1987 LT500R

• 1987 LT500R
  Posted by Scawn on 08 Nov, 2013 02:37
• Short story for ya. I used to race a 1986 Honda ATC250R back in 87-88. That was back in high school. Got out of it when they were outlaw'd and always wished we'd switched to quads. I've always missed riding but for whatever reason I never bought anything until I recently bought a 1986 Honda TRX250R. Now my dad and I have always been Honda fans, but over the last few years my dad had gotten into Suzuki and picked up 700 King Quad utility. As soon as he took one spin on my 2-stroke and smelled that exhaust, the days of me racing as a kid grabbed him and wouldn't let go. He's getting closed to 60, but said he wanted a 2-stroke of his own so we could go "have fun" together. He had me start looking for Suzuki 500's for him because he always has to have the biggest, fastest, meanest of everything. I found a 1987 LT500R for him at a killer price and he jumped all over it. We've had it for a few weeks now and I'm still amazed it's sitting in the garage. As far as we know the motor is 100% stock besides the FMF pipe. As you can see it has a Maier nose, DG bumper / grab bar, and ITP tires. We've got the aluminum rims for the rear tires and are switching those this weekend. It came with a set of rear paddles and front razer tires that we're gonna sell along with the steel rims. He's already gotten the OEM nose for it and the Mikuni carb sucks even when it runs right so we ordered an APT SmartCarb for it. That's supposed to be shipped the first week of December.
  
  
  
  
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• #1 Reply
  Posted by Buckeye513 on 08 Nov, 2013 04:42
• That is one clean 87 Zilla you have there! I can relate to your story with your dad, I just finished rebuilding my Zilla and my dad funded the build and got to watch me restore an 88 from the ground up.
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• #2 Reply
  Posted by Dangerouspower on 08 Nov, 2013 04:48
• Clean ride with a cool story! Definitely let us know how the smart carb works...
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• #3 Reply
  Posted by Rider414 on 08 Nov, 2013 04:49
• That is really clean!
  
  What is a APT Smart Carb? The Mikuni used in the 88-90 Zilla's is a proven carb to use.
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• #4 Reply
  Posted by Buckeye513 on 08 Nov, 2013 05:01
• Here you go Matt try and keep up with the times man!! Lol
  
  http://www.powerapt.com/smartcarb.php
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• #5 Reply
  Posted by LT500Kid on 08 Nov, 2013 05:32
• nice looking 87! a little cleaning up the last guys spray bomb and she will be all set! Welcome to the site! where are you located?
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• #6 Reply
  Posted by Rainman56 on 08 Nov, 2013 06:10
• x2 on hearing how the APT runs.Similar to the Lectrons but have never actually run one,or even seen one in person for that matter.
  
  Very nice Zilla by the way.
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• #7 Reply
  Posted by GrkGuy on 08 Nov, 2013 08:36
• looks clean, but old owner got kind of crazy with the rattle can. he painted everything blue.
  but if your dad can cancle the carb he should do it, get a 88+ zilla carb and send it to jerry hall.
  he can make a carb run like you have a built bike.
  
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• #8 Reply
  Posted by Buckeye513 on 08 Nov, 2013 08:43
• I might be selling my 88 mikuni that's been bored to 41.5mm and has all the jetting setup by what Jerry recommends for my bike. Running that fmf you'll need to buy smaller jets for it but its in good working condition.
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• #9 Reply
  Posted by Scawn on 08 Nov, 2013 11:23
• We're located near Findlay, OH about an hour south of Toledo. There's a couple of reasons for going with the 38mm SmartCarb. First of all, SmartCarbs have no jets at all. Therefore you can adjust the rich/lean on top and the idle on the side and that's pretty much it. They're guarenteed to work for your application. You can get different metering rods for special applications but it's not necessary here. We were going to wait for the 40mm cast version but after talking to APT and finding that these build a broader powerband, dropping to the 38mm is actually going to give us more of what we're looking for which is a bit more power down low before the powervalve hits. Worse case if it doesn't work, we'll move it over to my TRX250R and go with an 88-90 carb.
  
  Definitely have some clean up to do. The front a-arms, shifter, and rear brake pedal all need cleaned up. Everything else is there, right down to the key switch. He ordered the OEM nose piece, tool kit, and rubber strap that holds the tool kit in place. I want to either clean the a-arms or find someone parting one out and get another set and get a brake pedal as well. The shift lever should clean up pretty easily.
  
  I've heard good things about Jerry Hall and was told he was a person to reach out to for information before I joined here. He just joined a TRX250R site about the same time I stopped visiting there so our paths hadn't crossed yet. Hopefully I can catch up with him here.
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• #10 Reply
  Posted by El Diablo on 08 Nov, 2013 11:35
•   Another Buckeye! How many are on here now?
  The bike looks great!
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• #11 Reply
  Posted by GrkGuy on 08 Nov, 2013 11:48
• ohio huh, you guys need to come down to Yellow Creek/wellsville trails.
  it down on rt7 in wellsville,oh. great place to ride, scary but fun.
  good luck with the bike, we are here to answere any question you guys have, there are even a few members on here that build custom parts for these bikes.
  tell your dad get the squish fixed on the head, run cometic gaskets and run the billet washers and the rm250 bearing for the top end rebuild. there are a few more cheap/free fixes for that zilla on here.
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• #12 Reply
  Posted by Scawn on 08 Nov, 2013 12:27
• I will definitely be starting a "where do we start" thread. As I stated, it's got the FMF pipe and nothing else. The previous owner had only had it roughly 9 months and he had purchased it from his cousin to help him when he was needing money. Now he was selling it just to get his money back. He didn't know much about it other than his cousin had owned it for quite some time and as far as he knew the motor was still on it's original bore. I didn't even bother trying to reach his cousin because you know how that stuff can go. The motor doesn't appear to have been taken apart and it kicks with strong compression. Right know we just want to have some light fun with it and then this spring we'll tear the motor down to find out for sure what's inside. The biggest conflict we're having is what fuel to run. We've got access to Turbo Blue 110 octane @ $7.75 a gallone about 35 miles away. I've been told that if it really is the original bore, 93 octane at 32:1 is fine for just normal riding conditions. The previous owner said he was mixing 110 and 93 @ 50:50 and then 32:1 oil. We talked about getting a 50 gallon drum in the garage and doing 20 gallons of 110 with 20 gallons of 93 and then just pumping 5 gallons out at a time to mix with oil. Still haven't solved this dilemma.
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• #13 Reply
  Posted by GrkGuy on 08 Nov, 2013 13:04
• do you guys know how to start bike in one kick.
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• #14 Reply
  Posted by Scawn on 08 Nov, 2013 14:12
• When the weather was warm I was hitting it on the first kick. Basically rolling the kick lever 4 or 5 times and then finding sweet spot and it would fire. It's not being as friendly now that it's gotten cold.
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• #15 Reply
  Posted by GrkGuy on 08 Nov, 2013 14:45
• rule of thumb is
  turn on fuel, leave bike in off postion, pull choke
  cycle motor with kicker a few times, this will prime carb.
  then cycle motor again with kicker, you will notice 2 hard spots when doing this.
  at the top of 2nd hard spot stop, turn bike on and kick it fast one good hard time.
  
  after bike is warm, just cycle motor to 2nd hard spot, then kick.
  
  if you just jump on it and try kicking it like is a honda or something you will get kicked back, oh and make sure handle
  bars are turned away from your right leg, they have been known to put your knee into the bars, there are a few good pics around
  from what a kick back does to your leg. its not pretty and hurts like hell.
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• #16 Reply
  Posted by Scawn on 08 Nov, 2013 14:55
• Thanks for the tip. I'm not sure if we're even going to try starting it again before getting the SmartCarb on it. I was told that will ship the first week of December. Between now and then I think we're going to focus on just getting the rear rims swapped, put the OEM nose piece on, and cleaning up the a-arms, brake pedal, and shift lever as best as possible for now. My thought was to use WD-40 and a scotchbrite pad on those to removed the blue paint. Any better suggestions?
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• #17 Reply
  Posted by Rider414 on 08 Nov, 2013 15:19
• I would atleast take the top end apart if you think its on it original bore and inspect the piston for cracks and inspect it. If it blows, you will cause more damage that what a base and head gasket would cost.
  
   
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• #18 Reply
  Posted by GrkGuy on 08 Nov, 2013 16:39
• brake cleaner works too, it all depends on what paint they used on them.
  or try a thinner.
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• #19 Reply
  Posted by FX4Pitrone on 08 Nov, 2013 18:57
• Welcome to the site!  I saw your post on trx forum about getting the smart carb for the Zilla... I was actually gonna PM you to come here but looks like you found it!  Can't wait to hear how the Smart carb runs on the Zilla... Im really intrigued by this carb!  Nice bike!
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• #20 Reply
  Posted by Scawn on 09 Nov, 2013 20:23
• I got the OEM nose put on today and it looks outstanding. My dad is interested in widening the rear end. Does anyone make hubs that add +2 on each side? I really don't want to have to buy an axle and I never cared for wheel spacers.
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• #21 Reply
  Posted by Twinzilla on 09 Nov, 2013 20:29
• G-Force, Z400, or LTR450 hubs will widen the rear but you'll have to run 4/110 wheels.  I am not aware of a 5 lug hub that will widen the rear.
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• #22 Reply
  Posted by LT500Kid on 09 Nov, 2013 21:52
• Not often people want to widen the rear of s Zilla!
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• #23 Reply
  Posted by Rider414 on 10 Nov, 2013 05:45
• Why does he want it wider?
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• #24 Reply
  Posted by Scawn on 10 Nov, 2013 10:21
• We've got an oval track out back and we'll be doing a lot of running around that so the extra width will help keep it planted on all 4 wheels. It's also a little bit of personal preference because he just likes how wide the back of my 250R is with the +4 axle is.
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