1990 KX 500 to 2006 KX450F Conversion Project

[scooterVOOII]

Kwackerman, as long as you're happy with the job, or parts thereof, that's all that matters. I'm with jBernard on this one though, and I was a victim of MPS as well. From what I can see, nothing has changed in the 5 years since I bought my frame from him, and it never will.

As for the guy at Dynoport, I get where he's at. He made the pipe according to Fanelli's spec, and it was under contract to him. Any shortcomings fall on Fanelli, so while I can't condone him being an ass on the phone, he has a point. George's design, George's problem.

Roostius Maximus is redoing my frame now, but during our numerous conversations over the years, he also said the when you cut apart a used bike, the frame rails are usually "sprung" sometimes, and that has to be fixed. About the only truth Fanelli might have told, but his idea of "compensation" is a little skewed. For what it's worth, my frame looked the same. Crooked on one side, by memory. Best of luck getting your build finished.

Just as an FYI, Paul Stoffers is no longer in the frame mod business.

[umberto]

Let me start by saying that I am not an expert welder or fabricator, I'm just interested in a fellow rider's safety.  I'm not trying to dog your project or MPS either.  With that being said, do the welds seem to have good penetration?  I showed them to my dad, who has been welding on Hot Rods for longer than I've been alive, and he didn't think all of the welds had good penetration and that some of the welds were mostly piled on top.  Take that with a grain of salt, his eyes aren't as good as they once were. With that being said, I might take the bike by a local welder to get his thumbs up/thumbs down.  If those welds let go, it can be pretty catastrophic to the whole frame.  

[Kwackerman]

Don, Charlie, and JBenard, you guys aren't offending me in the least.  I expected something much more "factory-like" for $1000, from someone who's been doing this for years, but at this point it is what it is.  At least the bike is all fitting back together well, with the exception of the pipe.  

As for the welds, the local guy I took my bike to to finish the fabrication and fix the pipe, does AF conversions too and has hand built about 30 custom cars from scratch over the past 30 years.  I went to him first to do my project, but he was too busy and I was in a hurry.  It NEVER pays to get in a hurry!!!  Anyway, he looked at the welds and thought they looked OK, but agreed with some of the comments on here that he wouldn't have gone the route George did with the down tubes.  He said he would have bent brand new tubes and installed them (as stated by others on here), instead of piecemealing the tubes together.  

His ccraftmanship is nothing short of amazing (like the pics at that link).  He built two KDX220/KX250F hybrids for a father-son team I race with, and their bikes truly look better than factory.  And he did each bike for about $1,100.00, including final assembly.  All they had to do was pick them up, fire them up, and go racing.  You can't beat that!  

I'm picking my bike up from him today after work and I'll put some more pictures on here of the completed pipe, airbox, and radiator mods he did for me.  

I just hope my frame doesn't break.  I'm a racer and that could be really ugly!!! You can bet I'll be inspecting that frame very closely after every ride for a while.  

I'll keep this thread going and post a race report after my first hare scrambles, 1 March.

[sandblaster]

Hey Kwackerman.
Great attitude.
Nobody here want's to see you get hurt.
I know we would all like to see how well you like your build and vids are cool 
Thanks for posting.

[Foxx4Beaver]

Hey Kwackerman.
Great attitude.
Nobody here want's to see you get hurt.
I know we would all like to see how well you like your build and vids are cool 
Thanks for posting.

absolutely, +1 

[cmotodad]

Here is the hose from AutoZone. Been working great on my SFC 500. I went to the local auto zone and found hose #A71415, crossed that number to Gates. Gates hose was $ 10.99. It is the exact fit of the SH hose.

[umberto]

Don, Charlie, and JBenard, you guys aren't offending me in the least.  I expected something much more "factory-like" for $1000, from someone who's been doing this for years, but at this point it is what it is.  At least the bike is all fitting back together well, with the exception of the pipe.  

As for the welds, the local guy I took my bike to to finish the fabrication and fix the pipe, does AF conversions too and has hand built about 30 custom cars from scratch over the past 30 years.  I went to him first to do my project, but he was too busy and I was in a hurry.  It NEVER pays to get in a hurry!!!  Anyway, he looked at the welds and thought they looked OK, but agreed with some of the comments on here that he wouldn't have gone the route George did with the down tubes.  He said he would have bent brand new tubes and installed them (as stated by others on here), instead of piecemealing the tubes together.  

His ccraftmanship is nothing short of amazing (like the pics at that link).  He built two KDX220/KX250F hybrids for a father-son team I race with, and their bikes truly look better than factory.  And he did each bike for about $1,100.00, including final assembly.  All they had to do was pick them up, fire them up, and go racing.  You can't beat that!  

I'm picking my bike up from him today after work and I'll put some more pictures on here of the completed pipe, airbox, and radiator mods he did for me.  

I just hope my frame doesn't break.  I'm a racer and that could be really ugly!!! You can bet I'll be inspecting that frame very closely after every ride for a while.  

I'll keep this thread going and post a race report after my first hare scrambles, 1 March.

Do you have any contact info for the guy that's helping you finish your bike?  Sounds like he might be a good source to join the forum and post some pictures.  He might pick up some work too. 

[scooterVOOII]

Just a thought Kwackerman, but think about this. Book a slot with your friend for next winter, ride your bike this year. If you like it, have him redo it. As long as the frame holds together, just run it. If you don't like the bike, don't proceed. I'm doing the same thing with my bike, Adam Millar is redoing my motor mounts, and doing up a proper head stay for it. I paid Fanelli a Grand to make a mess of mine, I'm paying a second time to have it fixed. Lesson learned, life goes on.

[Kwackerman]

Guys, the local guy here (Camdenton, MO) is Steve Bonaker.  I'll ask him tonight if he minds me listing his phone number and email on here.  Like I said, he does amazing work and his prices are very reasonable.  He's also been racing off-road bikes for years, so he gets where we're all coming from.

I appreciate all the encouragement.  My bottom line is that I hope after all the expense and work that my hybrid works better than my original K5.  I've had several guys ask me why I went away from the chromoly frame to the aluminum frame for woods racing, because the chromoly frame has more flex than aluminum.  I told them it's just something I've always wanted to do.  If I don't like it, I may do something crazy like pull the motor, sell the chasis and try a KTM hybrid.  I've seen some Youtube videos of those and they look really cool too.  we'll see.

I just like to tinker... 
 

[umberto]

I think the modern suspension and ergonomics should make up for any additional harshness in the frame, especially if you have your suspension valved to your weight and riding style.  If you were coming from a later model steel framed bike, it might be more of a glaring difference.  Plus it's so unique you'll be a rock star where ever you ride it. 

[Kwackerman]

Guys, I picked up my bike yesterday from the fabricator and he did a great job modifying my pipe, air box, and radiators.  I'll get some photos posted this weekend.

I asked him if he was interested in building more hybrids and if I could post his contact info here, and he said, yes. Feel free to share with anyone who wants a super cool hybrid, built to the highest quality standards.

Steve Bonacker, Camdenton, MO
Phone: (573) 286-1199
Email: stbonacker@yahoo.com.

[Kwackerman]

Guys, here's a pic of where Steve shaved the frame spar to take pressure off the air boot

[Kwackerman]

Here's a pic of the top rear pipe mount Steve added.

[Kwackerman]

Here's another angle on the top rear pipe mount, showing the rubber grommet for vibration absorption.  I'm going to switch it out for a stock KX 500 pipe mount.

[Kwackerman]

Here's a shot of the realignment of the pipe in order to clear the spigot and hose on the cylinder. In the picture, it looks like the pipe is touching the hose, but there is about a 1/8" gap, so there's no direct contact. That's a great improvement over the original alignment, where I couldn't even put the spigot in place to bolt in on.