KX Riders

Maintenance & Technical => KX500 Original => Topic started by: BigKX on November 08, 2004, 04:02:15 AM

Title: Right side radiator
Post by: BigKX on November 08, 2004, 04:02:15 AM
The top mounting tab on my KX500 keeps breaking on the right radiator. It broke on a friend's too.  How are you guys fixing this?  I've had it welded twice and even had a custom gusset made and it still broke.  If some one can post a picture of how they are doing it, I would appreciate it.
Title: Right side radiator
Post by: mikesmith on November 08, 2004, 08:32:00 PM
Havent had this happen or heard or it untill now.
Title: Right side radiator
Post by: NastyNick on November 10, 2004, 11:27:44 AM
quit dropping it on the right side.  that should solve your problem :)

/jk

Not sure...Both right and left of mine were busted when I got the bike.  Early this year I got two new (to me) rads for it and so far I haven't broken anything on them.
Title: Right side radiator
Post by: BigKX on November 15, 2004, 04:52:43 AM
Quote from: NastyNick
quit dropping it on the right side.  that should solve your problem :)

/jk

Not sure...Both right and left of mine were busted when I got the bike.  Early this year I got two new (to me) rads for it and so far I haven't broken anything on them.


I'm an eqaul opportunity crasher...I do it on both sides!

I know the team green bikes have some kind of reinforcement in that area too. Out of the 3 KX500's that ride the dunes with us, all of them have had to have the same part re-welded.
Title: Right side radiator
Post by: Rick on November 16, 2004, 01:24:48 PM
Both top radiator tabs broke on my 2002.  I fired up the wire feed, fed in some aluminum wire, added a little argon, and welded the tabs back on.  Instead of just welding on the tab as I would if this were steel, I built the weld on each side, even into the hole, and then used a dremel to clean the weld down to insert the rubber mount.  When I installed the radiators, I sprayed the inside of the hoses with WD40 to ensure they slipped onto the radiators all the way, and installed the radiators before I tightened the hose clamps.

Now, as most folks know on this site, I ride more than the average bear, burning 10-15 gallons of gas on a normal weekend, so I'm a pretty good test for the fix.  After almost 6 months, the fix has remained.  One caution:  When using an aluminum wire feed on your radiators, use a go-dark helmet, as one touch of the wire lead to the radiator tube will result in more repairs.  I have been fortunate to avoid such an occurrance, but have always been very careful during repairs.

Good Luck

Rick