G'day.........

[BushPig]

Hey Fellas,

I'm new on here and am the (almost) proud owner of a recently acquired used KX500/KX 450 conversion that I imported to Oz from the US. 

On paper the bike looked great and while I'm not even close to disappointed with what I have (the price was right thank goodness) the workmanship that was done in the conversion process left plenty to be desired.  The conversion was done by a reasonably well known builder of these and the CR500 conversions and the lack or attention to detail was staggering (it was NOT Service Honda).  Problems included:

• The pipe not having clearance for the front wheel
• The pipe hitting the frame and engine casings
• The pipe hitting the LHS radiator
• The pipe being simply bashed with a hammer to clear the RHS cylinder radiator hose
• The pipe kickstarter chewing out the frame around the swingarm pivot

I was lucky enough to find this site and it seems that every one of these problems is well documented as are the solutions.  I'm just waiting on a pipe from Service Honda and once that arrives the bike should be ready to go - then it will be time to compare this to the CR500AF that I already have and decide which one to keep    ......

I guess that there's a couple of things I'd like to say, and they are:

• Thanks to all who contribute information to this forum - even lurkers like me benefit greatly from your efforts
• Thanks to AJ from Service Honda for sharing his knowledge - he doesn't have to and many will simply "build their own" as a result but it goes to show that the guy does this for the love of it
• Beware of those who charge money and claim to know it all - sometimes they don't!!

Cheers & Beers,
BushPig

[kaw rider]

let me guess you bought a bike from that hack on ebay.

[Friar-Tuck]

 Welcome Bushy,
Glad to have you amongst the Brethren! 
  This really is a great bunch of guys, I have learned alot from them.  Like you said about AJ, the guys have no reason to
"Share" except out of the goodness of the heart.   The racing community here has helped out us recreational guys
at the expense of possibly losing an edge on the competition.  Make sure you post up a ride report and what you think the CR & KX  strong and weak points are.  Inquiring minds want to know!
  Cheers,
  Tuck\o/

[BushPig]

let me guess you bought a bike from that hack on ebay.

No thank goodness....  The welds etc. are all good, but the details were not what they should have been.  I did have the bike looked at by a friend and had a fair idea of what I was getting myself into but that doesn't lessen the disappointment that comes from seeing things that are just a result of laziness and lack of attention to detail.  I fully expected that I'd be "on my own" fixing up the issues and had no problems with that. 

To have found kxriders.com turned out to be a blessing because a few searches gave me straight answers and all of the photographs I could ever have wanted.  That and AJ's pipe (I could do a CR/KX hybrid but in reality it's cheaper and easier to get AJ's) means that I'll be riding sooner rather than later and I'm less likely to be uttering profanities for months..   

This forum rocks!!!

[BushPig]

OK, the pipe & radiator hoses are here (well, they have been here for a while now thanks to AJ's quick service but slack old me's been away working in the desert) and the job's done.  I couldn't be happier with the pipe and it's fit, and apart from having to make up a couple of small brackets the job was a breeze.  I've ridden the bikes back to back and the KX is streets ahead of the CR500 conversion that I have for a few reasons:

• The donor chassis for the CR is from an '04 CRF450 while the KX uses an '08 KX450F.  The Kawi feels way less top heavy and the boingers are much nicer.  Not really a fair comparison, but it is what it is.
• The Kawi just 'fits' me better physically, and coming off a KX450F I feel at home.
• The lunatic who built the Honda's motor worked the thing to the max.  I still don't know exactly what's been done to it but the mid to top is just insane to the point of being violent - after a lifetime of big bores, this thing still scares me silly.  Not really the bike's fault and maybe a flywheel will help out.
• The KX motor with the Service Honda FMF Gnarly pipe and reed spacer feels a lot like my favorite bike of all time - my old tricked up KTM 550MXC.  I get the feeling I'm on the verge of having a new favorite though.. 

No disrespect to what the CR5's can be, but I'm guessing that this particular Honda will be up for grabs soon and there's already a couple of nutbags wanting it just for the motor.  They can have it because I'm now in heaven with the KX... who needs drugs when a KX5 like this can be built.

Thanks again for all of the handy information that's on this site.

Photos real soon...
Bushy

[Friar-Tuck]

  Good on you Bushy! and Thanks for the report.
Enjoy the Ride!  Cheers,
   Tuck\o/

[BushPig]

As promised, here's some happy snaps of the bike...  In the background you'll see other various forms of 'horsepower' - the kid is about to learn what roost from a 500 can do to an unsuspecting KX100 pilot. 

AJ's pipe is THE way to go and I can think of no good reason to even think about making your own other than having way too much time to spare...  All that I needed to do was make a couple of brackets, flit the coolant spigot on the cylinder 180deg, fit a couple of AJ's hoses and it was time to roost!!!





Have ordered a decompressor off Ebay and can't wait to fit that and get the KIPS / jetting sorted...  I LOVE this bike 

Cheers,
Bushy