Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original

92 KX500 Full Rebuild Pics

<< < (3/3)

dmg:
Awesome job.  My 95 is getting tore down next week. I hope to have a similar end product.  I have some questions and comments:

If you had to do it again, would you powdercote the swing arm or soda blast and leave it bare?

At first I was very dissapointed in the swing arm. I thought it was way to shinny. It turned out, it matches the rims pipe, motor, and frame guards great. I would however recommend a more durable color. I will contact the guy who did it and ask about the difference between the colors I used.

Did you use gloss, semi-gloss or statin on the frame and clamps?  Would you change that decision?

The black is semi-gloss. It looks good. It is just flat enough that it doesn't show finger prints(don't know that that means much on a dirt bike)

I am contemplating powdercoating the wheels and hubs black.  Based on the finish you used on the frame and clamps, what finish would you use on the wheels?

I almost did my rims black and bought green spoke nipples(RAD Manufacturing). After much thought, I think it would be more worth while to just buy new rims, and powder coat the hubs. To be honest, I mostly skipped it because I didn't want to spend any more time off the trails, and I new it would be a big job lacing them after the powder coating.

What did you use to clean up the tank and side covers or are they new?  They look awesome!

I used a power buffer with a foam pad on LOW speed with some cleaner wax and then polish. They look better in the pics than in person, but they are pretty good for how old they are.

What method did you use to polish up the externals on the motor?

My dad spent hours on the rims and motor. He used Mothers Aluminum polish, and a foam ball that you put on a drill. I think it is meant for polishing car rims. Mostly it was just a ton of elbow grease. Lots of rags too.

I used a very sharp utility knife blade to cut my rubber boot.  It worked well and did not ruin the seal.  I then took the v force 2 reed apart and used the base as a template to mark the location of where the boot meets the base. I then used a very sharp exacto blade to rough shape the inside of the boot to the mark and then blended the boot to smoothly match the new base with some sandpaper.  It took a little time but turned out great.  I'm not sure how much it helps but it is trick!

Why did you fab a new mount on the top of the pipe.  Mine appears fine as is?

Not on the pipe. The top frame mount for the pipe. Mine broke several times. This time I had a special bracket machined at work, and welded it on. It will never break. I will try to post a pic this weekend when I pull the tank to change a jet.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.  Again, Great Job!

Fitz

dmg:
One more thing. I bought some clear graphics panels from FX to cover and protect a few parts.

The swing arm in the pics is wrapped on three sides (not the inside) with this clear "sticker".

It held up fairly well at Lucerne last week, and you really can't see it from more than 5 feet away.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page