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EX500 Adventure Bike

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6K views 23 replies 14 participants last post by  Straightedge  
#1 ·
how does the ex500 put up as an adventure bike?
I've got an xj600 for comparison.

I'm interested in some light offroading, mostly tidy flat trails.

I've noticed the bike gets a little hot, around half way up the guage just 10 min or so into the trail.
the bike usually ridesjust above the warm mark so it was a bit of a suprise.

is the bike not cut out for the trails?
 
G
#2 ·
the engine is liquid cooled, but your main worry should be the suspension. People with more experience and knowledge than me would be able to tell you the technical reasons for it, but I'll sum it up that the bike was not designed to go off road.
 
Z
#5 ·
actually look up the "dirt ninja" or talk to garrett... kawasaki also put out the the KLE 500
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#9 ·
Roswell said:
I also have xj600 (51j) and it is 100% better for adventure riding than ex500.
Click to expand...
I guess its preference in my case, I've always liked how the ex series has felt
and yes I know the ex500 is a terrible choice compaired to the other options, though due to my situation my best and most appealing option is to stick with the stock bike with no mods other than the homebrew assortment.

it would be awesome if i could get the original topic covered;

can the ex500 take the heat?
is it too much of a strain on the motor if the temp rises that fast?
 
#14 ·
DrewsBrews said:
Here's the closest I've gotten. Mods were essentially to make it more comfy as a sport tourer. The suspension is still setup for street. As far as heat goes the fan will keep things plenty safe IMO.

Packed up in Iowa
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Unpacked at Yellowstone
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http://imageshack.us/a/img191/4180/gedc0786paint.jpg (front view/Pan shot in badlands)
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what bars and top yoke do you have? can you still take the corners pretty tight without much problem?
bike looks great! paint and body scheme similar to what I had on the board.
 
#15 ·
I've been taking my bike on all the trails I can find and even with no tread pattern, it holds relatively well.
very balanced and easy to control. never had the courage to get into gymkhana on the street, maybe start here til the dual sport tires come in...

exactly how much of a strain does this kind of activity put on the motor? I understand with the added heat and work, the oil will break down a lot faster and the hours will rack up quicker but can I expect significantly less hours from the motor by working the bike like this?
-granted that there are no extreme abuse

driving like a granny on 4 wheels has made the difference of 350k vs 150k on the partial toys, will I see this curve of deterioration on the bike?
 
#17 ·
cafekaw said:
Does any one know if the ninja motor will fit in a klr 650 frame to make one like the picture in this thread? You could by a whole motor fo a ninja cheeper than a head for the 650.
Click to expand...
I don't see why it wouldn't all it takes is a little hard work and possibly some modifications. I put the Ninja 500 motor in my KZ400LTD frame.
 
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C
#18 ·
Ex500Chopper said:
cafekaw said:
Does any one know if the ninja motor will fit in a klr 650 frame to make one like the picture in this thread? You could by a whole motor fo a ninja cheeper than a head for the 650.
Click to expand...
I don't see why it wouldn't all it takes is a little hard work and possibly some modifications. I put the Ninja 500 motor in my KZ400LTD frame.
Click to expand...
You may be able to get the motor to fit but the carbs and airbox sure as hell wont. The KLR has just enough room for the single CVK it comes with. I cringe anytime puts the words, EX500, Enduro, dual sport, or off road in the same sentence. IMO if you want to style the EX as a adventure bike and put some panniers on it, fine. If you want to take it off road, go look elsewhere.
 
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D
#20 ·
Apex_4 said:
what bars and top yoke do you have? can you still take the corners pretty tight without much problem?
bike looks great! paint and body scheme similar to what I had on the board.
Click to expand...
Bars: generic "tracker" bars (generic "superbike" bars in the pic below)
Bar clamps/risers: generic 2-bolt 2" riser clamps
Tripple: Factory tripple with mounting holes drilled for the risers.

The bars are very wide, but it's way more comfy for my wide shoulders. Longer cables and brake line were needed. I got +4" but +3" is probably about all that was needed... and even less for lower and narrower bars like the superbike bars, which also didn't require an extension of the wiring. The tracker bars did require me to splice in a few inches of wire for the bar controls. I also chopped the windscreen and fairing and put on a used cruiser windscreen that I cut down and reshaped. So I don't know if the factory windscreen would get in the way.

Quick cornering is a matter of body position. Bars offer little hinderence. The factory setup basically forced you into a more corner happy position. Now I just have the "choice" of which body position to take. On this bike I find there is a big difference in cornering stability between upwright and leaning. I'm guessing the combo of my weight (about 240lb) and the seat position in relation to the rear axle might put more weight to the rear compared to other bikes designed with an upwright body position in mind. I just need to scoot up to the tank and lean forward to corner quickly. Otherwise I can stay upwright and take the turn slower. no big deal.

Image
 
P
#23 ·
APEX-4,

I think it would make a decent adventure bike. One of the main reasons I have this bike is that I live on a gravel road. The steering angle of 27 degrees is exactly the same as the old CR250 Honda I used to have. I wouldn't worry about the motor. Ground clearance and tire traction are the two things I would address first if you are going to spend time on two track trails.

Have fun!

PeterJ
 
S
#24 ·
Here's a crappy pic of custom risers, crf risers, and Rox risers combined. Better to come...
 

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