EX500 Project

[DrewsBrews]

93 ex500. 4400mi and bts. I put a couple hundred mi on it sofar. She starts up and runs well. And the price was right. I'm a new rider, but not afraid to get familiar with my vehicles. I figure I'd share my progress on it, and maybe learn a thing or two from the locals.

I like the blue, but everything is either covered with decal residue or scratched up. The tank has a pretty deep kiss in the right side from the bar, and was deeply gouged and rusting from the razor/chainsaw used to remove the decals.

Missing the upper fairing obviously and the fairing frame is all bent up with mounts busted on the headlight and cluster. The Targa lower is covered with gelcoat cracks and has one full 1"-1.5" crack through the fiberglass. One other little issue is the suspension. It's very mushy, and probably only meant for a 150lb rider. Also there is rust bubbling out from under the fork dust seals.

Started to get the parts off a few weeks ago, but got a good bit done this week since I took time off. I replace the gheto hack job fender delete and stripped off everything else that was either going to be replaced or I could work on at home. Need to get some early momentum going on the project otherwise I'd get lazy as the temp drops.

Having an apartment with no garage, rattle can gets pretty tough to do this time of year. So, always wanting to learn a different technique, I thought I'd try my hand at vinyl wrap. Silver semigloss IMO it looks on par with rattlecan but is a much more fun process. The black is avery's "flat", I'd call it satin.

Sofar, on the tank, I ground off the rust and roughed up the paint. Then liberally applied the amature bodyworker's best friend;). Finished it off with primer so the vinyl sticks. I got the silver on, and I'm covering the top with black. I don't have a wide enough piece so I'll need to order more.

Hit up ebay for parts:

- Rear fender (seen above)

- Low mi sv650 shock

- Later model bar ends

- Beat up but repairable upper fairing w/ flush mount signals, windscreen, bracket, and 1 inner trim piece

- The other inner trim piece

I drilled out the holes on the sv650 shock and mounted it up. The rate is about 430lb/in vs the ex's 300lb/in. It feels more solid now. It also raises the rear by over an inch. I can still easily flatfoot while seated though. I need to do some more research before I tackle the forks.

That's what I've got sofar.

Edited December 9, 2011 by DrewsBrews

[oldschoolsdime92]

very cool! the internet will be your friend! just don't try EVERYTHING you read online (i.e running sand through your carbs to port and polish your head isn't a good idea!)

[Beegreenstrings]

Damn that thing was in pretty good shape to begin with. If you need any info Big3 just did a hell-of-a-job on his.

[redkow97]

www.ex-500.com

if you can sift through the newbie bullshit, there's a lot of good info there on that bike. "John" on this site (dragknee on ex-500.com) also has the same generation EX500 to compare to.

His is in, uh, less pristine condition

[DrewsBrews]

Damn that thing was in pretty good shape to begin with. If you need any info Big3 just did a hell-of-a-job on his.

Thanks, Picked it up for 800 bones. While I doubt it will ever be a diamond, It looked like some sort of gem in the rough to me.

I found Big3's refurb thread... I doubt mine will look that nice

www.ex-500.com

if you can sift through the newbie bullshit, there's a lot of good info there on that bike. "John" on this site (dragknee on ex-500.com) also has the same generation EX500 to compare to.

His is in, uh, less pristine condition

John pointed me here actually, I joined ex-500 forum first.

Based on the poor attitude of the mods over there.. IMO they should have made the wiki, and saved themself the effort of the forum. Just lurking around I can tell they have no patience for people; even when folks are making the best attempt to cure themselvs of ignorance. Some people learn differently than others... a fact that seems to be missed over there. I doubt I'll be very active on that forum.

Edited December 9, 2011 by DrewsBrews

[TheBrown57]

If you happen to have a starter left over that is in good shape for whatever reason ill gladly take it

[Josh1234]

nice thread! I always wanted to ride an EX-500... still do

[redkow97]

I miss mine. Wouldn't mind picking up a crashed example for cheap and then ratting it out.

the reason the tank is so banged up is because the Kawasaki stickers are UNDER the clear-coat on the tank. Not so for the rest of the decals. I removed them from my bike.

[DrewsBrews]

Took the battery out for some reason and left it in the back of my vehicle. This morning it finally flopped over and started rolling around while driving to work. I was able to pull over within about 20 seconds and maybe an ounce of electrolyte leaked out. Thankfully I have a vinyl mat in the back lol.

[John]

yeah mine is the same year. if you have any questions about anything, let me know.

ive got a shit ton of parts in my garage too, if you need something, hit a brotha up!

[DrewsBrews]

Thanks, right now I'm just looking for some hardware. One of the grommets on the tank where the side fairing pops into. And a windscreen screw/nut. I should be able to live without it, but I imagine I'd be able to find something similar enough at lowes.

So last week I was bad and placed an order for some delkevic slips. Splurge purchase. Put em on Friday, they sound very nice:D and maintain resonably low sound levels with the baffles in. night and day from the leaky factory lawnmower setup. They do stick out in a bit goofy way, but I can live with it.

Went down to listermann to pick up some ingredients. Brewed up some Belgian blonde and dark strong ales last night.

[DrewsBrews]

Finished up the tank. I decided to reverse the colors from my first thought and change up the black on the seat fairings.

[DrewsBrews]

Installed some parts to get them out of my bedroom.

[Rctaylor]

The paint looks great!

[DrewsBrews]

Bike looks good. I'm curious about your primary fermentation carboys. What kind of plug are you using? I don't see an airlock.

It's a stopper with a sort of one-way valve (all silicone). They seem to work well and clean easily. Sometimes' date=' when new, they don't want to stay in if it is too damp though.

[url']http://www.williamsbrewing.com/7-VENTED-SILICONE-STOPPER-P2666C94.aspx

I still use a normal airlock setup if Im brewing up a bunch, since I've only got 2 of those stoppers and 4 fermenters.

Edited December 19, 2011 by DrewsBrews

[DrewsBrews]

Last week I painted the front fender and rear handle flat black since vinyl wouldn't fair well.

Got in a pair of chrome mirrors with LED signals in them for added visibility (no pics yet). I also got a set of inexpensive saddlebags. Same brand as the tail bag so it clips right in.

I was off today so I took a trip out to the storage unit for a few hours. I put on a new clutch lever. The old one was usable but busted and a bit sharp. I'll save it as an emergency spare. I replaced the clutch cable too so I wouldn't worry about it. lubed with gun oil, nice smooth lever movement now.

Needing to get started on the front end, I popped off the risers and I was met with this... (top of the forks) That doesn't look right to me. Shouldn't they be set evenly? They will be comming off to do the seals, but just was curious for future reference.

I moved on and pulled the springs. The suspension on EX500s is very flacid (for light little asian riders?). I tip the scales well over 200lb. Since the rear end got a stiffer spring; I needed to do something for the front. After doing some calculations I went ahead and cut 7" off the springs. The calculations showed I should cut more off, but hopefully it will match up ok with the rate of the rear.

The little box in the pic is a 1khz pulse dimmer circuit I just finished soldering up. So the LED signals in the mirrors have the same dim "running" feature as dual filament signal bulbs. All parts sourced from radioshack believe it or not.

Edited December 27, 2011 by DrewsBrews

[Beegreenstrings]

Looks great so far!

[redkow97]

check the torque specs on your triple trees.

If I had to guess, that right fork leg shifted up after you removed the bar that covers it. You're probably way below spec on the right fork leg (rider's right), and it's shifting under the weigh of the bike.

if that happened while on a steering head stand, then you've got me...

[DrewsBrews]

yep using a steering head stand. It probably slipped some time in the past up to the top of the bar riser.

[dorifto240]

Bike looks good! Just re-started my EX-500 project, this provides a little more inspiration!

When do we get to try the beer?

[DrewsBrews]

Just bottled last night. Tried the stuff right out of the fermenters. The blonde is a little wit flavored with alot of orange in the finish. The dark strong ale is just a brick to the teeth.. It's gotta be in the upper barley wine range with probably 10%abv or more. I can smell and taste the alcohol. Will haveto see what it does in a few weeks once carbonated.

I found it's going to cost about $25 in materials to fix a little 1.5" split in the fiberglass of the lower fairing. They don't sell anything less than a sheet of FG and a big can of resin. If anyone happens to have some FG scraps and a little resin I could use, I can throw a little cash your way and maybe some brew Otherwise I'll probably just leave it and vinyl over it.

Edited December 28, 2011 by DrewsBrews

[dorifto240]

Just bottled last night. Tried the stuff right out of the fermenters. The blonde is a little wit flavored with alot of orange in the finish. The dark strong ale is just a brick to the teeth.. It's gotta be in the upper barley wine range with probably 10%abv or more. I can smell and taste the alcohol. Will haveto see what it does in a few weeks once carbonated.

I found it's going to cost about $25 in materials to fix a little 1.5" split in the fiberglass of the lower fairing. They don't sell anything less than a sheet of FG and a big can of resin. If anyone happens to have some FG scraps and a little resin I could use, I can throw a little cash your way and maybe some brew Otherwise I'll probably just leave it and vinyl over it.

Actually I think I do. How much do you need?

[DrewsBrews]

Maybe 1"x2" and 2"x3" to layer it and enough resin to saturate. I see you are up in columbus so unless you have a reason to come down this way don't sweat it. I appreciate it though.

[DrewsBrews]

Today's fun.

Atleast they are done and back on the bike.

[DrewsBrews]

Was itching to do something so I finished tapping the holes that I drilled in the bar ends, slipped on some ProGrips and installed the 2nd gen EX end weights.