Back from a 15 year hiatus

386 Views 12 Replies 5 Participants Last post by po18guy, 10 d ago

Kedde_DK

Discussion Starter · 30 d ago

Hello,
Thanks to all who have contributed to this great site – it really makes life a lot easier as a new ex500 owner.
I’m a late forties old fart who lives in rural Denmark and I am recently
back from a 15 year hiatus from bike riding and thought the ex500 would be a great place to start. In april 2023 I purchased a 1995 EX500D2 with 70,000 km on the clock and in totally stock condition. Some work has been done to make it roadgoing and more work is needed to make it a solid ride. On the todo list are: Fixing the downshift problem that I’ve seen on the forum, minor coolant and oil leaks, new tires, the Pirelli Sport Demons are my choice for now.
I am quite liking like spirit of the engine and it is more powerfull than I expected. Twin front discs with sintered pads also provide more stopping power than I expected. The handling is not the best, but I hope it will improve with new tires and some kind of stiffening of the extremely soft front end.
As it seams the twin engine is pretty straight forward to maintain and repair, used parts are cheap and readily available I’m considering adding a KLE500 to the collection as well for some gravel fun.
Cheers and stay safe
Kedde_K

Tire Wheel Fuel tank Vehicle Automotive fuel system

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bpe

· #2 · 30 d ago

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Ex500D-Can

· #3 · 29 d ago

Hi Kedde! Good to go over the bike's guts-everyone need do it anyways with a new-to-you bike, but good paint and fairings are really nice to have from the start-they are hard to replace or fix nicely... and I love that rear rack-that's special.

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Kedde_DK

Discussion Starter · #4 · 29 d ago

Ex500D-Can said:
Hi Kedde! Good to go over the bike's guts-everyone need do it anyways with a new-to-you bike, but good paint and fairings are really nice to have from the start-they are hard to replace or fix nicely... and I love that rear rack-that's special.

Hi Ex500D-Can
Previous two owners have been even older farts than myself, so the bike is very original, however it has been dropped to both sides at low or zero speed. I has also seen at least one salty winter in Denmark, so I had to strip and clean all electrical connections and the frame and engine could do with a paint job. The rear rack is for a Givi monokey topbox, not pleasing to my eye but extremely practical, so it'll stay for now

.
Cheers

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po18guy

· #5 · 28 d ago

Welcome! You can cut the fork springs and substitute a spacer for that section of removed spring to stiffen the front up. As to the rear shock, the easiest swap I have found is the '99-'05 Kawi ZR-7S rear shock. Bolts right on, has a better spring rate, adjustable rebound. Needs only a 1-2mm thick washer at the top mount. Good used units are $50-$100 US and I see quite a few on eBay in Germany.

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Ex500D-Can

· #6 · 28 d ago

Kedde-I absolutely agree on the top-box. I guess people like them to keep their helmets dry?.. but they are FUGLY. I'd rather put my head in a bucket of icewater than have one bolted to my bike...but the rack itself?-well-that's useful...

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po18guy

· #7 · 28 d ago

Who needs a rack? The fuel tank is so flat on top that I rode home with a pizza one day. Carefully.

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Kedde_DK

Discussion Starter · #8 · 28 d ago

po18guy said:
Welcome! You can cut the fork springs and substitute a spacer for that section of removed spring to stiffen the front up. As to the rear shock, the easiest swap I have found is the '99-'05 Kawi ZR-7S rear shock. Bolts right on, has a better spring rate, adjustable rebound. Needs only a 1-2mm thick washer at the top mount. Good used units are $50-$100 US and I see quite a few on eBay in Germany.

Great tip, tanks.
Any experience concerning how much length of the spring to remove and replace with spacer versus rider weight? I am 90 kg(198lbs).

Static sag on my front forks without rider is approximately 30 mm(1 1/4") out of 130mm total.

I measured the unsprung length of my fork springs and the are full length according to manual.

I am in the process of changing fork seals, so I ordered 30W fork oil, hoping that it might also slow down the extreme diving under brakes.

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yorkie

· #9 · 28 d ago

Kedde_DK said:
I am in the process of changing fork seals, so I ordered 30W fork oil, hoping that it might also slow down the extreme diving under brakes.

you will find 30w oils too heavy for the EX displacement holes. (been there tried that) it slows the nose drive on braking but overrides the dampers over bumps feels like the front has no suspension at all, and that's with a 210lb rider on stock springs. even 20w (what I use) rattles the teeth if you hit a small pot hole.

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bpe

· #10 · 28 d ago

https://web.archive.org/web/2018042...wiki/index.php?title=Upgrading_the_Suspension

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po18guy

· #11 · 19 d ago

I am running Progressive Suspension springs in my forks, and they are cushy for the street, but soft for my, um...stage of development. Am thinking of cutting the straight rate section and subbing in a spacer.
The ZR-7S rear shock I have zero complaints about. It has raised the rear and quickened the steering substantially, without any perceptible loss of stability. Back when I bought it used on eBay, it was crazy cheap like $16.95 free shipping - those days seem to be gone. Some S-100 and a good scrubbing got it looking good again. But they are still a really good budget bolt-on "big piston" shock with rebound damping adjustment.

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Kedde_DK

Discussion Starter · #12 · 10 d ago

yorkie said:
you will find 30w oils too heavy for the EX displacement holes. (been there tried that) it slows the nose drive on braking but overrides the dampers over bumps feels like the front has no suspension at all, and that's with a 210lb rider on stock springs. even 20w (what I use) rattles the teeth if you hit a small pot hole.

You're totally right - on very even surfaces it works okay-ish and I think the springs work ok. Went for a bumpy country backroad ride yesterday and it was indeed a very teeth and shoulderjoint rattling affair - rebound much too slow. I'll have to replace the 30W with 10W or 15W then.

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po18guy

· #13 · 10 d ago

Kedde_DK said:
You're totally right - on very even surfaces it works okay-ish and I think the springs work ok. Went for a bumpy country backroad ride yesterday and it was indeed a very teeth and shoulderjoint rattling affair - rebound much too slow. I'll have to replace the 30W with 10W or 15W then.

10W is the norm. What many have done to to remove the damper rods and weld half the compression holes closed. A better and more costly solution is "cartridge emulators" which can be. installed.

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