EX500/NINJA:
The Resurrection of a Wreck
Updated
THE EX AND ME ON HIGHLAND VALLEY ROAD 6-16-98
The
(to me) Red EX ("Rex")- I sold it but the pix are still here
The EX is a Project Bike Again! Photos Here!
The Project Page: Step-by-Step Photos.
NEW! Jim's Family Pix - Our Trip to Palomar
HIGHLAND VALLEY ROAD 6-16-98
===> MOTORCYCLE BOOKSTORE PAGE - Click Here! <===
===> Links INDEX! Now over 150 EX500 Related Links! <===
Easier-to-use Category Pages!
MY SON, BRANDON, H.V.ROAD 6-16-98
Willow Springs International Raceway Pix
I've tried to show how a motorcycle , with time, patience, help from the web, and just a little money, can be transformed from a wreck to a very nice machine. That's what I've done with my 1987 Kawasaki EX500. I bought it in July '97 for $680. It had been laid down hard on the right side, but still ran okay. It did have a major oil leak from a crack in the pan, no fairing or windscreen, broken mirrors and turnsignals, side panels scratched, a major dent in the tank, bent right handlebar, and had two diffenent colors on it. Black and blue. Really!
I'll be posting information in more detail about procedures and so forth, but for now, here's some of the things I've done to it: new mirrors and signals; new plugs (NGK) and air filter(UNI); mounted Dunlop SP K591 tires (front-120/80VB, rear-130/80VB); RK o-ring chain and sprockets; EX250 risers; front brake rotor w/Dunlopads. The upper fairing was a used stock one, the windscreen the same, and the lower fairing is a used Targa. It took a very long time to prepare the pieces for painting, they were all well-used. I was able to have the use of a spray booth and a professional gun when it was painted. The paint is Spies/Hecker, made in Germany. It cost $120 a quart! I was able to pay only for what I used - $40 worth. The color is called "Gelb", which I'm pretty sure is German for yellow. The total spent on the bike is around $1250 now, including the purchase price, and about $200 labor. Stay tuned to find out how I did it all so cheaply, and to get updated on future modifications.
I still want to do an exhaust system upgrade, but one where I can retain the centerstand and, of course, the lower fairing. I also would like an upgrade to a solo saddle, and someday a purple tinted windshield. Any ideas are welcome! E-mail me or put 'em on the guestbook when you sign it.
I guess I'll have to update the "now" photo - I installed front signal/running lights, from Chaparral ($10 a pair). They are flush mount, right below the mirrors. I really hated the long stalk stock ones. They, like the mirrors, seem to break at the slightest provocation. Lanesplitting is legal here in CA, and the EX is my daily commuter on the freeway, so narrower is better.
Also, I got tired of looking at my arms in my mirrors, so I mounted them backwards, turned the lenses around, and adjusted the rubber boots, and now I can see directly behind me. Try it!
UPDATE: 10-9-98. New additions to the bike are: all new cables (throttle, choke, clutch), Galfer stainless steel braided brake line, new Dunlop K591 tires, EBC brake pads, and Racetech Gold Valve fork emulators. The plastic still needs a lot of work after my son Sean's incident.
EX500/NINJA/MOTORCYCLE/RACING/RIDING LINKS
===> MOTORCYCLE BOOKSTORE PAGE - Click Here! <===
There is now a Links Index Page, three Willow Springs EX Race Pages, and six pages of pictures of the EXers at WSMC. I took a digital camera to Willow Springs for the races, and I got shots of most of the EX racers. Some on the grid, some in the pits, but the camera was no good for distance and/or motion. Of course, all the racers are nortoriously publicity shy, but I still got some good shots.
There are more pictures of the bike in its various stages, more good links added to the links page, and I'm still working on some text attachments discussing repairs, finding cheap parts, some of the extremely good people I've met, cool rides in the San Diego/SoCal area, and much more.
I'd like to acknowledge some of the people I've met on the net that helped with cheap and even free parts and good advice: Andre Espaillat of OUTRACE; Rich Sturges (Team CHARM); Chip Hillier of Hillier Racing; John Sweeney of Sport-Twin; David Stansel of SRAxis; Art Ferdinand of Hooligan Racing; Steve Watson for showing me how to wrench; and most of all, Jeff Browne, for all the advice, the parts, the welcome at WSMC to me and my family. Thanks all.
And I have to mention the Sport-Twin EX500 List in general. I couldn't have done this without the list. If you're interested in EXs,Click Here!, join the EX500 list and find out why it's the best list on the net.
This page will always be under construction, so it couldn't hurt to use a bookmark and check back often. If I ever get a racebike, it could get very interesting. I'm working on it.
I would like to mention that a lot of the reason for building this bike is to try and get my two sons interested in motorcycles. Brandon is a junior at Humboldt, and Sean is a freshman at Nordhoff High in Ojai. I'd love to see them catch on to what I get out of riding.I'm really proud of both of them and love them very much.
UPDATE: 6-16-98. My son, Brandon spent a week here and really had a blast on the EX. He went from tentative to safely aggressive in less than a week. I think in another week or two of steady riding, he'd be scraping and coming close to getting a knee down. I'm really proud of him.
UPDATE 6-9-98: Brandon highsided the Red EX on Old Julian Highway a while back. I've since sold the bike to someone who is going to get it back on the track at Willow Springs. Brandon needed an operation to reattach ligaments in his left thumb, otherwise is okay. His armored jacket and Kevlar gloves and, of course, helmet, saved him from more serious injury. The bike got a dent in the tank and some scratched plastic. Interesting, how Sean lowsided the yellow one with barely a scratch on him, major damage to the plastic, plus tweaked forks, broken handlebar, broken exhaust, etc, and Brandon highsided, got a trip to the ER, with minor damage on the red bike.
Keep the shiny side up!
Visitors since March 1, 1998
� 1998 Jim Twyford
