Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Steel Frame Conversion (SFC)
2003-2007 Steel Frame Cookbook
umberto:
Step 9 - Mounting the Silencer
If you are reading this, you made it through the pipe. Congratulations. No really, that was the hardest part. Mounting the silencer is very easy. Just put your CR pipe seal on the pipe you just finished or hopefully purchased, and slide the silencer on the pipe. Make two brackets from aluminum that tie the mounting holes on the silencer to the mounting tabs on your subframe. Don't have two mounting tabs on your subframe? Get some thicker aluminum and fabricate one for your welder to add. You will need two mounting holes for this beast. It will vibrate!
umberto:
Step 10 - Electronics
This is the step to add back your electronics that you took off before fabrication began. There isn't a lot to a 500's electronics, so you are in for a bit easier step than if you were wiring a 250. There are a couple of things to keep in mind. You will need to lengthen the wires coming from the motor to the CDI box. I mounted my CDI box on the left side of the bike in the hole where the 250 had its resistor. I made a tab to mount my coil on the right side of the frame behind the radiator (see picture below). I initially put it in front of the motor, but it kept frying coils. The new location is safer and has lasted a year and a half. Once you have everything mounted, you will need to solder extensions to the middle of the motor wires. Be sure to use heat shrink tubing over the solder connections, and consider a longer heat shrink to hold the wires coming from the engine. This will protect the wires from the elements and wear and tear.
Update from the future: If you end up moving your coil (which I recommend), make sure that you cut the coil brackets off the frame. This will allow you to remove the cylinder head (and possibly cylinder) quickly and easily, without taking the entire motor out of the frame.
umberto:
Step 11 - Controls
Alright, you are getting close to done. Now we just need to do controls. I used the 250 throttle assembly, 1996 KX 125 cable, and 1996 KX 125 carb top. The clutch cable was a KX 500 cable that I bent slightly to follow the stock 250 routing. Nothing special here, just having the right parts.
umberto:
Step 12 - Gas tank
Now you are really close to getting finished. All you need is the gas tank and you are ready to ride this beast. In step four, we talked about centering the head stay in the chassis. This step is critical in fitting a gas tank. I'm going to assume that you are like every other 500 rider, and want as much fuel on board as possible. Thankfully there is a solution that gets you very close to 3 gallons of fuel. Not enough for Baja, but plenty for normal riding. The key to the gas tank is buying the right tank. You must buy the Clarke 2007 KX250 tank. No other tank will work! I know I tried them all for you. I bought mine in black from justgastanks.com. Before you start, remove the little rubber tank mounting strips from your frame. The oversize tanks usually don't use them. Mounting the tank may require you to break out the heat gun and do a little forming, but it shouldn't be too bad. Just remember to go slowly and don't keep the heat gun on your tank for too long. Start slowly and you should get the hang of it. You will need to fabricate a new front mounting hole, as the old one will be about 1/2-3/4" too far back to get the tank to fit. I used a rivnut instead of a bracket, and after I had installed it, the lip of the rivnut touched the top of the old mounting hole.
umberto:
Step 13 - so riding isn't 13 - Final Prep
Check all your bolts, connections, fuel lines, EVERYTHING! This dude will vibrate, and you don't want anything coming off. Check it twice just to be sure. This bike will be fast, and you don't want to end up in the hospital. Don't ask me how I know this. :-D
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