met up with a friend on a gsxr750.

We rode about 5 miles when I noticed my rear brake not working. No weirds sounds or anything to indicate something was really wrong... other than the brakes didn't work. I ignored it and headed for home. When I got parked, I started looking around the rear brake and noticed that all the bolts holding the rear disc to the hub had backed out and were gone.  The disc was just hanging there and the pads were now pushed together.

I got the wheels from RTR precision lacing in Florida. They put the disc on. I didn't check the bolts for tightness. I figured they'd be competent enough to tighten the frigging bolts and maybe even use some loctite. NOPE!    I'm glad this didn't turn into a more serious issue like me crashing in the street or the hub being ruined.

Luckily, I still have my original wheel and scavanged the bolts from it. I was back on the road in about 30 minutes and soon running out of gas again... this time, for real. I guess I lost more gas earlier than I had thought! DOH. I waited on the side of the highway while my friend got me some gas and came to the rescue.

All in all, I'm really liking the big KX. The power is astounding but not scary like I thought it might be. The DOT knobbies SUCK on the street. Too slippery.

While the work that went into the compression release mod is top notch, I am not impressed with the functionality of the unit itself. It keeps popping out almost everytime I kick the bike over. I find myself pushing the button, kicking the bike, pushing it in again, kicking it again and over and over until the bike finally decides to start. I think it's probably just not suited to release compression on a 500cc single cylinder engine. It is designed for a tiny 35cc chainsaw engine. The compression release is almost too annoying to bother using. If it's going to need resetting after every kick, a handlebar mounted lever would be much easier to live with. The KX isn't that difficult to kick over anyway. IMHO, the "button in the head compression release mod" was $140 wasted. 

Many people were staring at the bike and giving the thumbs up. The FMF pipe is loud but not obnoxious. I checked out some local trails but they're still mostly snow covered. I'll be riding the street for a while.

[Danger4u2]

Don.
Congratulation on getting your K5 tagged, I have a little experience with dirt bikes on the street, here's some background.
I have 3 different dual sport bikes, '06 KLX250 w/351 big bore kit with FMF full pipe/36mm pumper carb, '04 mostly stock KX500, and a KLR650.  I can tell you no real knobby tire will last on the street.  Between my dual sport riding buddies and myself we have tried every D.O.T. legal knobby out there. Knobbies wear so fast I transport the bikes to the ride meets I go to.  In fact they wear so fast I have 2 sets of wheels for each bike.  On 3 sets I have full off road knobbies. For the street wheels, KLR has all out street tires, the KLX 60 street 40 trail and the KX 50/50 tires.  The KLR has a cush drive so I just switch the sprocket into the different wheel.  I have disc brake pads for each wheel.  On the other 2 bikes I have dedicated chain, front sprocket and disc brake pads for each set of wheels.  The KX is major fun on the street but I only ride on the street between trail heads when I have knobbies on.  It's no fun on the street if you obey the law.  My experience with dirt bikes on the street----you will go to a more street oriented tire or not ride the bike on the street as much.  In no time at all you will need new tires also knobbies in the rain are dangerous.
  I will agree with you about having to repush the compression release.  It is a p.i.t.a.  But I must disagree with you on the usefulness of having less compression when kicking.  Someone (not me) with a good kicking leg does not need the compression release "only if they have a proper running bike." 
I have mirrors on my K5 but they are all most useless when the bike is running.  But there is NO problem making out the blue and red lights when getting pulled over.  Lucky for me the cop gave me a verbal warning to "SLOW IT DOWN!!!"
Have fun on your bike but watch out for the idiots.

[D0N]

I can definitely see the wear on the rear knobby from just the few miles I rode yesterday. I'd probably be lucky to get 300-500 street miles out of a rear knobby.

I may look into getting different rims so I have more tire options. I think the TKC80 tires would be perfect on a streeted KX but they don't come in 19" rear or 21" front sizes.  You run these right? How do they do offroad?

[flyingfitz]

In my experience, starting with the compression release is not a "push it in and kick it like a 125" scenario.  The release also works better on a motor that is not a fresh rebuild.

Here's a trick I have developed on starting. 

1.  With the button out (not releasing compression), use the kicker to bring the engine up on compression.
2.  Reset the kicker.
3.  Push the button in.
4.  Kick the bike through with a full stroke.  Don't give it half a kick.  If you do a less than a full kick, it probably won't start. 

If the bike doesn't start,  pull the button out and repeat steps 1-4.

If you are jetted right, using the above technique will start your bike on the first or second kick almost every time.  Holding the throttle open just a touch also helps mine. 

Hope this helps.

Fitz

[Danger4u2]

Don,
I have TKC80's for the K5, I bought 2 sets, 1 for the KX and a set for the KLR.  17" rear rim on the street K5 wheel & the KLR.  I have worn out the KLR set, they held up well but I really suffered off road in S.E. Okla.  They chunked a little in the rocky stuff and bad wheel spin when it got muddy.  I have not used them on the KX yet.  But I will not buy another set.  They are OK on fire lanes or dirt roads.  I would suggest them as a very good tire if you never go any where tougher than a dirt road.  They don't have enough tread for wet trails.  When I wear them out I will buy the most street oriented tire for 1 set of wheels and non D.O.T. knobbies for the other set.  I put the new Dunlop Geomax MX71 hard terrain tires on the KLX351.  They hold up real well on the rocks down south.  Last fall 2 of my friends ran D.O.T. knobbies.  On top of that they made the 3 hour drive on their bikes.  After 3 days in the rocky trails and 6 hours of slab they need new tires.  Mine are still going strong.  They are no fun in sand.

[Motorrad]

pirelli Mt21 is my fave.  Very predictable... Been running them for, oh since 2002..   One front lasted across the country (Trans america trail). 4700 miles...
rear lasted (being nice to it). from tenesee to colorado.. roughly 2900 miles.. But looked like a road slick in the middle.... I normaly get about 1200 miles out of a Mt21 rear on my KTM... under normal conditions.. (not being nice to it)...   this is on my 640 KTM also.. so no lack of horse power..


Recently tried a kenda K270. On the REAR of my KTM.  Took it off within 20 miles of pavement!!. It was spookey..   could roll into a corner at 35mph and roll on the gas, and there goes the rear... Wouldnt even pop wheelies anymore (with a Mt21 just hit the gas and look at sky)... now it just spins the rear...

I never imagined a tire could be this bad...

[D0N]

I liked the mT21 too... but again, they don't offer tires for the stock KX5 wheels. 

What are you running for wheels?

I think I read that an 18" KDX200 rim is a bolt on swap for the kx500?

[Danger4u2]

KDX rear hub only has 2 bearings, KX500 1997/2004 has 3 bearing hub.

Different numbers for the axle.
2000 KDX200
41068  AXLE,RR  41068-0014  (replaces 41068-1341)

2000 KX500
41068 AXLE,RR 41068-1299

Same rear bearing. 
2000 KDX 200
92045 BEARING-BALL,6004X8JR
92045-1239 


2000 KX500
92045 BEARING-BALL,6004X8JR
92045-1239