1985 XC500

Frame is 85 says the ID chart; the motor is a combination of parts: 87 cylinder and head, cases are new old stock 250 from an unknown year machined by Forest Stahl to accept the 500 barrel (the 1987 500 bottom end was trashed). 87 430 WR transmission everything else is new. Plastic is aftermarket except headlight and tank which is off a 430WR.

I have an 87 and 86, that frame is a 87 all day long.
85 and 86 no big difference. 87,88 was a new breed, the tank went black with all new mounting points and had the white rad shrouds so the decals don't fall off.
They changed the shock linkage quite a bit too.

1985 from the brochure




1987 from the brochure

"I have an embarassing disclosure to make: It ain't 220 lbs. dry; it is about a pound lighter than the original bike: 236 lbs. "

Don't forget, this is a big bike. there is a thread on OZVMX regarding Ray "goof" Vandenburgs RM 500 which he won the Mr MX series in 1984. for his 50th birthday, his mates tracked down the bike and bits (motor ended up in a mini sprint car) and rebuilt it for him in time for the big day... the CIA need to recruit these guys to do shit, they are secret keepers...

That bike had a major "lightness" attack with all the bolts drilled, brackets and anything that could have holes drilled in it did. saved 9 lbs I believe over the stock bike.

so don't stress about the weight! if you are holding the throttle wiiide open all day and saying "come on you slow SOB", you could probably look at a port job???

I'm adding some weight now with the dual sport lighting kit and fuel injection. The battery alone is 1.7 lbs; I've built a kickstand bracket and attached a late model stand that has to weigh a couple; (the original kickstand was long gone). The FI pump, computer module and throttle body itself are all add-ons in terms of weight. But in comparison with other similar cc bikes this one will still be light. I'm just hoping the FI will work OK and eliminate the fat and lean spots in the throttle range. Will post pics in a week or so.

im surprised that the carb was that difficult but there you have it

Any updates on FI system?

me too

So what happened here? Did the project stall or run into hurdles that couldn't be overcome?

I was really interested in the EFI conversion and the front end swap

Tony.

old post, lots of coming and never heard of againing happens here

Thanks for that surprize, good to see another Aussie, even from my home town!

sorry for the lapse in posts; just getting back to his project after the fuel injection idea crashed. short story on the FI, too many parts, no room, the throttle body was too big for the manifold, and on and on. I just got tired of screwing with it. about 6 months ago I put a new 38mm Mikuni round slide and on it and did the first 100 miles of the Transamerica Trail. here are some recent pics showing new Excel rims (18 on back-had a 19 from a 2006 TE450), and new pipe and dual sporting lighting kit.

OH BOY........fun fun fun

that looks excellent. be interested to see how long those indicators last with the vibration. love to see some go pro footage of the big girl picking its skirt up....

the vibration is pretty bad on the rear fender; took it out for a 100 mile trip last month and the license tag broke off and I lost it. Had to file a lost tag report and go through that hassle. Hoping I have the jetting right now; now running a 380 main, 40 pilot and a 3.0 slide.

I always silicon plates on to the guards to offset the vibes