2004 Team Green KX500

[2-Stroke Tom]

A few post back some of us were discussing the Team Green KX500s, and some of the mods the factory teams did to these bikes. I have posted a few pictures of the one I purchased last year. I also received a desert tank and a bunch of other goodies with it that I just put on, so I will update these pics soon.

In one of the pics you can see the added protection they provided for the water pump. Team Green would buy several new KX500s, disassemble them, sebd them to a fabricator to have the frames reinforced/gusseted as well as other mods (weld on the steering stabilizer post, weld up the radiators so there were no seams, etc.), and then had them powdercoated. Mine does not have the trick clutch cover or billet extended clutch arm, but everything else is there.

[2-Stroke Tom]

A few more. One picture shows the subframe mod they did to prevent the chain from eating through it.

[The Flyin Hawaiian]

You guys are lucky on the west coast! There werent any Team Green riders riding the 500 here on the east coast. My brother has a ex Team Green support riders bike, a tricked out KLX300 with a 331 bb built by Stroker, KX500 forks and KX internals in the shock. Also has a slightly extended swing arm. Im currently riding my girlfriends 04 KX250, Im converting my 04 250 to a 500, she had Team Green support in 05. Id love to get my hands on one of the 500 though!
Nice bike by the way.

[2-Stroke Tom]

Thanks Flyin Hawaiian. I am really lucky. The Team Green shop is only a few miles from my house, and when I got the bike, I had to call them to see how I would register the bike with the DMV because it never was! The Kawasaki/Team Green folks were really cool to me, and even answered a bunch of questions about the bike and what they used to do to set them up for desert racing. With the bike, I also got the stock muffler, which I want to weld on a Sparky like Destry Abbott's set up. The Team Green guy I talked to said this is the ticket for the exhaust.

I'm going to race this bike, so i just put the desert tank on, and went through the whole bike (except the motor because it rips so hard and has such good compression I didn't even bother to open it up!) and tightened/greased everything up. I thought it vibrated pretty bad for a bike that was supposed to have a balanced crank, but I found a cracked motor mount and problem solved!

[Polar-Bus]

Look closely at the footpegs, they are factory unobtanium as well. Your 500 probably also has trick magnesium wheel hubs as well. !  I am surprised Kawi even sold you that bike. Usually most all the factories will "destroy" retired factory race bikes to protect thier (Kawasaki) R&D interests.  Kawasaki must have figured where R&D for the KX500 has run it's course at at the end of production, there's no harm in releasing the bike to the public.

[Motorrad]

Good chance the axles are titanium

[ToomanyKaws]

When a buddy of mine got his Larry Rossler bike.  Larry gave him the majority of the spare parts he had in his shop.  Paid like $3800 for the bike which was a lot at the time for a used race bike.  Have seen exceptionally clean low hrs factory 500's go for up to $3500 in the last year.    I always wondered where all the spare parts came from hanging in my buddys shop.    Believe it was a 1998 or 1997.  No VIN number.   The 1999 Team Green bike I just got came with a CA title and orig KAW VIN.   The owner I purchased it from said the riders name was on the original title when he got the bike.    Ironically where I came from we never had to register or title a dirtbike.      The 1999 I just got needed a little work but its all done now.   Didn't have to spend a whole lot on it.    And a side benefit is the bike has a CA Green sticker.

[2-Stroke Tom]

I watched a few of these KX500s sell over the last three years for around $4,000, and of course being raced/ridden by pros, most of them were pretty beat up. I think I was extremely fortunate to find a 2004 practice bike that was so clean, and I ended up getting it for $2,800! They just put brand new Excel rims on it and I also got the stock exhaust, desert tank, and extra spockets. Intersting thing about the front wheel is that it's 20 incehs. I guess they were experimenting with 20-inch front wheels for a while to see both how they handled, and to see if it reduced the possibility of getting flats. 20-inch tires are so hard to find now that I was going to replace the front wheel for a 21, until I found a source for 20-inch Dunlop D739s (which is what they used to race with on this bike) for $25/each.

Team Green was still racing (District 37 AMA Desert Racing) the KX500 in 2005, so other bikes and parts are still around, you just have to keep an eye out. When I found out that the 500 I bought just had the suspension and motor rebuilt, I couldn't refuse the deal. I have owned and raced a lot of bikes, but I never knew that suspension could be so plush! I think that's the best part of a factory bike because they put so much effort in this area. I wish I could find some of those Pro Circiut pull rods (suspension linkage) to try out, because mine doesn't have these. From what I've been told, the motors were mildly ported, and mostly stock.

[amra500]

i had acme suspension on my old 2000 500 and amce isnt around any more but mine was set up excactley like yours

[ToomanyKaws]

My 99 Team Green has the pull rods.  Haven't had a chance to ride it yet to really test the whole suspension out yet.

[2-Stroke Tom]

The Pro Circuit pull rods are extremely hard to find these days. I check ebay, craigslist, etc., all of the time and can never seem to find a set of these. I think I've ridden this bike enough now to tell if these things would make a noticeable difference.

It's too bad ACME suspension isn't around anymore because everyone I talked to that had their suspension done by them were always very happy.

[amra500]

yeah it worked real good for me it seemed like the harder i charged the smoother it was , i remember i had the pc pullrods on my 2000 and i did notice a differance in turning but felt a little higher in the rear mabye my imagination not sure but i was running 18's in the rear also on my 01 i wanted daryl too valve and spring it at acme but no more so i had pro-action in prescott az do it and it is phenominal now thanx travis at pro-action

[bob larry]

A few more. One picture shows the subframe mod they did to prevent the chain from eating through it.

Sweet thanks for that swingarm pic.....mine is getting worn.
going to make up that plate!  I guess four S/S rivets would work.  Maybe put some gb weld on the rivets too.  Did they wrap it around three side or just the two sides........?

[2-Stroke Tom]

Bob,
They wapped the stainless piece around 3 sides of the subframe.

I took the bike for another ride yesterday out at El Mirage Dry Lake and it seems to run flawless. The thing that seems crazy to me is that the bike ran good when I got it, but I noticed the fuel bowl overflow was plugged off. I unplugged it and fuel would run out of the overflow at random times (I checked the float level), so I figured I would rebiuld the carb including replacing the needle and float. Problem solved!

I have a brand new FMF Turbine Core on the bike right now and I don't like it. After a few rides, the rivet at the bottom of the silencer leaks oil (if you let it go long enough, it will leak onto the brake caliper), and this happens when the packing isn't even that wet. I have to beat on the thing every time I need to repack it too. I still have the stock silencer, so I'm going to look for a sparky, chop 3 inches off the stock silencer and weld the sparky on. Team Green figured this out a long time ago! This was the last setup they used on Destry Abbott's bike in 2005, and they claimed it was the only spark arrestors they tested that didn't hinder power.