No problem at all Derrick. Do you want them done in the same font and angle that I did ours? If not and you have a different font style that you would like, just point it out to me and I will knock it out.

I've never ridden a 500, but people say they are a pretty wide quad.  Does it still feel like it's going to roll on the flat track?

They are definitely wide but a well built Zilla feels like a fast Cadillac. When I say well built, I just mean kept up and everything is put together the way it should be. We're running stock shocks and the rear was rebuilt by Andy at MaulTechATV. We're going to have the fronts rebuilt and maybe have reservoirs added as well, but they were in excellent shape for now. Obviously some Ohlins or Elkas would make this feel even better. When you ride it, even at high speeds, the width just oozes confidence and doesn't make it seem as if you're going as fast as you really are sometimes. High speed sliding turns are a blast and it soaks up bumps pretty well. Compared to a less wide quad, you can take turns with more confidence because even if it were to begin to hook an want to get up on 2 or 3 wheels, the width gives you more time to react and a quick punch of the throttle will typically break the rear end loose and set it back down.

Super awesome build thread.

So nice to see an older guy flat tracking in his own backyard on such a nice machine .

hate to clutter up your thread with this comment, but in the pic of the oringed head, I didn't see the water control mod done to restrict the flow over the exhaust???

 Hate to see you experience a partial seizure on the exhaust side, Which is why I ask..

Can you touch base if you did the mod or are you running the head as it is pictured with no adverse affect's ?

Any pics of the mod, and is this also done to the 250?

Wow that is a beautiful build on that 500. Bruce does a great job on decals. He made mine for my LT250s and my '82 ATC250R.

It sounds so good in that video!

I don't want to be rude but I must ask, how much did it all cost?  You see, I want a quadzilla that's already freshly rebuilt like yours.  Just curious how much it takes to do what you did compared to buying a zilla already restored. And I MUST know more about your smart carb.  I don't know how to jet and the smart carb sounds easy enough.  Do they make one for a 250?

I don't want to be rude but I must ask, how much did it all cost?  You see, I want a quadzilla that's already freshly rebuilt like yours.  Just curious how much it takes to do what you did compared to buying a zilla already restored. And I MUST know more about your smart carb.  I don't know how to jet and the smart carb sounds easy enough.  Do they make one for a 250?

First, we didn't end up going with the smart carb. The wait times were getting bad and the confidence was getting low. I won't say they're a gimmick because there are a number of people who have had great success with them, but I just don't feel it was right for the 500. I was disappointed because I personally don't care for jetting Mikuni carbs but we had the OEM carb bored out to 40.5 and that's what is on there. The Zilla is going for a dyno-tune yet and it will get jetted properly at that time. It's kind of sat on the side right now. Might end up switching to a Keihin later on.

As for price and what you should do, there are two ways to view this. You really can't beat building your own machine because then you know for a fact what's there, inside and out, and it's built the way YOU want it. I can tell you that it would take in the neighborhood of $9-$10k to buy this zilla the way it sits simply because there are receipts that total more than that. This doesn't include my time and I'm sure there aren't receipts for absolutely everything included. Some may agree with that and others won't. Now I used to be one of those people who would look at a build like this and think, "That's nuts. I can build one way cheaper". Well, after building a 1989 TRX250R, a 1986 ATC250R, and this 1987 LT500R to this standard, the cost of the build is only going to be determined by what you want out of it. If you seriously want it to be like this, you aren't going to do it cheaper. If you want a $2500 - $5000 zilla, well look around and you'll find them. But they aren't complete fresh builds to this caliber. I'm not patting myself on the back and preaching my abilities by any means. This is all about the amount of money that went into it and that's it. Top notch motors that are completely fresh and every single part either new or reconditioned. It all has a price.

Very nice job on the rebuild.  Love that OEM fit quality.  The Maier replacement plastic is fubar and takes a lot of work and re-drilling of holes to get it closer to OEM fitment.

I thought I read that you did some porting but I noticed that you didn't have the cylinder ears reinforced.  Keep an eye out for cracks in that area.

Again, great looking update/restore!