Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original
Making a 500 turn
barryadam:
--- Quote from: KXcam22 on May 11, 2010, 04:45:04 PM ---I found two things tha both made a huge improvement in how the K5 turns. First is the the K5 love to steer with weight on the pegs. Try cornering with all your weight focused on the inside peg. You might be surprised.
But face it, the K5 is an old chassis that does not turn as well as the new bikes, so to beat them in the corners it will require more effort from the rider. Cam.
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I tried Cam's weighting and it helps. I was also advised that the KX500 turns better with application of throttle. I've found it's a lot of work, but combining the peg weighting and application of power has worked well. Relatively. It's still not as nimble as some other bikes.
I know suspension technology improves a lot over time, but the fact that the chassis is "old" isn't really the issue. Although the 500 was sold as a "motocross bike", the basic geometry indicates it was always designed for stability at speed, not quick, light turning and flickability.
Barry
ToomanyKaws:
In the past, didn't ride my 500 much. Just never got the bike to handle the way I felt comfortable with. My friends kept urging me to bring the 500 out everytime we rode. Finally I spent some time with sag, fork height, springs, valving. But most of all riding position. Now would rather ride the 500 than any of the other bikes. Weighting the peg on the side you are turning works well for me. Standing alot on single track and keep weight over the front of the bike helps me also. Took me awhile to adapt. Like to steer with the throttle. Use the rear brake a lot and rarely the front. Yet on my 250 or 200 use the front brakes often. Every person is going to find a different technique that works for their height and weight. Just takes a some testing. Helps to have some fast guys to ride with that you can try and keep up with.
Polar-Bus:
--- Quote from: JustinSB on May 09, 2010, 06:06:09 PM ---My 500 doesn't like to turn. Has anyone had success making them turn? I'm not going AF, but looking for some reasonable things to change to make it turn at all. She loves to go straight, and to haul ass, but I got killed at the races this weekend because I couldn't hang in the turns.
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Remember we're talking late 80's desert chassis technology. You can't polish a terd. A few things that can help is bar risers, tall seat foam, and slightly soft front fork compression. The limiting factor is you can't transition yourself over the front end on a KX500.
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