Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original
kx500 hare scrambles??
96500:
--- Quote from: reknelb ---I just saw your for sale ad. Wish you had that for sale a couple months ago. I picked mine up in Albion. What are you going to ride if you sell the kx?
--- End quote ---
04' Honda CRF450R. The KX is my spare/fun bike. I really like it, I just don't use it enough to warrent keeping it. I've got some spare parts, give me a call if you need some. Paul
ebers17:
I ran my first wnyoa hare scramble with the kx500 sunday. What a blast!!! The kx was awesome. I ran 14t - 48t gearing, and was my first time with the millville tire. I blew by lots of guys in alot of spots where the mud was and everything. Except for losing my rear fender and bending my shift lever to the frame, everything was great! I was 1 or 2 in my class until my final lap i was stuck in 4th due to my shift lever getting wacked and i couldnt finish. Can't wait until the next event! - Seth
reknelb:
Thats cool. I really want to make it out to an event or 2 or 3. My buddies dont like to leave the county so may have to go out to one by myself. They have posted some pics on the wnyoa site. What class were you in?and what number? i saw a few green bikes when I scanned through the pics. Good Job!
ebers17:
Reknelb, thanks it was a blast. Its my first year so i'm in the open C class. I'm in one of those pictures, 5th row from the top, 4th one over from the left. I'm number 831 (my numbers partially covered though), white helmet, on the ground!!! I had the whole shot by a lot but locked up my brakes and slid out. Doesn't look it, but it was super slick. Hopefully see you around at some soon! - Seth
http://wnyoa.net/may1race%20032.jpg
Minnetonka_Mark:
I recently rode my mint condition 2002 KX500 that I set up with 13/52 gearing and Steahly flywheel weight. I also have a 2005 KTM 300EXC which I have been riding quite a bit since March. I rode the KTM on Saturday then switched to the KX500 on Sunday. Here is what I noticed.
Compared to the 300EXC, the KX feels like it refused to make tight turns, such as making 90 degree turns around trees in the woods. The KX feels like it was designed to go real fast in a relatively straight line, and that's most likely what the engineers actually had in mind.
The KX is much more stable than the EXC running fast through deep sand and sweeping turns with berms made of sand.
These two bikes are very differnt indeed.
The 13/52 gearing is a waste of time unless you're going to be running very slow through extremely tight woods. But I now feel that the KX does not belong in the tight woods, at least as long as I have the EXC available.
I have my KX jetted such that the engine either idles or accelerates very hard. There is no inbetween. So riding along I'm either coasting or rolling on a very small amount of throttle which causes powerful acceleration and small wheelies. This is not a good characteristic for tight woods riding for me.
The power output of the 300EXC is just right for maintaining traction. The KX running through the 13/52 gearing broke traction too often. There is so much rock hard thrust available at all times. The 300EXC has a little "give" to the engine so that as the tire grabs and slows the engine traction is maintained. The KX never gives in so the tire breaks loose.
I got about 18 MPG riding very easy. The 300EXC uses about the same amount of fuel.
Since I have the 300EXC I'm giving up on using the KX500 for Hare Scrambles. Instead, I'm going to use the KX as a dual sport bike. I fortunately have a license plate. The gearing will go back to 14/47. I'll add the lighting coil, headlight, tail light, etc... I think I'll have more fun riding on trails, traveling between small towns in rural Minnesota. With the license plate I can ride into town and buy gas, etc... The 300EXC will be my Hare Scramble race bike.
I had thought about making the KX into a Supermotard street bike, rather than a dual sport. I'll stick with the 90% dirt, 10% street dual sport plan. I now think that a 4-stroke engine would be better suited to a Supermotard street bike that would be ridden 90% street and 10% dirt.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version