Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Aluminum Frame Conversion (AFC)
My 2009 KX500AF [picture heavy] (SHE'S DONE!!!)
FL_Sharpshooter:
...and back to the welder it went. We now have the cdi mount welded, the fuel tap tab, the exhaust pipe, silencer tab, head stay, etc. The fuel tap is a remote tap off of a crf250r. We pressed a rivnut on the back part of the tab in order to mount it front ways. This concludes the welding of the frame, it is fully complete. All that we will have left to do is rebuild the engine and fabricate a skid plate and some other odds and ends. Obviously, there WILL be bling ;).
Everything mounted nicely on the exhaust, very pleased. We had to do so many changes to this pipe, it was pretty frustrating. I think it came out looking pretty good, especially considering what we had to work with. Needless to say, this pipe will be getting a carbon guard before it is used.
Front shot of the exhaust. The FMF's nose was welded to the pro circuit pipe.
He did an awesome job with the welds on the coil mount.
Showing the back part of the silencer. Clears the wheel with no problem.
FL_Sharpshooter:
I was able to polish up the frame some. May or may not leave it this way. I would like to get it a little bit brighter - we'll see.
Our next step was to have some radiator work done. As you probably saw in some of the photos, we're using the service honda radiator hoses. So, we'll be using their routing as well. I also bought some specific silicone hose clamps from moto hose. We elected to send both radiators off to Myler's Radiators in West Jordan, Utah. We sent them off with very specific pictures and a drawn diagram of how we want them.
Radiator fill side:
Radiator left side:
Hopefully they can understand these :-D
FL_Sharpshooter:
I heard they were making the VF2's again on here. Was able to buy up a set from moto tassinari 8-)
We made an airbox adapter plate out of 5053? aluminum. Works great. After some research on here, we settled on a 2003 KX250 air boot. We used the adapter plate to convert over to a kx250 air cage, so this bike will use a kx250 air filter.
Riveted and good to go :).
The boot fitted up relatively well, but there still leaves some tweaking to do. It does clear the shock, that's the main thing.
We also sorted out the cdi mount. We simply made an adaptor aluminum piece to mount the CDI to the old 4 stroke mount. We wanted to use this piece because it makes the wire and cable routing much cleaner. Also, we thought the best place to mount the CDI was behind the number plate. We did have to extend a couple of wires from the CDI approximately 5-6 inches. The wires were soldered then heat shrinked. We then put the wires in 5/16" wire harness tubing, I think it looks pretty factory, I am pleased with how it came out.
Meanwhile, we got the radiators back from Mylers, everything fit up perfectly. I put a light polish on the radiator tanks.
The next post will be the last post, which brings you up to date with the current build.
FL_Sharpshooter:
Since we used Jerry's frame rails, we'll have to make our own skid plate. Rather than making it out of aluminum, I decided to make one out of HDPE plastic. The reason was because the plastic will be much easier to conform than aluminum, it should also be able provide more protection all around.
I ordered up a 2ftx2ft section of 1/4" thick HPDE plastic, was even able to find it in green!
Man! that thing is huge, it's about big enough to cover a football field! We'll make a cardboard template later and get to work. First, I want to get a 2 piece clutch cover with a hinson cover on it before doing any heat forming/cutting.
Seeing my dad's KTM, it gave us an idea. I wanted a skid plate similar to the TM Designworks one.
We determined that we would be able to use the KTM's mounting z brackets and u bracket, as well as the mounting hardware for the ktm mounts and kx450 crossmember. A simple call to TM Designworks and we were able to make it happen. A big thanks to Jerry @ TM Designworks for hooking us up. We will have to shim the center mounting bracket with 1 washer on each side, but everything else works perfectly. I did have to stop by the hardware store and pickup 2 longer bolts for that plate, because my mounting tabs are a lot thicker than the ktm's. I wasn't able to find the allen head cap style, but found miniature hex head ones (8mm head) that are the same width on the head size. Should look great when it is installed.
As I mentioned earlier, we replaced the fuel plate barb with a new, bigger one. It was then welded. The headstay mount was welded with very thick and beefy welds, I told the welder to go nuts on it. The head stay mounts were cut down about 1/4" in the back, and 1/8" in the front. The back plates were cut to give room to remove the bolts. The front part was cut an 1/8" to match a little bit nicer. We now have a fully disassemble-able head stay! I love the thickness, I think it is absolutely vital to have a strong head stay.
Remember I said that there was going to be bling? :-D. This is just the beginning. Radiator stickers.
I was also able to get an awesome deal on a Pro Moto Billet Kickstand. Score! These are absolutely necessary for us trail riders! Awesome piece, I have one on every bike.
..and this brings us to where we are currently on the build. I am waiting for a 2 piece clutch cover so that we may begin fabricating the skid plate. I plan to have a decompression valve installed in the head. I will also hopefully be getting with Roostius on buying one of his extended clutch arms. We have a little more ways to go. Everything beyond rebuilding the engine is small. Graphics, plastics, possibly wheels, etc. I'm really excited and happy with how it has turned out so far!
alward25:
Where in Florida?
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