KX Riders
General => Introductions => Topic started by: logans on March 25, 2010, 01:59:29 PM
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hey guys, its nice knowing that there is a site just for kx riders. i am new to kawasaki and just bought a really nice 86 kx500, what would be the best info to know? as far as fule mixtures to anything to help me with getting to no the bike. Thanxs, Logans :-)
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Welcome Logans,
There is so much here to sift through it's hard to know where to begin. The best thing I think I did was get a
manual. I found the Clymer KX manual to be great. It is cheaper than the FSM and will have everything you need to work on the bike.
http://www.amazon.com/Kawasaki-1982-1991-1983-2002-Clymer-Motorcycle/dp/0892878649/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269574858&sr=1-1
These pop up on ebay somewhat less than new, as well as owners manual etc.
The next best advice I can think of is to verify the condition of the engine and Brakes!
A well tuned stock engine will give you a baseline to measure any future mods and may save frustration and $'s
Hopefully some of the guys with early bikes will be able to give you some options on parts availability and suppliers.
A word of caution on throttle control...
Don't be afraid to take it easy right off, things start to happen quickly, as I'm sure you'll find out. :-D
Fuel/oil ratio, brands of fuel, pre-mix and tranny fluid have many and varied opinions. What type of riding you will do & skill level are things guys will factor in to their advice.
There may be other members in your area willing to help out.
Glad to have you along.
Tuck\o/
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Welcome, logans! This is a great site and you will find a lot of good people and useful information. Tuck gave great advice on the clymer manual as that was one of my first purchases and it payed off many time over. I might add to check the condition of the cables, especially the throttle cable. Enjoy! B.O.
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Hi fella, welcome to the finest KX5 information database in the whole world. I've got an 86 model too, which i have owned for 4 years now, so i know it inside out, have a good knowledge of the 86 parts that you cant get any more and which parts from the later models you can fit to get round it.Gizza shout if your stuck.K.
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hey guys this is my 86, what do you think?
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hey sorry one more thing, i have 14/50 gearing is that a good set up? is it for torque or speed?
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tidy that is for an old girl.hows the top end pull with that pipe? you can check mine out in the gallery(stripped for rebuild at minute). :x
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standard 86 gearing is 14/48.with 14/50 it will accelerate harder but have a lower top speed.the supermoto guys(with 17 inch wheels) run it as high as 16/35, so take your pick.bigger at front sprocket,smaller on back gives higher top speed and tames it a bit.vice versa for acceleration.HTH.K.
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hey thanxs, she does pull pretty good but it has better lower mid range power over top end. i re did most of the bike, when i got her i was embarsed to load her in the back of my truck lol
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old 'uns need more love but its worth it in the end......I hope.what size main jet are you running?(stock is a 380)your top end might improve if you go down one size as the aftermarket pipes are better at scavenging the gas from the cylinder.keep an eye on your plug if you do though, you dont wanna sieze it....
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i am not sure of the jetting, i wish i new what the guy did before me, is there any way to find out?
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it will be stamped on the underside of the jet inside the carb.a good way to learn your way around it is to go to the kawasaki parts diagrams, a link to which can be found in the 'parts identification help' thread mentioned above. it gives you exploded views of every system on the bike and all the Kwak part numbers..... :-D
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sorry, it aint mentioned above, i got the wrong thread.go to 'In General' and look for 'part identification help',its on the 3rd page or thereabouts, and a guy with an old KX cant really live without it once you've seen it...
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if your ever unsure about anything, modifying something or which later model parts will fit or you just want to bounce an idea off someone, send me a personal message and I'll dig you out if i can.the 86 is the first water cooled, powervalved, disc braked KX5,but the last model to use the mark 1 unitrak back end, so its a bit of an odd ball, but nothing we cant overcome. Someone's got to keep the historic models running, and it might as well be us... :evil:
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lol ya for sure, i wish i could buy a brand newbike but money is tight,but i think it should get me around pretty good. i havent really rode it much cause i got it with bad crank seals and i am gonna replace them monday. you have to split the case on that year or can i get around doin that? i have never rode a bike bigger than a 250 so i am kind of nervous about gettin on it? is it as powerful as they say it is?
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its an animal, but on the other side, it's only as fast as you twist it. im afraid replacing the crank seals is an engine out and case split affair, and i would advise you to do the crankshaft bearings whilst your in there.also, check the sideplay on your conrod at the crank, cos if it needs a new rod,you might as well do that while your in there too.It'll cost a few quid, but you will have the piece of mind a fresh bottom end gives on a bike you haven't owned for long.Shout if your having any difficulties when you come to stripping her.you can check for main bearing wear by removing ignition cover and grabbing the flywheel and try to move it up anddown.if you can feel any movement, get new bearings.you dont want something as heavy as a crank rattling about at 9,000rpm.HTH.K.
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hey guys this is what the old dinosour use to look like when i first bought it lol
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Hey Logan,
That thing doesn't look all that bad to me. A little TLC and some elbow grease. At least yours was put together.
Mine came in four boxes, and Boy, my wife was M A D :x :evil:...Oh well she got over it and I got it running! :lol:
Tuck\o/
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if you think your other half was mad, imagine my other halfs 'elation' to find me in the middle of the kitchen floor sunk to the nuts in 500 motor.'not amused' doesn't cover it..... :evil:
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Oy! Brotha I think Our maker put us on opposite sides of the big pond for good reason...any closer and we would probably get into too much trouble.
Lead Me Not Into TempTation....I Can Find it MYSELF!!!..
me in the middle of the kitchen floor sunk to the nuts in 500 motor
I guess I won't tell you what a good job the dishwasher does on cleaning up those engine parts when you're too cheap to take them to a radiator or transmission shop to get boiled out / hot tanked! :lol:
Yuck\o/
I mean Tuck\o/
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lol yeah i bet you all were in big trouble when the wife came in, but the dishwasher is a great idea, i am gonna have to remeber that next time. you guys get any of your wifes to ride with you?
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I put My wife on my Daughter's 50... Large flat area, Bike still had the traininhg wheels on it.
Auto clutch the whole 9... She promptly ran into the only Rock (about 3ft. in Dia.) within easily 200 sq yards.
(my Daughter was 4, I didn't want her to have a bad time as this would probably be a deciding factor as to whom I would ride with after my boys moved on)
Directly after running dead center of this small boulder, she stands up, turns around, turns the throttle open to the throttle stop and yells what's wrong with this thing... The boys are Yellin "MOMMa Let go! Let go of the Gas!!"
What? What's wrong with this thing are you trying to Kill Me?!
Well If I wasn't a church go'er... the thought has crossed my mind a time or two in the past 21 yrs...
But I digress...
We get her straightened out and then she rides right into a telephone pole...THE ONLY TELEPHONE POLE... :x
That's it. You're Done--- Do NOT Under any circumstances Touch any power equipment. No Motorcycles,
NO LawnMowers, Weedwhackers God Forbid my Chainsaws I don't even want you to use the Blender!..
So, No...If I can't get a riding buddy I have to plonk around on my own. Well, I do Always have My Co-Pilot... :-D
Tuck\o/
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Not long after I was discoverd in kitchen with engine in bits on 'her' kitchen table, our old delappidated shed started to leak water so I moved the whole darn thing(it was scrupiously clean!) into the kitchen for 3 months til I got round to sorting the shed.......
I can sleep with one eye open now..... :wink:
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hey guys i finally got my bike back and it runs like a raped ape. i love the bike, but the only problume i am having is that its extreamly hard to kick start and i am a 300lb guy i shouldnt have that much truble. but it fires right up when we pull start, could it have some thing with the magneto maybe a weak spark?
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Soory I missed this post Lo-
What do you have for Jetting & Timing ? KwakMan has an earlier bike and has helped several other guys, maybe we can drag him in on the case :-D
I posted some specs for the electronics in my gallery if you want to Ohm out the coil and CDI.
There is a bit of a ritual I use for starting big bore singles.
(There is probably as many opinions on starting as there are on pre-mix and tranny oils.)
Have a look through the "best way to start" thread. I'll modify my post there to bring it a bit up to date, but see if there is something there you can use.
I'm 5'8 and 240 and can get her lit, we should be able to get you going too. I would love to get a compression release, as that has proven to be the ticket for the Bro's who had it done.
However, "Those thrills cost money" as my old man would say...
Tuck\o/
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I am 5'7'' and only weigh about 180lb. What gets to me is the numerous times that it must be restarted on an all day ride. That sort of tuckers me out. Compression release will be in the future, but all the extra bike dough is being used to save for a new bike at this time! Ok, won't hijack - any further. But, seriously, the bike if set up properly and "tuned" should not be too difficult to start.
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Hi fella, welcome to the finest KX5 information database in the whole world. I've got an 86 model too, which i have owned for 4 years now, so i know it inside out, have a good knowledge of the 86 parts that you cant get any more and which parts from the later models you can fit to get round it.Gizza shout if your stuck.K.thats good to know as im new to this site and just brought a nice 86 KX500,i know to ask lots of questions to lol,seems like a really good site,cheers Richard from NZ
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tidy that is for an old girl.hows the top end pull with that pipe? you can check mine out in the gallery(stripped for rebuild at minute). :x
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tidy that is for an old girl.hows the top end pull with that pipe? you can check mine out in the gallery(stripped for rebuild at minute). :x
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