KX Riders
Maintenance & Technical => KX500 Original => Topic started by: vwcamper74 on October 23, 2010, 03:11:46 PM
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Here you go guys,
The 500 still rocks imo
http://www.kawasaki.com.au/kawpublic_docs/TitleFight-KX500VSKX450F.pdf
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The 500 still rocks imo
I second that.
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The 500 still rocks imo
I second that.
for sure! kawi needs to put the 5hundo in the af frame from the factory and sell them out the door for 8 grand like the 4fiftys... they would blow the doors off the 4fiftys at the track... i can't wait to make mine....
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That was a good article and the vid of the test was good too
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That article and the Vid was excellent.
No doubt the K5 is not a modern, moto-x, short, jumpy, bumpy, track killer.
It does rule on large open area tracks where HP and stability is king.
I won't be trading my K5 for anything else in the foreseeable future.
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That's a great article! At the bottom of the article theres a box that gives the website that has more info and dyno charts but couldn't get there. I'd love to see the rest of the info and data. Couldn't get to the video either.
As far as the AF500 beating a 450 on a motocross track... let me share this with you guys
Like alot of you, I love the 500 and the smell of two strokes. I add two stroke oil to my lawnmowers to make me feel good while cutting! Always thought the only place for four strokes was in a street bike. I own a ZX1400 also.
That 500AF looks So-o-o-o good. I'm a machinist, I have a few 500 motors, KXRiders.com for help, why not? I found a 08 KX450 with a grenaded motor and started collecting parts to make one. Got the frame rails from JFAB, built a jig to hold the frame while making the cuts and welding. Got my Service Honda pipe. I was ready to launch this project!
THEN, Labor Day weekend, I went to a new MX track in this area that had many table tops and doubles that were right out of 180 degree, second and third gear turns. I picked a guy that was going around the track at a pretty good clip to duck behind and learn the track. He was on a 450. After a few laps it was so obvious the torque and traction the 450 had that I didn't on the 500. I even have a 18" Terraflex 150 on back! I just thought I was hooking up. The 450 would leap across and I would land short, and rebounce on almost everyone of those jumps!
I know it makes a difference the type of track your riding but it was plain as mud!
That was a BIG EYE OPENER for me! Went home, scratched the 500AF project for now and started collection parts for the 450 motor repair!
One might say that he was just faster than me but I could easily reel him back in every time, get back on his butt, then another one of those jumps, land short, bounce in the air again! He would be a half a straight away ahead, reel hime back in. This happened lap after lap. I rode 4 sessions with this guy so I had plenty time to analyze the situation. He came over to talk between sessions about how fast that 500 was!
CAM described it in a similar thread a while back. Four stroke power "tractors" out of the turn while the two stroke is "on top" of the dirt, not hooking up as well as the four stroke.
For those of you that are into Vibration analysis, my description of this 500 - 450 power delivery issue can kinda be compared to vibration harmonics. The 450 has higher ACCELERATION and the 500 has higher VELOCITY!
I know the AF's suspension, frame geometry and handling is superior to the 500 but like we all know, you have to get the power to the ground. Maybe get one of those traction control devices off of the 2011 ZX10 to put on an AF!
I will continue the AF project as soon as I get another 450.
I even stopped calling my four stroke buddies "four stroke faggots"!
Sorry for being so long winded. This thread just caught me a the right time...
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I love my 03 K5 with all my heart,,,but I bought the 09 450F for the 2 wheel drive,,,I thought I might swap out the 4 stroke for the 500,,,I fell in love again,,,the EFI and engine braking as well as the smooth power on trails got me. My K5 is a sweet trail bike too,,,so like a polygamist I have just expanded my love. I just traded an older 4 wheeler for a XR650L with only 1200 miles for dual sport riding. I have my wandering eye out for a Harley now,,,and I think to myself what a wonderful world.
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Yep, I'll take one of every kind!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Took the 500 riding this weekend at Attica, IN. The bike performed flawlessly. After half a day, I too came to the same conclusions listed above. The 500 is a much more "thrilling" ride by far, but the big 4 stroke puts power to the ground much more effectively. I am no A rider. If I was good enough to better manage the fully developed "on the pipe" power of the 500 things might be different. But the truth is that I can keep more power on, longer, more consistantly with the 4 stroke. That being said, I had a blast on the 500 and have no intentions of ever selling it. I let my riding buds all ride it and everyone comes back with a smile on their face!
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Yes I know what you are saying, I use my Kx5 when ever possible for mx. But I mainly us my 450 for mx as most of the tracks have lots of jumps but this weekened our last meeting is in a 30 acre field with a track being marked out with tape so the kx will be used. I too find the fourstrokes easier to ride, I am also no A class rider but when you do use the kx it does bring a smile to your face in a different way than the fourstroke and its always fun to see other riders giving you a nod when you roll out the 500. And when the 450 is changed out for another as time rolls by, the 500 will always be in the garage for those type of mx meetings we have :wink:
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Agree with all above the 450's put it to the ground smooth and trackable.
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I ride a five cos I want to scare the shizzle out of myself.might not be easy to ride round a track, but nothing in my life that was worth doing ever was.Diesels are for canal boats and folk with no throttle control.
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I ride a five cos I want to scare the shizzle out of myself.might not be easy to ride round a track, but nothing in my life that was worth doing ever was.Diesels are for canal boats and folk with no throttle control.
Same reason here. I love the fact that there is more power than usually anyone needs. Like taking a 500 S&W to a knife fight. LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDRE2gvRHn8
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" Don't be a pussy Bobby!" HAHAHAHAHAHA words to live by.
I ride a five cos I want to scare the shizzle out of myself.might not be easy to ride round a track, but nothing in my life that was worth doing ever was.Diesels are for canal boats and folk with no throttle control.
Same reason here. I love the fact that there is more power than usually anyone needs. Like taking a 500 S&W to a knife fight. LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDRE2gvRHn8
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" Don't be a pussy Bobby!" HAHAHAHAHAHA words to live by.
I ride a five cos I want to scare the shizzle out of myself.might not be easy to ride round a track, but nothing in my life that was worth doing ever was.Diesels are for canal boats and folk with no throttle control.
Same reason here. I love the fact that there is more power than usually anyone needs. Like taking a 500 S&W to a knife fight. LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDRE2gvRHn8
LOL love his reaction
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Great article. I joined the dark side this year and bought a 2010 KTM 450SXF. It is fairly mellow of the bottom and then revs out making more and more power, so it is pretty easy to go fast on. In a straight line with traction, my KX500 would eat it alive. And though the KTM is pretty stable, it isn't as stable at speed as a KX500.
But, on a tight track, with ruts or slippery corners, the KTM is waaaay easier to get around on. I love 'em both, but time marches on; the KTM is a better motocross race machine. Without mods I'm not sure the 450 could run with a KX500 off road.
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Truth be told... I very rarely have ridden on tracks in my life so far. And living in SoCal.... riding a KX500 in our "Baja" Desert conditions makes you feel God-Like!!!
No matter what kinda bike I happen to see way up ahead of me when I'm bombing-along across the Desert floor... its just soo much fun reeling them in. You just KNOW that you can reel them in and over-take them... simple as that.
And gnarly technical rocky hillclimbs where the thought of not making it up in one swoop would make ya cringe... not really a problem. Ya just gotta focus on your clutch control to slip it a little bit the whole way up so your rear stays nicely planted and easy-as-you-please the engine does all the rest... and it can just about always do it a gear higher then you are willing to do it in!
That being said.... yeah... she is a tall big girl when it comes time to lean her over into turns where there isn't a nice established berm there you can just ricochet off of.
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The article nails the 500 just about to a T. I enjoy to drag race with the 500. Just keeps on pulling.
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i don't ride a 500 for its handling capabilities......I ride it for the same reason I would drive a 70 chevelle 454 SS.......It might not handle the best........but all that power sure is lots of fun. 8-)
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i don't ride a 500 for its handling capabilities......I ride it for the same reason I would drive a 70 chevelle 454 SS.......It might not handle the best........but all that power sure is lots of fun. 8-)
d**n that hits it right on the nose! Thats my thoughts for the 500 too! :evil:
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although I agree that to put the K5 into a deep berm at any speed requires a bit of muscle and skill, once you get it there and lay on the throttle the stability and line holding is second to none. I feel the transitions from lean angle to lean angle is quite abit more work than a 450 or 250 2t but those MX ers stay twitchy through the turn.The immense tourque at super low rpm makes up for the lack of flickability. get the revs down and it becomes real light... Ive been carving for so long on the 500. that I actualy struggle to go fast thru turns on 250s and 450s. Sometimes I find that schooling my 450 buddies at the local track proves to me that the K5 is still way competative and even advantage in the right hands. and it sure makes for a great coversation piece at the end of the day.
now i know this is getting a little off subject but -
I still dream of the day Kawaski actually builds an aluminum frame around the 500 motor (which also goes factory fuel injection) and tunes modern suspension to it as well.....not stuff the 500 into chassis that was R&D'd for a modern 4 stroke.......I know keep dreaming....
I actualy had a chance to ride a 500af recently and was somewhat disappointed by the handling. it didnt seem properly suited to the power charactaristics of the 500 motor. making it more of a handful to ride than my old school standard framed bike. Maybe the suspension setup was really off or something. can someonewho owns one elaborate ?