last months magazine

100hp honda · Post by **100hp honda** » May 15th, 2009, 8:15 pm

this isnt a bashing, but just my opinion of what i saw......anyone read the may issue of motocross action, i think that was the name of the magazine. it has a review of the s/h kx500 bike. well it says in there that kx500AF means "aluminum frame". i guess the secrets out, and AF just stands for a simple generic term. not to poke fun or anything but i was looking at the pics and s/h didnt even cut the old 450 bottom mounts out

, its quit a eye sore. cant belive they would turn a bike loose to a magazine looking like that.

Post by **AlisoBob** » May 15th, 2009, 10:26 pm

Good eye, Clyde.....

iggys-amsoil · Post by **iggys-amsoil** » May 15th, 2009, 10:35 pm

I like the "CR" style pipe.

CR500R7 · Post by **CR500R7** » May 16th, 2009, 12:11 am

Perhaps a prototype / demo test bike and not full production sell to the public bike.

Could be completely wrong too

100hp honda · Post by **100hp honda** » May 16th, 2009, 8:47 am

CR500R7 wrote:Perhaps a prototype / demo test bike and not full production sell to the public bike.
Could be completely wrong too

prototype ? when you go on a date with a girl do you show up at the door with your hair un combed and not brushed your teeth ? seems like s/h would want a good first inpression, millions of people will probly be reading that magazine.

CR500R7 · Post by **CR500R7** » May 16th, 2009, 4:42 pm

Well, when you put it that way.

Would be a bit silly to roll up like that, for sure

MICK · Post by **MICK** » May 19th, 2009, 6:13 pm

AlisoBob wrote:Good eye, Clyde.....

I don't want to say it...but go ahead and take another look at it. With your good eyes this time.

The original KX500 didn't bolt directly to the frame. It was essentially suspended in the semi double cradle frame. The mounting brackets you see aren't just there...they're also functional

100hp honda · Post by **100hp honda** » May 19th, 2009, 6:24 pm

ill take another look

. the mounts i was refering to, looked like the original 450 mounts, that had the top part cutoff, but the bottom half was left attached to the frame rail.

MICK · Post by **MICK** » May 19th, 2009, 6:41 pm

You're talking about the bead on the frame forward of the engine mount right? There isn't any tab or mount left there...but yes a bead is visible. I don't think this weld held anything on? The 250F engine mount would be in the same location as the 500AF in terms of location on the cradle. It looks to me like S/H filled something in?

I'm surprised you didn't say the motor looked "clocked" wrong in the frame

100hp honda · Post by **100hp honda** » May 19th, 2009, 6:52 pm

it did look clocked wrong in the frame

. j/k , whether it was right or wrong makes no difference really, as i dont have $10,000 to purchase one. yes that bead is what i was refering to, it appears the weld bead and part of the motor mount ? i thought they was using the kxf450 chassis ? if thats the case, the 450 mount is exactly in the location of the "bead". again, just my unbiased observation. something to chat about, if you will

MICK · Post by **MICK** » May 19th, 2009, 7:09 pm

100hp honda wrote:it did look clocked wrong in the frame . j/k

Well honestly...I thought it looked mounted high to me? That's why I mentioned it

and of course because of a previous comment of yours

But yes, the 2009 KX500AF is based on the 250F.
With all the sharp hawk eyed observation you didn't notice the kicker doesn't appear to fold beneath the frame spar? Might have been some camera magic

100hp honda · Post by **100hp honda** » May 19th, 2009, 7:45 pm

i did notice the kicker, looked like it was sitting outside the frame but i didnt know if it was the camera angle. and the motor does look high, almost like its sitting on "perches"

. the magazine is at work so ill look close tomorow but i seen no reason why there would be bead welds in the frame rails for no reason, they had to support something. ill do more investigating, for conversations sake

100hp honda · Post by **100hp honda** » May 20th, 2009, 7:55 pm

i had another look at the magazine, you were correct about it being a 250f chassis, thats what the magazine claimed it was anyways. ya the kicker sticks way out

, and the motor appears it cant rotate any more forward because the cylinder is too big and there for the "mountain" shaped mounts must be used, which causes the motor to sit really high. as for the "bead", i stopped short of going to the dealer to have a real world view, but i looked on the kawasaki website and it appears to me its definatly the motor mount thats in question. with all the work that goes into making one of those convertions and the price they charge, im stumped why s/h didnt take a few extra minutes and grind off the "bead/motor mount".

HrcRacing · Post by **HrcRacing** » May 20th, 2009, 8:08 pm

Wouldn't stop me from buying one. That thing is frickin' sweet!

PS: My budget would stop me from buying one.

MICK · Post by **MICK** » May 21st, 2009, 4:08 am

100hp honda wrote:as for the "bead", i stopped short of going to the dealer to have a real world view, but i looked on the kawasaki website and it appears to me its definatly the motor mount thats in question.

You're absolutely right, I stopped by yesterday and had a looksy. The previous year model 250Fs had the motor mount on the horizontal part of the cradle, the late models have it inside the 80° bend. They're definately remnants of a 250F motor mount.

I'm with you Robert, I'd take one in a heart beat...granted I had 10K appear on my doorstep. When you read about how much work goes into that build (40 hours) and understand the engine costs $2,000 more than a CR500 it's price tag doesn't seem as rediculous. The CR conversions just seem alot cleaner to me...like Honda almost meant for the 500 motor to fit

100hp honda · Post by **100hp honda** » May 22nd, 2009, 3:13 pm

the color scheme looks bitchen and im sure the bike is fun to ride. but if i owned a bike shop, i couldnt see sending anything out the door unless it was top qaulity. aint like it would of took 3 hours to clean the welds and remove the entire motor mount, im sure 30min would of been plenty of time. i guess if the customers dont care what the fit & finish look like, why should the builder.

JBaze · Post by **JBaze** » May 22nd, 2009, 3:51 pm

The CR conversions just seem alot cleaner to me...like Honda almost meant for the 500 motor to fit

[/quote]

Is it possible that they might have? After all, they were producing AF 250's, maybe it was in their mind to build an AF'd 500 then it got the axe. Who knows. But that Kawi isn't to bad either though. I have only owned 1 KX, it was a 1990 500. The engine was great, the problem was the bike fell apart around the engine in an insane short amount of time.

MICK · Post by **MICK** » May 22nd, 2009, 4:30 pm

The KX500 chassis is garbage, crapola, junk...like I didn't know you could stack shit that high kind of junk. It was just too bad, the motor is awsome and has so much potential. Service Honda's KX500AFs, although not perfect, are deserving platforms for that motor. I think the total package would be a very hard ride to beat.

JBaze · Post by **JBaze** » May 22nd, 2009, 6:04 pm

I found the power on the KX the opitomy of an "electric" Motor, how ever when the frame broke, the rear hub snapped in half and the the final straw, the rod on shock snapped in half! But your right about the SH version, shit if I had the dough I might give it a shot, of course after I had the CR in the garage already!

BannedCR500Riders.com

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