2003 KX500 137SX Timbersled Build

[hwwee]

Hello Friends!
My name is Harris and this is my first post on the forum and I hope you enjoy! I am building a 2003 KX500 SX137 Timbersled for the 2016/2017 season here in Jackson WY! The donor bike was purchased from Rexburg Motorsports in Idaho shoutout Dan! Ive run into a couple of challenges along the build and could use some guidance! Enough talking let's see some pictures!

All OEM Parts being replaced are done by Babbitts Kawasaki
Thanks Eddie!

Build Stats:
- 2003 KX 500 Steel Frame
Repainted with Color Rite Off Road Kawasaki Paint looks great!

- Pro Moto Billet Adventure Pegs
Purchased on Ebay they were designed for a KTM.. they were orange painted them silver with Dulpi- Color Engine Paint we will see how it holds up. I have shaved them down to fit the KX mounting brackets but still need to figure out a spring setup

-DeVol Skid Plate and Radiator Braces
Solid looking pieces

Engine Build:
-KX500 Motor has been bored out to 91mm.
-Hot Rods Crank and a Wossner Piston.
-FMF Fatty Pipe and Silencer
-40mm Lectron Carb Power Jet Setup for Jackson! Thanks David!
-Boyesen Carb Reeds
-Avid Products Carb Heater and therm.
The piping to the radiators and the therm are very very close on the KX500. I have aftermarket radiators as well that seem to be even closer. I am doing some testing on pipe routing now with brass connectors I picked up at a plumbing store. Stay tuned for how those get routed. After investing in all of this I wish I would have put a tunnel cooler on the SX kit and be done with it. But I will test this for now.
-E-Line 200w stator
-Decompression Release was installed by Larry Wiechman. Thanks!

Steering:
-Pro Moto Billet Fastway 3 System with 2" Risers
Pro Moto only had a weld on mount for the KX500 I was not a fan. I called up GPR Stabilizer and got their Steering Stem mount for the V1 and switched the posts.. works great
-Cyclops LED 630 Headlight Kit
Crew here was great got me dialed in quickly. The mount that came with the light did not fit with the Fastway 3 system so my welder (Shout out Alan's welding in Jackson WY!) fabbed a quick plate for me. The lighting cables are a little short and I am still working on a mounting place for the reflector

Suspension
- Front Forks RG3 Revalve and Stiffer Springs installed
Motions Sports in Idaho took care of the forks and were quick with the build I will give full feedback after some testing. Guys were great! I will need to refer back to them and see what spring was installed I forget!
- Rear will be the TSS kit for the KX500

Graphics:
Evo MX LTD out of Europe did a fantastic job on my graphics
Went with the 1995 KX500 graphics and the 96 Purple Gripper Seat. Respect to the 100 of Josh Hansen for the number design. Very impressed with the kit! Thanks EVO! Eventually I will get the bubbles out haha!

Timbersled
-2016 SX 137 Timbersled
New kit that was not sold from last year. Picked it up from Mike at Action Motorsports in Idaho Falls. Here in Jackson I think the combo of the long track kit combined with the playable SX model topped off with some fox float 3s should make this kit a lot of fun!

I look forward to completing my build in the next 2 weeks and start some engine testing. Thanks for joining me on this adventure STAY TUNED!

-Harris

 

[lundracing]

I am building the same bike....nice start man. Should be mean setup


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[mountainhorse]

Nice build so far...

Thanks for the great pix!

Keep us in the loop.


.

 

[hwwee]

Progress Continues

This morning I put the motor in and installed the DeVol radiator guards. I am also in the process of trying to figure out the lines for the thermostat and the carb heater. The arrangement of the stock radiator outlets is tricky for the install and fitment of the Thermo. I would appreciate some feedback from others that have installed this unit... am I on the right direction?

Also the Avid square system has been a bit tricky due to its size in general.(Round in the future?) I am still waiting for my fitkit from Timbersled and I hope that once I mend the carb heater to the carb I will have a little more clearance but as for now it's very very tight. Any suggestions?

Thanks!!

 

[ravenous]

Hi, Harris.
That left hand radiator is a problem. Some of us that have worked with the KX for a few years found that the best way to deal with it is to remove it! You need that space for the thermostat and the rest of your plumbing. Then youll have to add a tunnel cooler, which works way better. Your bike looks great. Have fun!

 

[lundracing]

What kit did you order the 15 mm or 19mm


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[lundracing]

Avid heater that is


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[wwillf01]

This morning I put the motor in and installed the DeVol radiator guards. I am also in the process of trying to figure out the lines for the thermostat and the carb heater. The arrangement of the stock radiator outlets is tricky for the install and fitment of the Thermo. I would appreciate some feedback from others that have installed this unit... am I on the right direction?

Also the Avid square system has been a bit tricky due to its size in general.(Round in the future?) I am still waiting for my fitkit from Timbersled and I hope that once I mend the carb heater to the carb I will have a little more clearance but as for now it's very very tight. Any suggestions?

Thanks!!

On my cr I had to **** the heater to where it was.p more a diamond if that make sense... You do not want it touching the frame... Mainly for the vibes but I think the meter rod will be affected by overvibes ...


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[J&L Snowhawk]

I would strongly suggest tunnel cooler also. Kx will be fun.

 

[Kurt Linford]

Nice Build !!

I have been running my 500 setup for two seasons now. you will love it. I actually work in Jackson and live in Victor, we will have to go out.

 

[hwwee]

I have been running my 500 setup for two seasons now. you will love it. I actually work in Jackson and live in Victor, we will have to go out.

Sweet!! I'm always looking for more people to ride with! I need to get over the hill and ride some of that Idaho goodness! I'll keep in touch!

 

[hwwee]

Spindle Question

Good Afternoon guys! The build continues and is about 80 percent complete. I was test fitting the spindle today to check out where I need to drill my holes on the front timbersled ski and I ran into a little bit of an issue with the axle bolt and the front forks. As you can see in the picture above its right up against my forks and twisted and I am not really sure how to proceed. Anyone with a KX500 have this issue with their fit kit? I have tried the axle bolt the other direction the spacers in the other direction and well really nothing seems to be working.. am I missing something? Thanks for your help guys!

 

[lundracing]

I am interested how you will get this to work. Just looking at mine and knowing how I have done it on other bikes I was thinking there might be a problem here.


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[Paul714]

Looks like your forks are twisted in the triple clamps. Try loosening the bolts on the clamps they should twist back.

 

[hwwee]

Moving Along

Last post I was having trouble with the fit kit for the front ski. The axle nut was not playing nicely with the spacer so off to the lathe we go! Now she fits like a glove!

I contacted Avid Products about my issue with the carb heater hitting the frame and within a week Robbie has gotten me a new product that will work great! Thanks for the good quick work!

I have been playing with the installation of the thermostat and this is now about the 15th different setup I have done so who knows if it will stay the same! Everyone in my shop says she's good to go just clamp it up! We will see.

Test fitting the tank and moving towards the finish line! More updates soon.

 

[lundracing]

Last post I was having trouble with the fit kit for the front ski. The axle nut was not playing nicely with the spacer so off to the lathe we go! Now she fits like a glove!

I contacted Avid Products about my issue with the carb heater hitting the frame and within a week Robbie has gotten me a new product that will work great! Thanks for the good quick work!

I have been playing with the installation of the thermostat and this is now about the 15th different setup I have done so who knows if it will stay the same! Everyone in my shop says she's good to go just clamp it up! We will see.

Test fitting the tank and moving towards the finish line! More updates soon.

Is your thermostat upside down in the picture of it? Should the bypass for carb heat be on the hot side?



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[hwwee]

Is your thermostat upside down in the picture of it? Should the bypass for carb heat be on the hot side?

Thank you for the reply! To my understanding the flow on my 500 is:
500:
Water pump inlet, to wp outlet, to right side of jug, up through jug to head, out of head on the left side, to bottom of left rad, from top of left rad to top of right rad, from bottom of right rad back to the water pump inlet. This circuit is in series since the coolant flows through one radiator, then flows through the other.

Following that logic and Avids instructions I thought I was in the right direction!

Or are you referring to the direction of the thermostat? Let me know if I'm crazy~! I have changed the direction and mounting of this unit so many times I am afraid I am learning my trial and error!


So after posting this and the reply we do have the Therm in the wrong direction in the phone due to this system being a Series Cooling System on the 500!
I will be posting some more pictures when we get it turned around!

 

[Str8line]

What kind of camera are you using? Your photos are impressive. Cool to see the old 500cc beast being built up!

 

[hwwee]

Thanks!

What kind of camera are you using? Your photos are impressive. Cool to see the old 500cc beast being built up!

Thanks! I have a few Nikon DSLRs I use! The real fun comes with the video once we get this thing fired up!

 

[lundracing]

Is your thermostat upside down in the picture of it? Should the bypass for carb heat be on the hot side?

Thank you for the reply! To my understanding the flow on my 500 is:
500:
Water pump inlet, to wp outlet, to right side of jug, up through jug to head, out of head on the left side, to bottom of left rad, from top of left rad to top of right rad, from bottom of right rad back to the water pump inlet. This circuit is in series since the coolant flows through one radiator, then flows through the other.

Following that logic and Avids instructions I thought I was in the right direction!

Or are you referring to the direction of the thermostat? Let me know if I'm crazy~! I have changed the direction and mounting of this unit so many times I am afraid I am learning my trial and error!


So after posting this and the reply we do have the Therm in the wrong direction in the phone due to this system being a Series Cooling System on the 500!
I will be posting some more pictures when we get it turned around!

Just noticed that the line coming out of your head is going in the side of your thermostat that don't have the carb heat bypass on it. I would think you would want your hot water from the head on the side with the bypass. Not sure it will flow the way you have it and if it does it won't flow hot water to your carb heat until the thermostat opens. In your picture of the themostat your plug should face down I think. I may be wrong but I am installing the same setup and looking at the way it works u may run into issues.


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