I've looked through a lot of the different threads here and they are very helpful, so far. Spend most of my time in the maintenance section, and I'm learning a lot from you guys! I'm a little out-of-my-element when it comes to the more intricate side of bikes and engine-driven stuff in general, as I am mostly a computer-nerd type and was never really taught much if anything about mechanical things. There is a ton of information here, as well as a lot of good people to help along the way. Loving the site!
@FYRBUG: I live in Bay City, MI, USA. Not a great place to be for good riding, but there are a lot of nice places within reach of a reasonable day's drive. The engine in the bike is an '87, and I think the frame and plastics came from an '89. I'll put up a picture at the end of the post, so, please, correct me if I'm wrong.
@blueoval: Yeah, starting out light just isn't in the cards for me, I guess. I thought it would be mostly the same as my other bikes (my last bike was a KDX200), but after a few rides I can see that I was WRONG. It's gonna take some finesse to tame this beast; I can't just overpower it like the old 200/125's I grew up on.
@Friar-Tuck: I totally get what you're saying. As I said earlier, I tried to run the five-hundie with brute force and that thing will just turn around and bite ya. As I spent a little more time on it, though, I at least started to get a feel for it and had it working with me. I'll be out there again in a few days, hopefully in a nice, wide-open area where I can really give it hell and see what I can do.
At any rate, here's a good picture of the KX500 next to my girly little Dakota:
