Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

to a removabl e aluminum su bframe - a de fini te plus when it com es tim e to get to the rear shock. And speaking of th e shock, the Kayaba shock fea tures 16-way compression and rebound damping ad justment, and is mated to a bo ttom-link Uni Trak suspension linkage system. Th e swingarm is made of alum inu m . . U p f ro n t, a pa ir of beefy 43mm upsid e-down Kayaba forks handle th e bump a bso rp tion duties. Like th e shoc k, the fork h as 16-wa y adjustabl e compressi on a nd re b ound d ampin g . Th e ins ides of th e fork tubes feature a spe cial hard-anodized coating that reduces friction and len gthens the fork-o il service life. At the heart of the biggest KX is the sa m e ba sic powe rp lan t that has p owered the g reen machin e since 1989. The 499cc s ing le-cy linde r, liq uid-cooled , cy li nde r-inducted m o to r is fe d by a 39m m Keihin PWK carburetor, an d put s th e power to th e g round through a close- rat io five-speed gearbox. The "bi g"news in '95 is the new front brake pads, which feature a higher coeffident of friction . Kawa saki claims that thanks to the new pa ds, th e '95 KX500 will stop better th an previou s models. ON THE TRACK St arting the KX500 is an absolute b reeze . A few s low kic ks to fin d top dead cent er, followed by a healthy, d oit-like-yo u- mea n-it stab at th e kick sta rt lever will b rin g the m otor to life, an d onl y a few m inutes are needed to bring the motor to operating temperature. In stock condition, our KX was jetted spot on, and no t once did w e venture in to the carbu retor. Unlike th e Ho nda CR500, the KX is an absolute chugger - it requires you to ride in the lo wer half of the rev range, and w ill kick you in the butt if yo u get it on the pipe. Riding the bike in th is fashio n leads yo u to b eli eve that yo u are goi ng slow, bu t shifting efficient ly and m ain t ain ing m omentum w ill get you aro und th e tra ck in a r ap id fashion . An oth er rea so n that you sho uld stay off th e pipe is th e horren d ous am ount of vibration em itted by the engine - chu gging th e b ike keep s th e ra tt le fac tor do wn to a minimum. The KX500 is a big m achi ne, and it certai nly feels lik e a bi g machine. Th e slow -re vving engine, an d trad ition ally long and stable Kawasaki chassis make the KX500 feel hu ge, an d on a tight MX track w e full y expected the bik e to han dle abo ut as good as th e Kawasaki Race Team b ig ri g . But ins tea d, we were pl e a s antl y s u r p r ise d t o '. fi n d th at although the bike feels big and heavy, it d oes an exce llen t job of slicing and d icing aro und even th e ro ughest, tightest (Left) The Kawasak i's upside-down Kayaba forks are awesome, especially on s lap-down landings. The front brake is as stron g as it needs be . Is it stronger than it used to be? We ca n't really tell. depends. Are yo u a har d-c ore MX racer, a go-fa r-broke desert ra t, or jus t a weeken d -wa r rio r tra il -rid in g ty pe? If th e AMA 's d e ci s io n to drop the 500cc Nationa l Championship MX Series is a ny indi cation, th e o pen MX class is mo st like ly on its way out, even on the local racin g le v el. Th at 's too bad , be cau se the KX500 is as ad e pt at mota work as it is at hom e in the desert. For off-roaders with a hunger fo r power galore, th e KX500 jus t may be the ultim ate wea po n. n While Cy cle NLWS beliax» the foregoing test reli. able, it is the opinion of the rer.iewers only and should not be relied upon in determin ing the per, [o rma nce or safety of the uehicleis ), The reader should make his or her own inves tigation. . (Right) The KX500 eng ine is the king of all chugger motors . Don't get this baby on the pipe - it'll rattle your teet h loose. The KX Is best when ridden in the lower portion of the powerband. tracks. Th anks to the bike's extra gi rth, th e KX gobbles u p small bumps a nd square edges without ricocheti ng or deflecti ng unexpected ly . With proper body English, the KX can even be easily gui de d through deep ru ts, Attac king jum ps o n th e KX is confi den ce inspiring . A t first, we were hesitan t to g r a b bi g ai r for fea r of a n imp en d in g h a r d la n d ing. We soon fo u nd, however, th at the Kaya ba suspenders d o an excellent job of so aking up even th e h ard est of hi ts. The front forks d o a wonderful job of soa king u p slap-do w n land ings, though they so metim es m ake an od d clanki ng noise. During one test session we came u p short on a p articularly long double jump . Upo n rea lization that th e landi ng wou ld be less th an ideal, our tester pr ep ar ed h imself fo r a trip over the b ar s, bu t was greatly relieved w hen th e bike pr oceeded to break the face of th e jum p . Sometimes the extra w eight of a 500 is a good thing. When it comes to high -speed stabili- · I' ' -ec "s B-ts.'and.Q' I "e '.', adi~sters a few' clicks on' both ends, Stiffe'r spnngs aren't really necessary. . .. ·Plan 'on' ch a nging the ' stoc k handlebars The KX500's seat and tank ju'nction could · rathe r quickly. A se t of a luminum bars will . tie made it bit 'smoother. Sliding toward the lesse n .the amount of vibration transmitted to front of the bike with too rnuchenth uslasm · the rider's arms . . ' . could leave you witna higher voice. . . :If you plan on changing the stOCKgrips, how- . The' Kawasaki's wide footpeg's are awe- · ever, make sure you have plenty of free time: some. Though they grace the entire lU ll-sized . The right grip is welded to the throttle pipe , KX line, the y' are most 'a pprec iated on.the . making it an absolute nightmare to remove. . 500. · . .. . . . . . . Servicing the KX500's air filter is a breeze : Be'careful when iightening the gas Cap - as .The airbox is spacious and leaves plenty of too much torque. will ca us e t he top to s plit . room for your hands: The stock air filter is . and leave you with an unpleasant burninq . ~dEi well and 's hould last for quite time. sensation in your lap" . . . .AMA:",andated open class yellow numberUnless you're .extra-fast, expect thaKX sus- plate. backing .looks· awesomeon theqreen : pension to be' pretty close, righf out or the. machine: Something about the color clash is box. Aflersetting the sag at 95mm, we only quite attractive. N-Style produces pre-cut ye/needed ' to. sti ffen ~ p the c.0 m~r e s si il n ' 1 backgrounds.for th.e KX500. . 0':' . some ty, the KX500 is second to no ne . Ju st look at all the National H are & Hound and SCO RE victories it has racked up ove r the years. Throug ho ut our testing. the KX n e v er s hoo k its h e ad a n d ins pi red n oth in g but con fid en ce a t speed. Bringin g th e bike d own fro m speed ' w as sim p le, as the front and rear d iscs have plenty of power . Do the new br ake p a d s m ake a h u ge d ifference? To tell yo u the truth, we could n' t tell. During a lo ng mota , w e we re a bl e to m ak e .th e rear brak e sq ueal, bu t the binder never lost any of its strength . At $5149, the '95 KX500 has go ne up $300 in price. That's th ree hundred big o nes fo r n ew brak e p ads a nd a set of bo ld ne w g ra p hics, but d on 't bl ame Kawasaki - it' s theever -declining do llarto-yen ra tio that has caused the big KX to go u p in price. But check th is out - a ' 95 Ka w asa ki KX250 cos ts $5249. For $100 less, you can ge t 250cc more, and more rea listically - se veral more years of riding enjoy ment o ut of a SOO. So, is th e KX500 rig ht for yo u? Tha t Kawasaki KX500 Specifications Us! Price $5149 Displacement 499cc Engine type Uquid-cooled single-cytinder two-stroke Bore x stroke 86 x 86mm Compression ratio 7.4-8.3:1 Carburetion 39mm Keihin PWK Ignition CDI Transmission speeds ' 5 Starting system Kick Fuel capacity 2.6 gal. Wheelbase 58.7 in. seatheight 37.4 in. Fronttire 801100 x 21 Reartire 110/90 x 19 Front wheel travel 12.2 in. R.rwheel travel 13.0 in. FrontbrIke : Disc Rear brIke Disc Fillll cIrIve Chain ClaImed dry weight 220.5 Ibs. 25

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