1990 KX 500 to 2006 KX450F Conversion Project

[Kwackerman]

Here's a pic of the extended frame mount and modified pipe mount. Steve welded an extension to the frame mount to move it out another inch or so from the original position. He then cut the two halves of the mount on the pipe and re-drilled it so that the two mounts aligned perfectly, using the factory KX 500 rubber mount.  It looks and will work real nice.

[Kwackerman]

I shot this pic from the rear wheel well, looking toward the engine to show how Steve aligned the FMF silencer (CR 500 model) with the Dynoport pipe.  It looks real nice and clears everything well too.

[Kwackerman]

This shot shows how Steve cut the weld off the lower spigot on the 450 radiator and turned the spigot straight up, so the hose aligns without any twisting or pinching like it was before, with the spigot angled toward the cylinder.

[sandblaster]

Looks like you have made some good progress.
When's the maiden voyage?

[Kwackerman]

This shot shows how Steve plugged the bottom spigot on the right side 450 radiator, since I ran the hoses in the stock K5 pattern.  I didn't need this spigot, so I chose to weld it up, rather than run a rubber plug on the spigot.

[Kwackerman]

I'm hoping to race a hare scrambles in the Hillbilly Gran Prix Series, next Sunday, 1 March.  I only have final assembly of the rest of the bike and I think I can have her ready for a practice ride next Saturday with the race Sunday afternoon. The race course includes a grass airstrip where everybody pins it in top gear for about five seconds.  It seems like an eternity, especially when it's cold and sometimes the ground is frozen.  That's a perfect course for unleashing the beast, though!!!

[sandblaster]

If your jetted and geared right and your engine is in a good state of tune there should be few that can top you on the straight 

[Kwackerman]

Hey guys, I wanted to post an update on my build and the pipe fiasco I told you all about. 

George contacted me a couple of days ago about the pipe.  It seems he never received my original text with the four photos of the pipe problems (he was switching to an iphone at that time and thinks that may have something to do with it).  Okay, so when I didn't hear from him for a couple of weeks after I sent the text, I should have called him, and I didn't.  that's a lick on me, not him.  I'm reminded that just because you hit "send" on an email, that doesn't mean the person on the other end received it! 

Anyway, he heard from another customer, who ordered two KX 250 Dynoport pipes, but received one 250 and one 450 pipe, and George wondered if I had received the other 250 pipe by mistake.  When he texted me yesterday, I told him about how my pipe was stamped MPS KX 500/450, but that it fit really badly.  I also directed him to my thread on here to see the pics and catch up on my story.  He did, and contacted me again and offered to refund my money for the pipe and take it back.  I told him Steve had cut it and modifief it and I was happy with it, now that it was moddified and that it fit great.

I sort of busted on Rich (and George) about that pipe, but I told George Rich at Dynoport wasn't doing him or his customers any favors.  Rich refused to listen to anything I had to say about the pipe not fitting correctly.  He only cared about the stamp on it and said that if it was stamped 450, then it was the correct pipe and the problem was with George and his design.  I don't think that's very professional or customer oriented, as I stated earlier on here.  Rich doesn't seem to care much about his reputation either, since he didn't want to do anything to make me happy, only to sick me back on George.  If he'd only listened to my situation, he may have figured out he really did send the wrong pipe.

Yes, I'm upset about the pipe and that it cost me a total of $600.00 to get it right.  I think anyone would agree that's outrageous.  But, I also want to give George credit for contacting me as soon as he realized something wasn't right and offering to give me a refund and make this all right, without me even asking.

At this point, I'm still overall happy with the job on my frame and George's interactions with me, especially when I read some of the other comments people have made about him.  It seems to me from looking at the photos others have posted of George's work from several years ago, compared to the quality of my frame, he is doing much better quality work.  And he has been very professional and responsive to my questions and issues, when he knew about them.

My final judgment on the fit and finish will come when I get the bike completed race it.  As I told George this morning, the proof is in the performance.  I'll post a race report and post some pics of the final finished product and you guys can judge for yourselves.

[SHLEPY]

 A iPhone he told me the same thing dude he told me the very same thing lol.

[Charlie500]

It looks like Steve does really good work man! Your fortunate to have someone with those skills so close to you!

[Charlie500]

Hey guys, I wanted to post an update on my build and the pipe fiasco I told you all about. 

George contacted me a couple of days ago about the pipe.  It seems he never received my original text with the four photos of the pipe problems (he was switching to an iphone at that time and thinks that may have something to do with it).  Okay, so when I didn't hear from him for a couple of weeks after I sent the text, I should have called him, and I didn't.  that's a lick on me, not him.  I'm reminded that just because you hit "send" on an email, that doesn't mean the person on the other end received it! 

Anyway, he heard from another customer, who ordered two KX 250 Dynoport pipes, but received one 250 and one 450 pipe, and George wondered if I had received the other 250 pipe by mistake.  When he texted me yesterday, I told him about how my pipe was stamped MPS KX 500/450, but that it fit really badly.  I also directed him to my thread on here to see the pics and catch up on my story.  He did, and contacted me again and offered to refund my money for the pipe and take it back.  I told him Steve had cut it and modifief it and I was happy with it, now that it was moddified and that it fit great.

I sort of busted on Rich (and George) about that pipe, but I told George Rich at Dynoport wasn't doing him or his customers any favors.  Rich refused to listen to anything I had to say about the pipe not fitting correctly.  He only cared about the stamp on it and said that if it was stamped 450, then it was the correct pipe and the problem was with George and his design.  I don't think that's very professional or customer oriented, as I stated earlier on here.  Rich doesn't seem to care much about his reputation either, since he didn't want to do anything to make me happy, only to sick me back on George.  If he'd only listened to my situation, he may have figured out he really did send the wrong pipe.

Yes, I'm upset about the pipe and that it cost me a total of $600.00 to get it right.  I think anyone would agree that's outrageous.  But, I also want to give George credit for contacting me as soon as he realized something wasn't right and offering to give me a refund and make this all right, without me even asking.

At this point, I'm still overall happy with the job on my frame and George's interactions with me, especially when I read some of the other comments people have made about him.  It seems to me from looking at the photos others have posted of George's work from several years ago, compared to the quality of my frame, he is doing much better quality work.  And he has been very professional and responsive to my questions and issues, when he knew about them.

My final judgment on the fit and finish will come when I get the bike completed race it.  As I told George this morning, the proof is in the performance.  I'll post a race report and post some pics of the final finished product and you guys can judge for yourselves.

I made and honest effort to talk to george and ask to see his work before sending my stuff to him... He flipped out and started swearing at me... Really weird... I'm glad he is treating you right.

[Kwackerman]

Hey guys, I wanted to check in and give an update on my bike.  I tried to load a little video of the finished product, but haven't had any luck so far. 

Ride report: I took the beast out for a shake down ride about a month ago and rode three 7-mile laps around a local hare scrambles track here in MO.  The bike worked really well. 

I took it to Combs, AR, two weeks ago and rode round three of the Black Jack Enduro Circuit (BJEC) series, on a very muddy, technical 27.5 mile mountainous course.  It was running lean because it was really cold and wet that day, so I had problems getting it to idle down.  I got a front flat about 10 miles into the race, but thanks to my tubliss inserts, the tire stayed on the bead of the rim and I was able to finish.  I got 3rd out of 12 riders and missed 2nd by a mere 42 seconds over a 27.5 mile distance.  The bike worked flawlessly and I love the new, taller riding position with the KXF frame. 

Saturday, I took it over to Wyandotte, OK, and rode a three-man, nine-hour endurance race, called the Off Road Cup.  It was 31 degrees that morning and I had even worse lean issues with the motor.  The thing was running away on me and I couldn't get it to idle down.  During one of my breaks, I pulled the seat and tank and moved the needle clip from the top position to the middle position and baby, she caught fire!!!  Unfortunately, after four 7-mile laps, both of my tires went flat (very rocky course), so I retired the beast and rode my brother's SHERCO 300 two-stroke for my last two laps.  Other than my flat tire issues, the beast is performing like a champ, the pipe (Dynaport) and MPS frame are both performing well, and no problems with the welds.  I have to say, at this point, I'm very happy with my bike.

My next race outing isn't until June 14th, when I will ride the Rekluse National Enduro in Upton, WY.  I'll post a race report.

I'll get some pictures and hopefully a video on here shortly so you can see her in all her glory. She's beautiful and I've gotten nothing but compliments about how she looks.

[Foxx4Beaver]

good...looking forward to seeing/hearing the video!

[Kwackerman]

Hey guys, here are a couple of pics of my AF after the White Rock enduro a couple of weeks ago.  It was a little muddy, but the beast ran great.  I finished 3rd out of 12 riders in the 50+ age category.  Not a bad ride...

[Kwackerman]

Here's a video of my completed KX500AF project.  I raced it in an enduro in Arkansas back in March and it ran great!  I look forward to your comments.  Howie


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChZHXEp3GuRmKIsccX6bdMw