Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original

Is a kx500 the right bike for me. Opinions please. Woods ridding. Should I sell.

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chrisorbics:
Hi thanks for all of the comments. I would love to get a ktm but I really do not have the money. They make some amazing machines. Gas gas also makes very high quality bikes but they also have a high price tag. I rode a 1991 kdx250 once years ago but it really was not running right so that does not help me. I have never ridden a kdx200 yet. Is there a big difference between the older and newer ones. I think they updated them in 1997. I would love to try a kdx200 or 220 out but I do not know anybody who has one. Keep the comments coming.

Chris

quincyman:
I rode a 1994 KX500 in the woods for many years. I don't race but ride for pleasure. You can ride them fast in the woods but the effort is greater than on a 200/250 size bike. They can be lugged around slow all day long and should you really need the power it is there. A flywheel weight and maybe some other personal preference mods and they will do whatever you ask of them.

Having said all that let me finish with this. My favorite woods bikes are my 525exc and KDX220. But there are still days when the KX500 is it.

Polar-Bus:

--- Quote from: chrisorbics on June 16, 2007, 04:44:36 PM ---Hi I have a 1986 Kawasaki kx500 works replica that is mint and completely stock. It is all stock and has barely any time on it since new. I ride in the woods and as soon as I got the bike I wanted to get a lighting coil and put a kdx200 headlight on it. Then I wanted to get a steahly flywheel weight and a moose reed spacer.

Now I have taken the bike out twice and I have still not done anything to the bike. I am at the point where I can either modify the bike to make it better for what I want to do with it or I can sell it and get something that would be better for me.

The reason I am look for opinions I because I feel like I have something that is meant to go fast all of the time and where I ride it is just not possible to go fast all of the time and that I could have a different bike and go the same speed. I always felt like I should get a suzuki rmx 250, kawasaki kdx250, or a yamaha wr250r.

Am I waisting the speed and power potential if I do not have this bike all out blasting past everybody else all of the time? Should I modify this bike to make a little better torque for offroad ridding or should I sell it and get something that has a headlight, softer suspension, and is already set up for torque. Does anybody have or have ridden any of these 250 two stroke enduros. There is also the kdx200 but that seems a little small. I do not know what to do. Give me your opinion and suggestions.

Chris

--- End quote ---

This all kinda hinges on the level of speed you are looking to achieve in the woods. You didn't really say if you intend to race, or just play woods ride. They are 2 different animals. If you intend to race, be prepared to have the task of a lot of mods like a flywheel weight, gearing change, and suspension revalving, and lighting upgrade. After all this you still have a heavy 240ish lb torque tractor of a bike. It will become a physically abusive bike over a long enduro. The KX500 was engineered as a high speed desert weapon, not really a woods bike. Just casual fun woods riding however is all together different, I would just add a flywheel weight, gear down like 14/50, soften up all the compression clickers, and go have fun. I have spent a lot of time in the woods with my 500 and on a fun level they are a blast in the woods once some mods are done ! Good luck

hughes:
Good input some everybody. I don't race but I ride at race pace. I ride with boys that run yz250's, yz250f's, kx250's and I can run with these boy neck and neck in the tight woods on my 500 but it takes more effort on my part to keep up the speed. When the trail opens up watch out the 87 500 coming. I'm in the same spot as you. I'm looking to get a newer 250 2-stroke for woods riding (250 2-strokes are so easy to ride in the woods) but now my current bike is fun and paid for and adding little things to the bike to make it run better is cheap at this time until I can swing a new bike. Your bike will and can work great in the woods.

c-152:
I am a little over a year into owning my kx500.  I used to ride an RMX250 and sold it for the 500.  I am not yet sure it was a good move.  The 250 was a good machine was not quite the handful the 500 is but I honestly do not notice much of a difference.  I have a flywheel on it as well and it runs like a tractor.  The only problem is I can seem to dial the carb in to get it to run correctly after it gets hot and that screwed me in me last harescramble.  (Well it wasnt like I was battling for position but it was still a bummer).  My take is this:
For me the 500 when riden correctly can hid a lot of poor riding habits and bad skill such as not using the clutch properly to maintain power.  To get something with the horsepower to lug up hills that do not have a lt of runout on the botom I would have to spend a lot of money that I do not have so the 500 was the cheapest option.  If I was a better rider, I would probably want a 200 as the are more suited for many of the trails I ride and the harescrambles around here.  I ride in southern Ohio.
I would still keep my 500 as hillclimbing on that thing is a blast.

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