Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original

Fixing problems with new (old) bike. - Running

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Pmcg:
That sucks man sorry to hear.

Pmcg:
I wonder if you can have the crank trued without having it completely rebuilt. Might not be much money just more time. I was looking at the crank shaft jig TOOL: 57001-1174 as some extra insurance.

MeanGreenMachine:
Ok, so using a hydraulic press, despite being glued in with Loctite 609, I was able to push the crank back out of the cases without any real abuse. In fact, the Loctite didn't seem to make much of a difference aside from that first initial "pop". The mains and case halves appear to have survived the ordeal undamaged. I suppose they're rated for several thousand lbs of dynamic force so a mere portion of shouldn't be a big deal, even axially, I guess.

Needless to say, I won't be using freeze/heat again... I never liked it to begin with. The principle is sound and it works fine when done right, but if anything hangs up or hesitates, you're screwed. It's strange, since the crank virtually fell right through the bearing and went "clunk" right up against the bearing, so I figured we were golden.

The crank is another matter. I put it in the lathe at work, and using my best Swiss made indicator, I gently drove a wedge between the webs, tapped with a mallet, and squeezed to try to get the crank straight again, but wasn't able to do the job satisfactorily. I took it down to Q&E down in Anaheim to see if they could get it straightened out. Worse case scenario, the crank cannot be straightened, and I'll have to buy a new crank assembly from Kawasaki. I'm debating on whether I'd want to have it balanced and trued on top of it... Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

MeanGreenMachine:
Ok guys... So I decided to put the crank in the hands of somebody who knows press together cranks, and hasn't played a continually losing game the whole way. He managed to get it straight to within .0025 or so on one side and .0015 on the other. That'll get the job done. I took it home and went to a friends house with a hydraulic press and pressed it right in without a hitch. On advice from the machinist, I fashioned some aluminum wedges to lightly tap between the crank webs on each side of the rod, put cardboard over the rails of the press to set the cases on, and pressed it right in. IMO the force required never came close to harming the cases or the bearings, and everything went together fine this time. So much so that I regret having tried any other way.

On a more familiar note though, I managed to break my new shifter shaft, and waste my brand new clutch nut and gasket as well. It turns out the stud that guides the shift shaft was not all the way down either, and when I (cautiously) tightened the cover down, I noticed that the shift shaft wouldn't shift. On investigation, it turns out that the stud held the pawl up, bending it. Attempting to straighten it resulted in it cracking. It turns out to be hard coated or nitrided or something. As I tried to bend it with pliers, the surface cracked and flaked like glass... Definitely scrapped now. So, in short, I spent 3 hours to trash 100 bucks in parts, and ends up worse off than I started, which now appears to be customary when working on a KX500.

sandblaster:

--- Quote from: MeanGreenMachine on November 11, 2013, 03:04:47 PM ---He managed to get it straight to within .0025 or so on one side and .0015 on the other. That'll get the job done.

--- End quote ---

I would really reconsider using that crank in it's current condition..
If I remember correctly you are right at the service limit.
In my opinion, K5 cranks need to be much closer then the book says.
I sent mine to Pinsonnault Racing and received it back in perfect condition.
I put my Test indicator on it and couldn't read any runout and I can measure .0001" with it.
Also, I reviewed Motorrad's heat/freeze method for crank installation and if you follow it precisely, and you have no defects in your parts, you should have no problems.
The only thing I do differently from Motorrad is skip the beers  :lol: and I have had no problems at all...

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