[Art1989]

I finished the EX250 rear wheel/brake swap on my 89 500 today it works great, It was all but a bolt up swap the couple minor problems but easily fixed, If you look at it you can't tell it didn't come that way, while I was at it I resprung and swapped a whole 250 front end also, seeing that for the most part the forks are the same and looking at the spring options availible for the 250 I gave it a try worked out perfect, front end is firm and it handles great. So my 89 500 now has ex250 front and rear wheels front forks and front and rear discs. On a side note the complete swap over shaved nearly 10 pounds off, the only draw back I can see is I lost the 500's 11 inch front rotor and ended up with the 250's 10 inch they share the same caliper and pads though. I took it out and pounded it good and had no problem, it may fade quicker but I noticed no loose of braking power or fade for that matter and I worked out pretty good, I only weight 150 though a bigger person may have a problem. Next up pipe, pods, factory jet and shift kits!

 

[fog]

Hey Art,
Save the 40 bucks on the shift kit . All it is, is a stronger spring for the ratchet detent on the shift drum. and they won't work (at least not for long). If your jumping out of gear on overrunn it's beacuse the bushings on the free spinning gears are shot. (they were crap to beging with). I rebuild these trannies. Have done over 100 for racers and many street riders too. If you want the best fix there is PM me.

FOG

 

[Art1989]

It's not jumping out as yet anyway, I wanted to try prevent it from happening if possible, but if it doesn't work I'll save my money. If I start having a problem I'll give you a buzz. I've heard that Kawasai fixed the problem in the Gen 2 500's any truth to that? Thanks for the tip

 

[fog]

Yes and no like most of what K does kinda 1/2 ass. The changed the material of 1 bushing (2nd) and did a partial undercut job. They are better, but not as good as a complete rebush and undercut.

What happens is. When the bushing get worn/loose the gears can wobble sideways on the shafts. this causes the engagement dogs to come apart on torque reversals. IE: false neutral. The cause is : on the pre 94 trannies , poor material selection for the bushings and worse construction. The bush was made out of Bimetal flat stock and rolled into a ring then inserted into the gear. This process is very dificult to achieve a good fit, hense in a short time the bush loosens and the gear wobbles and walla! neutral.
The later ones the 2nd gear bush was made from hardend steel and the bush was free floating. This made for two fits in the shaft and when the production tolerances lined up badly Walla! False neutral.

FOG