Messages

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Photos & Videos / Slow going on the KX500AF today!

« on: August 10, 2013, 10:01:40 PM »

Wow, that was a bad one. My accident resulted in a punctured lung too. Oddly enough though, it wasn't from riding but from an accidental gunshot which left me paralyzed from the chest down. Worst accident I ever had was while riding an old Kawasaki F7 175. Wasn't a good handling machine to begin with but this one had a bent frame, and worn out suspension that was more like pogo sticks. Front wheel got deflected by a rock at about 45 mph, and I broke my wrist. I guess I was pretty lucky on dirtbikes, looking back.

Anyhow, I look forward to seeing some fast videos on the mighty KX, see it flex it's muscle a bit, but be careful. My friend I mentioned in my previous post who had the '84 Honda CR 500 up-geared for the desert too. I didn't up-gear my IT 465 because of the gear spacing. Unlike it's YZ 465 counterpart, there was a big jump from third to fourth and I feared it would cause too much of a drop in RPMs which would hurt my acceleration. Had it had the YZ's close ratio gearbox, I'd not have hesitated to up-gear it, as it easily had the power to pull it. I did however, ride my friend's CR 500 many times after the gear up, and I know what those big old 500s can do. They can really bite you if you're not careful. His cornered great, but at high speeds, the headshake was terrifying. I don't think the KX you have, which I believe is in the 450 4stroke frame, should have that problem though, since I know Kawasaki uses the 450 in desert races currently. Even so, be careful. I enjoy the slower vids too. I did a lot of plunking around on that IT. It was very good at that.

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Photos & Videos / Slow going on the KX500AF today!

« on: August 09, 2013, 10:36:34 PM »

Ah, I just love your vids, KXpeg! I cannot ride anymore due to an accident some years ago, but if I were able, that bike is the one I'd want. I live in Idaho now, but the Vegas desert in which you ride, reminds me of the deserts around El Paso, Texas and Southern New Mexico, where I grew up and rode. It is visually much prettier where I am now, but as far as dirtbike riding goes, give me the desert any day. To heck with motocross or tight confined forest enduro riding! To me, the desert is where it's at. You can really fly out there in places, or climb gigantic sand dunes or technical rocky hills, all in one ride. Last bike I owned was an '82 Yamaha IT465. I rode with my buddy on an '84 Honda CR 500, in desert that looks so much like where you're riding that it really brings back some of my fondest memories. Wish I'd had that big KX back then as my IT had trouble staying with my Buddy's big CR on the straights. Ha, that KX would have eaten his lunch. Anyhow, keep posting vids like this, even when you're not on the mean green machine, I love 'em!

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General Two Stroke Talk / 500 thoughts

« on: June 11, 2013, 11:22:44 PM »

It was the 1985 CR500, not the '86, that was the most powerful motor Honda made for the CR500. In general, the KX 500 beats the CR 500s in the real world with a broader powerband and more of it. MXA article here;

http://motocrossactionmag.com/Kawasaki/News/WE-RIDE-SERVICE-HONDAS-KX500AF-TWOSTROKE--1390.aspx

Here's a quote: On the track, the Service Honda KX500AF engine ripped. In comparison to the Honda CR500AF that we tested last year, the Kawasaki engine was hands down faster. Of course this didn?t come as a shock to older MXA test riders. When the two motorcycles were still in production, the KX500 engine trumped the CR500 powerplant and was preferred by every MXA tester

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General Two Stroke Talk / EFI Bighorn

« on: April 29, 2013, 10:42:15 PM »

No, Uniflow, I sold it back in '79, to buy a 1974 Yamaha SC500 in cherry condition which I hoped would be able to beat that blasted TT 500, lol. It would on a long straight with a throttle roll-on race, but I never could get used to the SC. I found that although the SC 500 was more powerful and faster, it was peaky, and I was not able to do many things that I'd been previously able to on the old Kaw. I regretted selling it very soon. Now I can see that it had a ton of untapped potential which I never realized it had back then.

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General Two Stroke Talk / EFI Bighorn

« on: April 28, 2013, 09:25:38 PM »

Hey, Uniflow, that Bighorn is really cool! Back in the late '70s, I bought a 1971 Kawasaki F81M from a friend of my Dad's, who raced it locally in El Paso, Texas in the early '70s. It was a 250, but he threw in the 350 Bighorn top end with it when I bought the bike. After about a month, I put the 350 head, piston and barrel on. Didn't really seem to gain much if any top-end, but it added a lot more midrange and low-end power. I left it that way from then on. It's interesting, that you also have a Yamaha TT 500 4stroke. My cousin bought the 1976 TT 500, and he was always smoking me on the 350 when we went out to the desert. I've been thinking as I read this thread, how it would have been had my 350 been set up like yours. Out of curiosity, how would your 350 Bighorn do against your or your daughter's TT 500 in a drag race through the gears?

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General Two Stroke Talk / Bike testing at Budds Creek - TM/KTM/Yamaha

« on: April 07, 2012, 06:38:48 AM »

I'd like to see the TM 250 drag race the YZ 250 & KTM 250 SX. Also drag race the 300s against the thumper 450. Make sure there's plenty of traction. A few third gear roll-ons would be great too, for the above mentioned machines. Any of them can do good around a track with a good rider. If you're near any dunes, that is a great natural dyno test. Takes good power to pull a high gear up a long, steep dune without bogging. The bike that does those things best would be my choice. I've no doubt that all of then handle well.

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Vintage Two Strokes / 1988 KTM MX500

« on: March 15, 2012, 04:53:43 AM »

Thanks again for the info, TJ. That Husky is a real beauty! My brother-in-law had a 1985 Husky CR500. That thing was fast as heck with the 6 speed gearbox. I bit tall for me, but very stable at high speeds over bumps. I knew they'd made automatics, but didn't know they'd made a 500 auto. That thing must be a blast to ride. Bet it does great on hills too.

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Vintage Two Strokes / 1988 KTM MX500

« on: March 14, 2012, 09:57:27 PM »

Thanks a bunch for the info, TJ!  I'm always trying to narrow down which was the baddest of the old big bore 2strokes. When somebody has actually owned and tested them side by side, with no axe to grind, it is most helpful. I wonder how your '88 KTM 500 stacks up against the '82 KTM 495, or their '90s 550s. I've also heard that the 1983 Maico Sand Spider (desert version, not MX) was extremely fast, if you could get one that ran as it was supposed to. Anyhow, here's a site that gives a brief rundown on some of the popular vintage big bore 2strokes over the years. He mentions the KTM 500, but in reference to the '89 and '91 models as being the monsters. That's in the honorable mention section toward the bottom. --->

http://antithumper.700hp.com/

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Vintage Two Strokes / 1988 KTM MX500

« on: March 13, 2012, 09:48:16 PM »

Tjs, do you mean that the 88KTM 500 will beat either the '83 YZ 490 or 2002 KX 500 in a drag race? Does it actually have more power, or just feel that way due to an explosive power delivery? For instance, the 1981 KTM 495 "feels" quicker than say a 1995 KTM 550, but in reality the 550 will beat it through the gears. Just wondering. If indeed it can pull the KX through the gears then that is one badass dirtbike :-)

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Photos & Videos / Re: Three Minutes, Two Strokes, One Vision

« on: October 13, 2011, 01:14:47 AM »

I'd wager that the new Maicos would probably beat anything made to date with the same displacement. That the 250, for instance, could probably beat even the KTM 250 SX on the dyno or track. It is very frustrating, however, not to be able to see what they can in fact do and how they actually do compare to other 2strokes. Tests on TMs and GAs Gas 2strokes are rare, but they can be found. Tests on any of the new Maicos, I've never seen. Just announcements that they're coming. I've no doubt in my mind that these are excellent machines, probably among the best made, but who would buy one if they won't let at least one model out to be tested? If the bikes are as good as they appear to be, making one just to let magazines test it, even if they never got anything for the bike, or never got it back, seems to me, would be the best advertising they could get. The magazines all claim the KTM 250 SX s the most powerful stock 250 ever built. I've seen somewhere where Maico claimed theirs would beat it on the dyno. Come on Maico, I believe you, but let a magazine compare your 250 to the KTM head to head? What have you got to lose? Even if you're not ready yet for full production, just prepare one 250 to let magazines test, on the dyno, track, and against the other 250 2strokes out there. If it does as well as I think, you'll have people lining up to buy your bikes. What do I know, though.

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Photos & Videos / Re: Getting the 500AF warmed up!

« on: October 13, 2011, 12:51:24 AM »

Sorry to hear that, hope you recover with no lasting ill effects. It's easy to get carried away on bikes like that and forget what they can do. As I mentioned, I've never personally ridden the KX 500. Some of my friends have, and I've read the tests on it over the years. The CR 500 Hondas I've ridden were the first two. My friend had the air-cooled .'84 model, and his brother, later on, bought the '85 which was the first water-cooled model they made. The '84 had a tiny bit more max power but the '85 had more torque and a broader powerband, with a scarier hit at the midrange that would knock your socks off. The '85 was quicker overall, of those two, not sure how it would compare to later models  but I'm told they mellowed it a bit for '86 or '87, can't remember. I almost bought the '85 CR 500, but couldn't quite swing the financing and ended up buying an '82 Yamaha IT 465 enduro that was still sitting on the showroom floor. In low traction situations, it could actually pull away from the CRs even though way down on horespower in comparison. On pavement or in good traction though, forget it. That IT though, had power everywhere and was super smooth. Even so, I'd get over my head and nearly got hurt bad a number of times by being too complacent. I'd have to say though that the scariest bike I ever rode was my '74 Yamaha SC 500. It didn't have as much power as the other bikes mentioned above, but it "felt" like it had a lot more. Explosive and with that old and terrible frame and suspension, I don't know how I survived on it. Sure was fun though :-) You gotta keep your focus on a big bore 2stroke or they will bite and bite hard, lol. Anyhow, hope you are back in the saddle again soon. Take it easy

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Photos & Videos / Re: Getting the 500AF warmed up!

« on: October 11, 2011, 10:47:57 PM »

Yeah, that makes sense. Stock geared, the KX500 only does about 86 mph. Most of the 450 4strokes do about 90-92 or so. There's a video on Youtube that has a KX500 racing a CR450f on a beach somewhere. KX pulls it through the gears but then the thumper comes roaring by. Made my blood boil since all the guy needed to do was raise the gearing a bit, like you've done and he'd have totally smoked him. In fact, raising the gearing just a little, will give the bike better acceleration as well, providing he doesn't raise it too high. My friend did that on his '84 CR500 to where it would also do right at or a bit over 100mph. Kawasaki owned the Baja on the KX 500 until they pulled out of it, but could still easily do it, if they still made the big smoker and put another team together.  Here is a video with Honda CR 450f racing CR 500s. I'm sure the CR 500s have raised their gearing a bit too, but this is the way such a race should look. Incidentally, the KX 500 would beat the CR 500 in a drag race given equal riders. ---->

CR500's vs CRF450r's

Anyhow, I look forward to seeing more of you and the great green beast in action!!!

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Photos & Videos / Re: Getting the 500AF warmed up!

« on: October 11, 2011, 01:07:27 AM »

Thanks for the video, KXP!! The KX500 has been my favorite Japanese dirtbike for many years, and I believe it is certainly the best open class bike the Japs ever built. I never got to ride one but am familiar with early model CR 500 Hondas and 465/490 YZs & ITs, and there simply is no substitute for open class 2stroke power. I used to ride desert too, and the terrain in and around El Paso, Texas and southern New Mexico is very similar to that where you were riding. Due to an accident, I'm no longer able to ride, so I really enjoy watching a video like this, on one of my favorite machines, in the type terrain I love and am familiar with. I sincerely hope you'll post more of them. Maybe some where you smoke a big bore thumper too, lol. That is a beautiful machine you have there!

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Vintage Two Strokes / Re: SuperHunky: Maico 501

« on: September 18, 2011, 12:26:41 AM »

I hear you about the tires and traction. My friend had an '84 Honda CR500 (the last air-cooled model made), and I had an '82 Yamaha IT 465. In drag races in the dirt, we were usually pretty even despite the fact that he had considerably more hp & torque. He remedied the situation by swapping out the stock tire with a Cheng Shen they used to make which had a huge, wide center knob. About the closest thing to a sand paddle you could get and still have a knobby. He generally roosted me after he slapped that tire on. I wonder if they still make that tire. I know about the Maicos being deceptively quick, and very tractable as well. My brother-in-law had a 1985 Husqvarna CR500 2stroke. This was the MX model, not the cross country or enduro. It felt like nothing in the world could accelerate with it, and it was quick, but fast as well, having a 6 speed. His policeman buddy bought a 1981 Maico 490 in near perfect condition. Just riding the two and going by your seat-of-the-pants, you'd swear the Husky would run off and leave the Maico. Not so. The Maico always edged it out through the gears in roll-ons, and easily won standing start drag races. Well, that is, until the Maico topped out in 5th, then the Husky would come screaming by, having a 6th gear and much higher top speed. Maico seemed to work magic with the motors they built, that nobody else could duplicate. Enduro-like powerbands, with MX horsepower, but very broad and tractable as well. Having said that, the results between that Maico and Husky might have been very different on pavement, but they never tried. I'm pretty sure the Husky had more peak power, but didn't get as good traction.

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Vintage Two Strokes / Re: SuperHunky: Maico 501

« on: September 15, 2011, 01:09:51 PM »

That is interesting, Sachs. How did they compare in a drag race, pure acceleration?