Woody Watson's 1988 KX500
It’s not every day that you get to ride a pristine 1988 KX500 at a track that is designed and prepped for vintage style bikes. While out riding a track in Harrisville, Australia riding a friends 1988 CR250 I was fortunate enough to be offered to take this weapon of a KX500 out for a spin. It’s embarrassing to say that I have never been on a 500 of any brand so when I was offered a chance to ride one I couldn’t resist. This KX500 wasn’t your normal 1988 KX500 it was a pristine build that I couldn’t take my eyes off of it while I was parked next to it. After being caught malesting this bike with my eyes the owner Woody Watson obviously could tell I was interested in it, so he just came out and said hey mate do you want to take it for a spin? I was like ugghhh ya! Before I took it out I wanted to make sure I knew all about it. The build was done over a 7 year span with multiple updates. Woody knows his stuff and also has a late model aluminium frame KX500 to compare them.
This 1988 KX500 was built with great detail to keep it’s original look, but was updated to modern day technology without compromising the look of the bike. I could tell this bike wasn’t built for show it was built to ride and race. Well, how do I know this you ask? Because it was dirty from being ridden by it’s owner on the day that I saw it. The first thing that stood out to me was the current KYB kit forks that held the bike up, and as I got closer it was impossible to not notice the billet cases and other billet parts from TSR racing that housed the mega power of this beast. The reason for these bad ass billet cases were the original cases were just tired and the bearings were sloppy so a set of all new cases were not much more money than a set of original’s here in Australia. While the motor was in pieces he had Aussie legend Ross McWaters do some engine work and Charlie Costanza did the suspension upgrades to get a good platform and balance to work with. From there he added some features and benefits that I really liked. The Pro Circuit clamps, Raptor pegs, updated front brake and Hydraulic clutch were a few things that made me want to ride it. I’m weird about having good controls, but this thing felt like a 2021 in my hands.
As I was pulling it off the stand to go for a spin I was getting anxiety about how I was going to start this thing. I have never ridden a 500, but I have seen many people get a kickback and hurt their knee when attempting to start it. As I’m getting ready to start this weapon Woody lets me know the de-compression button is set and it will fire nice and easy. I was pumped and as he said It was a nice little kick and this beast fired right up. Rolling on to the track I could feel the power between my legs, but the vibration wasn’t bad at all with the rubber bar mounts and to be honest less then some modern two strokes I have ridden. It didn’t take me long to get comfy on the bike and in less than a half a lap I was up to speed and really enjoying the bike on the track. I was short shifting, rolling the throttle on and pretending I was Jeff Ward at the 85 GP. The track I was riding was a very traditional GP type track with blue groove sections and small jumps. It was a blast and I was having so much fun that I really felt one with this beast of a bike. I was confident in what the bike would do but most of all I really respected it’s power. The only thing I would improve on the bike is maybe a little richer on the needle as it had some detination down low and the forks were a tad firm but I can say if there was tacky dirt where I could brake harder I think it would have been perfect balance.
The Owner Woody Watsonn also can haul ass!
I would like to applaud Woody on building one hell of a motorcycle keeping a traditional look but updating key components so it could be a bike he rode on a regular basis. I’m not going to lie I do have the bug to build a 500 at some point in my life after riding Woody’s bike.
Owner- Woody Watson
Bike- 1988 Kawasaki
Model- 1988 KX500
Re-worked KYB suspension by Charlie Costanzo
Billet Moto parts – TSR Racing Products
GP Style Axle Blocks
Emig racing Steering Stem and Pull Rods
Larry Wiechman Decompression Cylinder Head
Boysen water pump, Clutch, and Ignition Cover