KX Riders
Maintenance & Technical => KX500 Original => Topic started by: younGun on September 25, 2014, 02:04:26 PM
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i just got my first k5 as a birthday present mostly cuz my dad was tired of hearing about the valves in my crf250.
the 500 is a 99 and it is well used. I've gone thru and attempted to tune it: new filter, jetted for what the chart
on here says(don't know how to do the needle clip tho), new carbon reeds(took the brass stops out now they are
making funny noises?concerned?), and new o rings high temp silicone and springs for the pipe(no washer just saw
that it needed one on here today). the exhaust port is very grooved, small leak from the base gasket, piston is
very rough looking on top, its leaking from the counter shaft, got a very concerning clack from the engine, and i
have very little top end. plug is dark and lots of compression(feels like). bike wont idle but it starts fairly easy.
also shouldn't this bike be intimidating as i weigh 150 lbs?? i rode a cr500 once and jeez but now my crf250 is
very equal to my k5? obviously something isn't right. now you know the whole story please help where do i even
start? i just want reliability and good 500 power
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Wait for the Gurus to see this post the k5 should s**t all over any 250 :wink:
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Air leaks.... bad...
noises.... bad.
new top end and a full bottom end rebuild... good..
good running K5.... fast.
funny red bikes.... bad
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i heard the powervalve could be noisy is that bs or true? I'm trying too steer clear of the bottom end thing (little nervous and lacking special tools) gonna get a manual and gasket kit so i can pull the top end and check the crank. any way to fix the base gasket leak if there's damage?
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Your really not gonna know what you have till you get the top end off and give it a good inspection.
Take lots of pics and post them.
Yes, kips valves can make a lot of noise.
Be sure to get Cometic gaskets.
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I think this k5 needs a big birthday, do a full rebuild on it ,check every piece ,make sure it adjusted right ,none of this half do it stuff, it better in the long run , and you never have to worry about slow crf 250 keeping up to you as you give them a soil sandwich. :-D
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I attest the Cometic gaskets are working great.
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i just want reliability and good 500 power
if you can get a decent discount rate at your local Kawie dealer, you can replace everything in the motor, minus the engine cases, for about $6000...then you'll have the reliability, providing you're good with the general maintenance...this was the path I chose because I plan on keeping mine for many a year to come.
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i don't really have that kind of cash sadly. do i want to use the thicker head gasket heard that helps with pump gas. also how the fuzz do you get pictures on here?
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i don't really have that kind of cash sadly. do i want to use the thicker head gasket heard that helps with pump gas. also how the fuzz do you get pictures on here?
to some extent it'll make a difference, you'd be better off having the head re-shaped for the best improvement.
here's a link for posting pics....
http://www.kxriders.com/forums/index.php/topic,10040.0.html
you don't "have" to use PhotoBucket specifically...there's other photo hosts you can use too.
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its got a cool head on it. don't know much about that. but i will definitely break out the camera this evening. sadly for story telling and interesting rebuild stuff I'm pretty sure the mean green 1/2 liter machine is getting sent off too get a full work over. i have little time to work on it for about the next month and my dad is willing to foot the bill because he wants me to bring it out to dumont or glamis with us over halloween. I'm hoping to give his 700hp LS2 powered car a run for its money :-D
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I wish I could still get my dad to foot my dirt bike bills!! :-o.....it's been decades since that's happened for me. :lol:
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I wish I could still get my dad to foot my dirt bike bills!! :-o.....it's been decades since that's happened for me. :lol:
+1 now I am footin jrs builds
But he's only 15 and will bust his ass for me when i ask
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haha, yup...there was always a "catch" that came along with my dad paying for my parts too....yard work mostly.
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The yard work for him is maintaining the 6500 + vines and forty acres of vineyard I manage
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(http://i.imgur.com/KHgnpjf.jpg)(http://i.imgur.com/W06stPh.jpg)(http://i.imgur.com/CqGvex9.jpg)(http://i.imgur.com/vpkR16s.jpg) These are the girls i go with :wink: all i know about the k5 is that it has a cool head, fmf powercore, and boyesen carbon reeds that were just installed(reed stops in or out for those?) and the honda is factory other than the kick stand and bark busters........... oh and the head has had a full workover by RacersER with all new more durable materials: seats, guides, titanium valves, and some fabulous port work
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get a close-up of the K5 head....we can just barely see it :-D
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(http://i.imgur.com/AlhPKN2.jpg)(http://i.imgur.com/64r0YCE.jpg)(http://i.imgur.com/Pefe5cQ.jpg) looks pretty good right? :-D
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(http://i.imgur.com/o4WSHPb.jpg)(http://i.imgur.com/GqcPJo9.jpg)this is the fourth or fifth ride and i swear it is faster everytime. now its moved from pretty strong and torquey to either the back wheel is spinning or the front one is coming off the ground. im guessing it mustve been sitting for a while. other than that it leaks from the overflow hoses sometimes, still wont idle long, and it still goes clickety clack. but its improving with use and also nothing has blown up yet hahaha. anybody else have their factory tank crack where the shrouds bolt to it? mine was cracked when i got it. cant afford a tank yet is there any way to patch it?(JB Weld doesnt work gas everywhere, silicone has lasted one ride but is peeling already)
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reed stops or no reed stops?
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Stock reed with a stock engine I run the stops.
V-Force 2's have no stops so run them as is on high tension setting for higher top end and low tension setting for better bottom end response.
I have no idea what others are doing..
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V-Force 2's on high tension for top end.
I have no idea what others are doing..
high
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i have the boyesen carbon ones. they seem great they just chatter at low rpm so i was concerned. only my second 2T last one was a 85. what gearing do you guys usually run? whats on this bike is wayyyyy higher than anything I've dealt with. i don't even use 5th gear...... top end for dayyyyyz! love this bike! so much power.... yet such a nice seat?
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Boyesen's are good for low end power.
I would replace the pedals as they do wear out.
My gearing?
To the moon baby :lol:
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I have an XR that I put a JB Waterweld patch on and it has been leak free for a couple of years. It's even at the bottom near the petcock and has held up ok so far.
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what gearing do you guys usually run?
14-48's been working great for me...I'm in mostly sand and dark loam.
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if you can get a decent discount rate at your local Kawie dealer, you can replace everything in the motor, minus the engine cases, for about $6000...then you'll have the reliability, providing you're good with the general maintenance...this was the path I chose because I plan on keeping mine for many a year to come.
I kind of went the same route since I want to keep mine for some time. I sent my engine off to Tom Morgan for a full rebuild, but had to since I grenaded the piston and it took out the bottom end and really screwed up the cylinder also. I needed the full Monty.
I had him do his cylinder, head and power valve mods also, but without those, it would have been about $2600. But, that was including cases, which added about $500 to the bill. That was for the top end, cylinder welding and replating, bottom end, gears that needed replacing and the clutch.
I'd definitely replace that top end at the least, as if it is old and crusty, you may end up needing a full rebuild whether you want/need it or not. :-)
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anybody else have their factory tank crack where the shrouds bolt to it? mine was cracked when i got it. cant afford a tank yet is there any way to patch it?(JB Weld doesnt work gas everywhere, silicone has lasted one ride but is peeling already)
look and ask around your local area for anyone that does plastic welding, and places that make/build fuel tanks...other than that, there are a few used ones on e-bay.
the liquid J.B. Weld 2 part epoxy would be better than the putty style...if you were to go that route....but remember, it's still a "Band-Aid"
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yeah I'm pretty confident that it needs a rebuild. i rode it again tonight and the clickety clack is getting worse. its getting harder to start WILL NOT idle and sounds like a 4T until half throttle or so then it goes weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and the wheel comes off the ground :-D. pretty frustrated tho i just recently picked this bike up for $1100. its not even titled yet. my dad is pretty dead set on shipping the whole bike off for a rebuild though. I'm just sitting here thinking I've been thru a diesel tech trade school and ranked 1st place in Utah in a mechanics competition and 29th in the US. this cannot be that hard. wish i woulda had a manual and parts two weeks ago.......
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what gearing do you guys usually run?
15-42 rolling on 17s
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yeah I'm pretty confident that it needs a rebuild. i rode it again tonight and the clickety clack is getting worse. its getting harder to start WILL NOT idle and sounds like a 4T until half throttle or so then it goes weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and the wheel comes off the ground :-D. pretty frustrated tho i just recently picked this bike up for $1100. its not even titled yet. my dad is pretty dead set on shipping the whole bike off for a rebuild though. I'm just sitting here thinking I've been thru a diesel tech trade school and ranked 1st place in Utah in a mechanics competition and 29th in the US. this cannot be that hard. wish i woulda had a manual and parts two weeks ago.......
You could definitely do it yourself, there are plenty of manuals, instructions and YouTube vids out there to help you. I'm a handy guy, and while I think I coudl have done it myself, there were a few things on my recent rebuild that I know I would have not caught on my own. One was the tolerance of some of the bearings in the bottom end, which is the main reason I needed new cases. The cracks from when I blew my motor 'could' have been welded and fixed, but the fact that the bearings wouldn't press-fit in tight enough is something I probably would have missed.
Also, six of my gears had dogs that were wearing and would have likely resulted in my bike popping out of gear soon.
You can do it yourself, and I've always done all of my own work, except when I had a YZ125 that needed a bottom end rebuild way back in high school. But, not knowing the condition of the bike at all would be my main concern.
Now that it has been completely redone by Tom Morgan, it may not ever need another bottom end rebuild with how rarely I ride it. So, I'll be doing all of the maintenance from here on out on my own again.
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well the bike went off today headed for an internal makeover. it should be back in 2 or 3 weeks so ill let you know when i get her back and give details. thanks fellas for the tips and advice
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bike got "fixed" and is waiting in a trailer. we are dragging it to the dumont dunes in california next week. hopefully it runs great. all they did was replace the reed cage and rebuild the carb. i guess the compression was good so they didn't touch the motor. and the clutch still drags. but it idles now and it scared the mechanics when they test rode it :-D anyways does anybody on here live near dumont?
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Try Amsoil Synthetic for sticky clutch