87 ex500 in a basement

hi, you have a early gen 1 (4 fin head) fine, you want it to be ultra reliable fine, you want to race it, also fine.
from where you are to where you want to be is going to be a long sometimes difficult challenge, you will have to make some hard decisions on the rebuild and it's not going to be cheap.
you will find this out as you go along but be prepared there is a reason Kawasaki made the upgraded gen 2 in 1994,
to make a (very) short list.
1. flywheel you know about this already they shed the exposed magnets at anytime can be 2k or 50k you never know, call it a ticking time bomb, PITA if you wait too long.
2. CCT these are crap and will fail at any time, requires the later gen 2 ratchet type ASAP.
3. drum rear brake while these work well the drums go oval after a while and are not replaceable without an engineering shop to replace the liner. they also go rusty and grooved. quite quickly.
4. gearbox the gear select indents wear out and slider bushes also, over time this causes a false neutral between 2nd and 3rd gear leading to missed changes also they will pop out of gear on the engine over run. not a huge issue on road bike (when you get used to it) but racing, not so sure.
5. voltage RR can be problematic causing over/under charging of the battery. suggest the later type (non ex) Mosfet type regulator of the FH20 type.
6. 16in rims, with limited tire sizes and choice of rubber IMHO not worth keeping on this old bike going forwards gen 2's use 17in rims and a rear disc brake means also changing the swing arm to gen 2 but worth it in the end.

for general info also although the bike is basically same there are some major differences between gen 1's and gen 2's dont be fooled into thinking they are the same in some respects they are a different model. the wiring is different they use different parts and the sizes and design are different, something to consider during the build.

if you get into difficulties help is available on the forum good luck, looking forwards to your progress in this thread.

yorkie said:

1. flywheel
2. CCT
3. drum rear brake
4. gearbox
5. voltage RR
6. 16in rims,

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1) will prob spring for the $180 flywheel i guess. speed costs money, how fast are you willing to go?
2) my CCT, i noticed once removing the engine, has black RTV on it, so it was going to get inspected, and now replaced... found a gen2 for $40.
3) drum brake will be fine for the time being, just got some new shoes on it.
4) hopefully this problem stays dormant for as long as possible... i got a 1981 gs1100 that will sometimes click into a false N between 2 and 3 and on the street, it's annoying to say the least. on the track it's a real vibe killer coming out of a corner.
5) also put one of these MOSFETs on the GS, great upgrade, never worried about it since. i use it with a lithium ion battery and have had no issues, but some literature warns about a lack of compatibility.
6) luckily, bridgestone still makes BT45 battleax tires for these 16" rims. not many choices, but i have plenty of good experience with the BT45's on other bikes, so i'm happy to let the 16's roll for a while. i

Clarification on "race" bike is that I want to contest in at least one race on the machine before I hang it up. I don't intend to build a proper race bike. Track day machine is kinda the main goal, at least for the next few seasons to see how it does. the EX is such a small bike, (weight compared to the GS, height compared to the KTM) it will be very easy to get it in and out of the van on my own.

i understand a flywheel puller is m18x1.5, right hand thread? like this? puller bolt

Cincinnatikid said:

also back of my mind but will have to get resolved @ some point:

rearsets

custom adapters? would love some inspiration photos, especially w the rear brake rod to contend with.

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I stole these pics from @fog

Much appreciated on the photos!!! Looks reasonable enough to mock up and fabricate as needed. That will probably be a next season thing… after establishing a baseline. I’m trying to be cognizant of not going overboard with upgrades and changes before I’ve even done a single mile on the machine. Plus, changes are always better appreciated when there’s a before and after for comparison.






Got stoned a few nights ago and cleaned the motor up way nicer than necessary, but now it looks good, and it will be easier to keep track of any fluid leak issues obviously. Maybe I’ll hit the cylinders and head with a quick shot of touch up paint. I plan to hit the bottom end with a quick coat of semigloss rustoleum black once it’s all buttoned back up with the cover etc

Two more questions:

1)

this Allen head plug in the front of the oil pan. Pre-cleaning, it looked like it might have been weeping a bit of oil @ some point. What is that plug for? Don’t want to disturb it, but couldn’t find the part listed in the OEM parts fiche

2)

Brake caliper. The little end caps for where the pads sit on the caliper.Is that just a cover to inhibit caliper wear? Reduce brake noise? Long story short I’m using two EX calipers on my GS1100 and at some point I lost a pair of these small end caps and I wonder if it’s worth $17 plus shipping for each of them to replace. I have been using only one per caliper for a while now and haven’t noticed any difference.

thx for the indulgence

Aftermarket sealed magnet stator arrived today. Looks legit. Single trigger point. Bolt on. Made in china.