Ninja 500r 2005 as track bike

[breakdirt916]

Found a stock clean 05 500R with a muzzy for $600 - good track bike, right?

Would keep Busa for commuting/street and use 500 just for touring SoCal tracks

[csmutty]

For your cheap ass...yes it's fine.

[boosten lebaron]

Great bikes and nearly immortal. Takes a lot to hurt one nevermind kill it. Parts can be purchased for pocket change.

[OreoGaborio]

"The EX500 is so bad it's good"

-Paul Duval

[csmutty]

Great bikes and nearly immortal. Takes a lot to hurt one nevermind kill it. Parts can be purchased for pocket change.

Look out for rusted impeller shafts and get some fogbones.

[Paul_E_D]

"The EX500 is so bad it's good"

-Paul Duval

LOL, I forgot that I said that. I can't remember if that is true or not...

[dontpanic]

It's true.

Be mindful of the saggy rear suspension and its impact on ground clearance. I ran out of talent in turn twelve - splat!

[breakdirt916]

it has pretty blue fairings and everything underneath (fork tubes, carbs, corrosion on metal parts) is rusty

but it starts, runs, stops, turns, has all the working lights

uhm...I go absolutely WOT ham on this thing and it feels like a toy compared to the Busa is this slower than the Vstrom?

cracked upper fairing on the left, shift/clutch lever are aftermarket (and in the wrong spot). tires are 10 years old shinko is $60

[csmutty]

How many clams for that clam?

Also make sure your brake pads have plenty of material. They usually wear unevenly because of the uneven piston sizes and have been known to spit out pads when they get low.

[breakdirt916]

six hunny

ya with tires that old I'd imagine it needs a full basic r&r (oil change, filters, brakes, tires)

[TheIglu]

Get good tires unless you like sliding on pavement.

[loudbeard]

You literally never, ever learn, do you?

[joshk1025]

$600 seems like a good deal to me. I would have bought it. Looks pretty good compared to the beat to shit ones I see advertised around here for $1500

[breakdirt916]

the odd part is before I bought the Busa I searched around and there were rat bikes with expired registration, missing fairings, rusted chains for $1,500-$2,000 and people paid it!

this one is pretty rusty underneath, but the eyes buy and these fairings will help it re-sell no problem

[breakdirt916]

okay, need to nut up and dish out for tires...forums have tables with all the tire options listed, but they are dated and don't include current offerings.

$63.30 shipped - IRC Road Winner RX-01 - 3.5 stars on revzilla with many reviews stating that they don't stay warm very long, poor grip, but good tread life
$67.82 shipped - Shinko SR741 - 4.4 stars on amazon - many comments of "good overall tire for the price", good traction, but 1 review said poor tread life
$68.88 shipped - Kenda K671 cruiser tire - also good longevity, relatively good grip
$72.99 shipped - Michelin pilot 61502 - can't find any reviews
$76.88 shipped - Avon Streetrunner AM83 - minimal reviews, but rated well

front:
-$52.58 - shinko SR740 - rated well, mates with SR741 rear

thinking the Shinko is the bottom price point I would go for the best blend of quality and price...longevity is good, but a little extra traction for track days and canyons would be better for me

so $120.40 shipped for front and rear tires...not such a bad deal!

into the bike for $850 (with title transfer, oil change, & tires) and can run it for several months to a year then sell it for $1,500ish. will also take off the lower fairing and maybe even find some damaged ones on ebay to run until I'm ready to sell it

[breakdirt916]

carb definitely needs a cleaning...bike barely idles, and if you crank up the idle speed the rpm's hang...

so fun going into rotaries and exit ramps, push down on the bars and lean recklessly WOT looking through the turn, but heeding Iglu's advice I will not start until I mount new tires

I am WOT everywhere...needs 7,000rpm+ to start making "power"...so I keep the rpm's up and redline it scoot around. it does not like quick, firm clutched shifting...but it's a bike you are supposed to chill. Anti-busa

[MattR302]

Back when I had mine 10-12 years ago, Pirelli Sport Demons were the tire of choice for most of the EX500 forum.

Also, if they haven’t been already, remove the metal plates inside the turn signal stalks. They will cause the fairing to crack in a tipover. The signal stays in place fine without them.

[TheIglu]

Watch it. It'll highside you with too much hamfist and lean. Ask Pete.

[breakdirt916]

I remember cold rubbers tossed you at the no frills day like 10 years ago

I will be careful on this bike...relatively speaking it seems deceivingly safe but maybe not

[breakdirt916]

It’s tire time!

I told UPS/Chapparal to toss it over the fence in case of porch pirates

But man the Busa tire is like papa bear

[breakdirt916]

new tires mounted!

and since my winch is acting up in the truck...I rode it back...in the rain...on brand new tires



rear:



front:



surprisingly, even on brand new tires, in the rain...wide open throttle in a straight line did not break the tire loose

good old Ninja five huned

swap the signal next...

[breakdirt916]

alright, so the reason why it felt so under powered is because it needed the carbs cleaned.

I broke 2 rusty screws and a clip with a hose between the carbs getting it off, but I got the carbs off (still hooked up to the throttle cables)



when I pull of the bowls, I check for sludge inside to see how much debris is making its way through the filter and how long it's been sitting



both carbs had a clogged pilot...no carb cleaner was getting through. Had to blow carb cleaner through both sides of it multiple times until it cleared the dirt, but I got it out.

once cleaned, and choke started, it ran great!

adjusted the idle speed after a couple rounds around the block, then rode down to the beach



maybe it's because I miss the busa so much, but it actually felt pretty good. "faster" than the vstrom, but in reality it's actually 1/2 a second slower 0-60 and 1-2 seconds slower in the quarter mile. We'll see tomorrow on the commute if it's actually slower than I'm hoping it will be. 700-900cc twins seems to be the sweet spot on a "regular", economical, but fun motorcycle

next steps:
1.) fix front signals
2.) possibly just mount the top case to the back half of the seat (and remove the passenger grab bar)
3.) more lights front/back - possibly just LED driving lights and a single LED brake/stop light on the top case
4.) remove lower fairing and store until I sell it...between that missing and a top case, I'm hoping the thieves will turn their thumbs down at it.

[nt650hawk]

nice color

[breakdirt916]

Yeahhh I may have to make over the bike to get a lil ugly or it’ll be stolen in a month

If I recall correctly, not have a lower fairing, and adding a top case should fix that

Commuted in today -

Oh yeah, carbs start with choke, turn choke off, go 20 feet and stall. Otherwise it’s revved out Beyond 7k rpm at 70mph so it has passing power on hand, but not a lot. Could not pass a new RAV4. It’s aight...I only want the power 3% of the time. A $600 bike with cheap to replace tires and 50mpg will be excellent to have when needed for street duty. Otherwise I will be 1.5 miles instead of 36 miles away so I can truck it or cycle to work.

[TheIglu]

Let it warm up before you kill the choke.

And make sure those carbs are actually cleaned out all the way. Still sounds lean.