I think if you can find somebody to give you anything for a 87 KX roller you should count yourself lucky. From what I have seen a dirtbike with that much age on it isnt worth a whole lot. Being it is a 500 might make it a little more valuable. If it is in mint shape I wouldnt give more than maybe $1500 for it.

One important consideration would be to make sure you can still get oem parts for a dirtbike this old. I am sure Honda sold alot more TRX-Rs than Kawasaki sold 87 KX500's and already there are several parts discontinued from Honda.

I think Gabe might be right about using a 400EX chassis. The parts will come alot cheaper. You would probably save more than $300 in plastic alone. Trust me I know now that I am building my Houser 450.

 

Paul Turner makes a pipe to fit in the trx250r frame when installing the cr500 engine. I seen it in one of my old catalogs.

I have rode a 250r with a cr500 in it. Some fellas from Missouri brought one they made to the sand drags. It was on alcohol with hauler paddles and lowered. I remember he was having trouble with the engine mounts not staying tight. The vibration was terrible. I would not recomend it at all. It was a neat looking setup but not something you could ride for very long. The vibration will loosen up nuts and bolts could be dangerous.

But hey, thats just my opinion. I built a 350R using the pro-x cylinder. Never had a bolt to vibrate loose, and it doesn't vibrate any worse than the raptor. I have a dyno sheet of my 350R making over 60hp on alcohol. It is very reliable and fun to drag race too.
Good luck with your project.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Find a 250R then call FTZ and ask for their monster motor (it isn't cheap but speed costs, right). They take the 250R bottom end, put their stroker crank in it, weld everything up then machine it down and reposition the cylinder studs. Then they install a ported cylinder from a 400 pilot. They come up with around 400cc. It is very powerfull and still retains the counterbalancer, and since it is on a R bottom end, no special mounts are needed.

 

hey guyes i realize this thread was started quite a while ago..... I NEED SOME HELP TOO. I recently bought an '87 CR500. I have completly rebuilt the motor and im just waiting to recieve my rebuilt and balanced crank and flywheel. I was wondering if anyone could provide me some pictures of how they mounted the motor, the kickstarter problem, exhaust modifications, radiator hose plumbing. everything..... i already have some ideas of how i want do do it. I WANT TO SEE AS MANY PICTURES AS POSSIBLE.... im open to any suggestions and comments. THANKS GUYS

 

wicked500, do you live on Lost Creek Lane? in Bremerton WA????????? also, do you have your motor installed? I am also doing this install, and am having issues finding someone to do my work. on the crank, and finding mounts for the motor.... (rubber) how much did the CR500 rebuild cost you? i have what seems to be an 86 - 87 motor and a 89 Race gusseted TRX250r frame. full aftermarket goodies on it.

thanks!

 

that chassis sounds PERFECT!!!! Im jealous. it cost about 300-350$ to get the crank and flywheel rebuilt and balanced. Crank Works out of Tempe Arizona did mine. ( http://www.crankworks.com ) absolutly beautiful job. my motor was an ebay motor. I hope you avoided that! when i split the cases i was missing 3 thrust washers and most of the clutch assembly was shot. I ended up spending about $500 at honda getting thoes washers, clutch parts, and various other things for my 250r and the 500. i spent another $100 on all new bearings from a supply house. Also bought a new gasket and seal kit another $100. I also had the cases, cylinder, and head powdercoated. it was only $80 since i had sandblasted everything already. close to $1000 for the rebuild. A project that eats up $$$$.

Haha No i dont live in bremerton. I live in lynnwood. I did get my motor mostly mounted a couple weekends ago. all the mounts will be rubber except for the pivot point on the swingarm bolt. I did all the mounting with a buddy of mine and it turned out really well. Im assuming that you are wanting to pay someone to do it for you? if so .... start saving up it will be expensive. it took nearly 6hrs to mount mine and i havnt even started the lower mount or tweaked my exhaust yet. I will be going down to my property where my bike is at... I will try and get some pictures of my mounts. basicly i found them at Lowe's and drilled out the center to accept a bigger bolt. if im able to get thoes pics i will send you some of another guys and you can compare to get ideas or whatever. good luck and keep in touch!!

 

I lived on Lost creek Lane and was friends with Alan Logsdon, and his father Larry Logsdon. the mounts are already made, they are hard mounts, and the bolt for the swingarm pivot is not used, this was because the motor vibrates fiercely, that area is prone to cracking anyway, and there really is no way to rubber mount it at that point, and the chain alignment was not 100% perfect, and the case would not get the proper oil level from the odd alignment. no real serious mods were done otherwise, Axis compression and rebound adjustability, triple rates all around, and LSR swingarm, and BEaring carries as well as TMM stem and +3+1 a arms... i am so stoked about this bike.... its gonna be sicky icky. $1000 isn't as bad as i though though, that is actually a relief... do you have the phone number for crankworks??? I can't get the website to come up for the life of me... also, how are you installing the rubber mounts? I was thinkinking of using large passenger car mounts for the bottom, and urethane suspension mounts for the front/back. etc... i am also probably going to fill the frame tubes around the motor with Silicone, because it "soaks" in the vibrations, and acts as a buffer for them. only adds like 2-3 pounds too. any other custom motor mods you are planning on doing? I can hardly wait to get started.
-Cody

 

wow what a small world. haha my full name is Marcus Alan Logsdon. however i dont know an alan or larry in my family. humm very interesting. as for the bike..... I understand everyone under the sun has said nothing but VIBRATION too you. and its true. but before i got my crank balanced i asked the guys (crank works) how it would effect the vibration. here were their direct words " It will take care of most of the problem but with a CR500, you will never get all of the vibration out." thats what they said. i never thought of filling the frame with scilicone. Good idea unless you are going to have it powdercoated any time soon. haha definatly do that after paint!!!! I strongly disagree with some people on this subject of vibration. true.. it dosnt have a counter balancer so its not ever going to be perfect but i feel if you mount it strongly and get the crank balanced you will never have a problem. there is a guy by the name of bansheesmoker. he has a 500 project as well. his motor is all solid mounted except for the head say bracket. he also dosn't have the crank balanced. He said that the vibration dosn't bother him much. he said "sure you can feel it, but my adrenaline is pumping so fast i dont knowtice it." as far as mounting.... car mounts would be great! BUT they look bulky and ugly! let me get some pictures of my motor mounts and ill show you what i have done. its hard to explain. as far as more upgrades.... i want to get a completely new clutch. hinson basket, hub, and pressure plate. i also want get get the magura hydraulic clutch lever. I would also like to slap on a cool head and get a PWR radiator which i feel is a must! here is the # for crank works 480-897-1746 and if you do decide to do that silicone in your frame..... wait until you fire up the bike and see if it vibrates too much for you.. then consider it... it will be a real pain in the *** if you ever have to weld, re-powdercoat or whatever.


you keep making me more jealous with your chassis!!!! does your steering stem have anti-vibe handle bar mounts?

 

yes, the stem is stock length i believe, maybe +1, and has the rubber bar mounts.... that should help.. going with steal bars will help too, aluminum transmits the harmonics to well, heck you can even feel the steel aluminum difference in 400ex's, cannondales, 700r's. etc.. so that will help. as for the silicone I don't plan on doing it right away. I don't mind numb hands,.... I just don't want to have cracks... hahah I suppose that is how we all feel though. car mounts are definately ugly, but can be modified as far as stud length, pad depth, and backing plate size on the mount... 'cause I just can't figure anything else out. can't wait for it to arrive. will be easier to figure this out with it in front of me. do you know of anyone that has not had a frame cracking problem??? I think all I have heard thus far is naysayers mostly telling me to buy a 450r, or build up the 250r... I want to be different, and do something so I know I will be the only one at the dunes that day with the combination.... It is all about being unique.
thanks for the phone #

 

i understand your concerns about vibration. and since i havnt started my motor yet i cant tell you for sure but here is my take. all of these guys that have done this, with exceptions to a couple people, never balanced the crank or even thought of it. take a second and think. where else could there be that much more vibration? Honestly, I feel that you could get the crank balanced and solid mount the whole motor in your frame and never ever ever ever have it crack! The only reason I rubber mounted it is because i had the materials there and it would have taken the same time - if not longer - to fabricate soild mounts. I figured , hey, what the hell. I might as well since i have no idea how much vibration it will have even with the crank balanced. but i do feel that if you solid mount the motor you wont have a problem, that is, if your crank is balanced. i would say get it balanced.... slap it together and you can always come back and make different motor mounts.