1990 Kawasaki EX-500 overview. Nice little bike. I have a thread on EX-500.com here: www.ex-500.com/threads/32-yea... The petcock is a Yamaha 2VN-24500-02
the early gpz500s like this , reminds me of the queen alien , from the first alien film back in 1979. look at it from the front , it has the shape of the queen alien's head
That was fun---did the same with a 500R that sat for 8 years with ethanol-laden fuel---nightmare with a happy ending. I'm impressed with it -60hp and am taking 40 lbs off it for better power to weight ratio. FOG mod and Pair delete. I like your patter---too much coffee---lol
I came across quite a bit of stuff about the FOG mod and other stuff from that guy when I was researching this bike. Glad to have had that as a reference. I didn't want to go cutting anything on a bike that wasn't mine though. 40lb is quite a weight savings!
Oh man I had one I bought brand new in 90...Loved it. Only had one problem with it. If I didnt let it warm up for a minute it would die after a few minutes of riding but would start right back up
Yea these things are pretty cold-blooded. This one is especially because of the jet kit in it that I couldn't return to stock (the slides had been drilled). They're cool bikes!
I bought a new EX-500 back in 1988. It was red, with black stripes and silver wheels. Of course it had the stock exhaust, and it stayed stock. I thought it looked great. Most modern sport bikes look totally disgusting to me. I put over 30,000 miles on that bike. Of course, I was only 28 years old back then. then, in 2009, I bought a new 2009 EX-500 Ninja. It had the same engine as the old EX-500, but the rest of the bike had a lot of changes. It had the same basic look. I got it for under MSRP OTD, because the dealer was seriously overstocked. I kept it 3 years, and put less than 5,000 miles on it, every one of them in pain. The bars were way too low, and the pegs were way too high and too far back. And I was 50 years old. I now have a 2006 H-D Sportster, with a 25" high seat, pullback bars, and pegs in the right place. It fits me fine at age 64.
Thanks for sharing your EX stories Gerald! I'm completely with you on disliking the look of most new motorcycles--I just can't stand the transformer/bug look of most of them. There are certainly still some stunning bikes that are coming out (the Yamaha XSR900's I like), but I prefer the look of most bikes pre 2010 or so. That's interesting to hear that the ergonomics changed that much between the gen1 and gen2 EX500's. I've never ridden one, though a friend in college had a blue 2004. I learned how to ride on a 1997 blue sportster, and the low seat height is something I haven't experienced in like 2 decades. Super coincidently, I'm going to go pick up that blue sportster from my dad tomorrow to try to revive it after it's been sitting for about a decade. That's 2023-2024's "project"! Well, one of them at least. Enjoy the ride man. Cheers.
Just had my tank baked and resealed on a 91 EX 500A…. I am in way over my head on this project haha. My second rebuild of moto the other one was much easier :/ I guess I need to replace the vacuum petcog :/
Oh yea. The thing is I knew that this bike could run right on this carburetor setup since it did before it was put on timeout for many years. It was my neighbor's Shadow that I was really having fits with. I gave that bike back running but not perfect (still afterfiring). I'm certain that if I wet-test set the float heights it would resolve the issue. I told him I'd give it another shot later this fall if he'd like. Or he can find someone that actually knows what they're doing and have them do it, lol.
"Some" say the old ex500 is STILL slightly faster than the current 400 ninja so that's pretty cool, if true. Makes you wonder if eventually a new 500 ninja will be reborn,... again.
I don't think we'll see a 500. They're in such a good spot with the 400 right now. I see so many of them at the track and people talk super highly about them. Competent 400 riders leave me in the rear view on my SV650.
@@mikelee6331 Turns out I don't know much about anything, lol. We also have a 776cc Suzuki parallel twin GSX8R that for some reason got homologated for Lightweight Twins.
My flywheel dropped a magnet at startup around 23k....took out the stator....I put a set of used stator and flywheel back in with 5k on them...I never did upgrade
Shame to hear about the chain--that must be terrifying. That thought is always in the back of my head thinking like... "THIS could happen, don't forget!".
Vacuum petcocks are troublesome, but they preven the carbs from continuing to fill up with ethanol as it evaporates. You can put a clip on the vacuum line to the petcock, which cuts off the vacuum from the engine, then let it run till the carbs are drained. They won't fill back up until you restart the engine without the clip on the line. It is best to keep the carbs empty when the engine is not running if you are using ethanol.
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Dude.... You're a goofball. I really wish I knew you in real life. Well wishes.
Hah, the people that know me in real life might tell you you're lucky you don't! Thanks man, well wishes to you too.
the early gpz500s like this , reminds me of the queen alien , from the first alien film back in 1979.
look at it from the front , it has the shape of the queen alien's head
Googling images now, and I can absolutely see it. It seems like both our minds went towards some form of alien life on the look of them.
Just love the look of the bike, especially with the red wheels. Sounds great too
The red wheels are definitely fun. The rear one needs a bit better cleaning, but I figure I'll give that a go whenever I get the rear tire in.
I have no idea what a vorticock is but you're exactly right
Hah, it's a character type in the video game Half-Life. It was driving me nuts trying to figure out what the bike reminded me of.
That was fun---did the same with a 500R that sat for 8 years with ethanol-laden fuel---nightmare with a happy ending. I'm impressed with it -60hp and am taking 40 lbs off it for better power to weight ratio. FOG mod and Pair delete. I like your patter---too much coffee---lol
I came across quite a bit of stuff about the FOG mod and other stuff from that guy when I was researching this bike. Glad to have had that as a reference. I didn't want to go cutting anything on a bike that wasn't mine though.
40lb is quite a weight savings!
Oh man I had one I bought brand new in 90...Loved it. Only had one problem with it. If I didnt let it warm up for a minute it would die after a few minutes of riding but would start right back up
Yea these things are pretty cold-blooded. This one is especially because of the jet kit in it that I couldn't return to stock (the slides had been drilled). They're cool bikes!
I bought a new EX-500 back in 1988. It was red, with black stripes and silver wheels. Of course it had the stock exhaust, and it stayed stock. I thought it looked great. Most modern sport bikes look totally disgusting to me. I put over 30,000 miles on that bike. Of course, I was only 28 years old back then. then, in 2009, I bought a new 2009 EX-500 Ninja. It had the same engine as the old EX-500, but the rest of the bike had a lot of changes. It had the same basic look. I got it for under MSRP OTD, because the dealer was seriously overstocked. I kept it 3 years, and put less than 5,000 miles on it, every one of them in pain. The bars were way too low, and the pegs were way too high and too far back. And I was 50 years old. I now have a 2006 H-D Sportster, with a 25" high seat, pullback bars, and pegs in the right place. It fits me fine at age 64.
Thanks for sharing your EX stories Gerald! I'm completely with you on disliking the look of most new motorcycles--I just can't stand the transformer/bug look of most of them. There are certainly still some stunning bikes that are coming out (the Yamaha XSR900's I like), but I prefer the look of most bikes pre 2010 or so.
That's interesting to hear that the ergonomics changed that much between the gen1 and gen2 EX500's. I've never ridden one, though a friend in college had a blue 2004.
I learned how to ride on a 1997 blue sportster, and the low seat height is something I haven't experienced in like 2 decades. Super coincidently, I'm going to go pick up that blue sportster from my dad tomorrow to try to revive it after it's been sitting for about a decade. That's 2023-2024's "project"! Well, one of them at least.
Enjoy the ride man. Cheers.
Just had my tank baked and resealed on a 91 EX 500A…. I am in way over my head on this project haha. My second rebuild of moto the other one was much easier :/ I guess I need to replace the vacuum petcog :/
Sounds like you're on your way! The petcock isn't a necessity. I've just been burned way too many times by them.
That’s awesome you got the carbs figured out. I know they were really messing with ya.
Oh yea. The thing is I knew that this bike could run right on this carburetor setup since it did before it was put on timeout for many years. It was my neighbor's Shadow that I was really having fits with. I gave that bike back running but not perfect (still afterfiring). I'm certain that if I wet-test set the float heights it would resolve the issue. I told him I'd give it another shot later this fall if he'd like. Or he can find someone that actually knows what they're doing and have them do it, lol.
"Some" say the old ex500 is STILL slightly faster than the current 400 ninja so that's pretty cool, if true. Makes you wonder if eventually a new 500 ninja will be reborn,... again.
I don't think we'll see a 500. They're in such a good spot with the 400 right now. I see so many of them at the track and people talk super highly about them. Competent 400 riders leave me in the rear view on my SV650.
@@matttriestodothings2024 we got a 500 coming
@@mikelee6331 Turns out I don't know much about anything, lol.
We also have a 776cc Suzuki parallel twin GSX8R that for some reason got homologated for Lightweight Twins.
My flywheel dropped a magnet at startup around 23k....took out the stator....I put a set of used stator and flywheel back in with 5k on them...I never did upgrade
Seems to be a common story with these first gens.
I used to own #292 ....1987....it died at 35k after breaking a drive chain
Shame to hear about the chain--that must be terrifying. That thought is always in the back of my head thinking like... "THIS could happen, don't forget!".
swap the tires regardless...dry rot
The tires were two years younger than me. They were coming off, hah.
your life...😮
@@darrenellis7039 it's got new Bridgestone BT-46's on it now. It's fine. Those are good tires that will last quite a while.
I hate vacuum petcocks ....I do away with them too
I've spent too much time fighting the friggen things.
Vacuum petcocks are troublesome, but they preven the carbs from continuing to fill up with ethanol as it evaporates. You can put a clip on the vacuum line to the petcock, which cuts off the vacuum from the engine, then let it run till the carbs are drained. They won't fill back up until you restart the engine without the clip on the line. It is best to keep the carbs empty when the engine is not running if you are using ethanol.