A Closer Look at Jeremy McGrath’s Kawasaki KX500

A Closer Look at Jeremy McGrath’s Kawasaki KX500

A few months ago, Jeremy McGrath got a wild idea and began to scour Craigslist for an old Kawasaki KX500. “You know what?” he told us. “I never raced one as a Pro, only in my days as an Intermediate. I’m gonna build one up!” Soon enough, MC found one in Arizona: a 2002 KX500 that was in fairly good shape, and for a good price. The bike had been desert-ridden only and was equipped with a Scott’s Performance steering stabilizer and an oversized fuel tank.

“The idea was to keep it original, as far as the chassis was concerned; no need to go buck wild with an aluminum chassis or anything like that,” he said. “So we made some things more modern for safety and performance, but left the rest of the bike original.”

Jeremy’s cousin Sam Barton handled most of the build, but it was a collective effort between the entire McGrath Motorsports crew of McGrath, Barton, Lawrence Lewis, and Chad Graham. A complete tear down was first on the agenda, and the frame was checked for cracks before it was sent out for powder coating. Concurrently, Mitch Payton laid hands on the engine at Pro Circuit headquarters. Payton cleaned up the cylinder and head, then pitched in a new pipe and silencer for the beast. A complete Hinson Racing clutch kit was installed to help put the power to the ground. “Power is never a problem on a 500,” said McGrath. “So the goal was to just get the bike running clean and smoothly.”

Modern upgrades were made to several parts of the machine. A current Showa A Kit fork, front wheel, and front brake system were added to the front end. Xtrig 19mm offset triple clamps were used, but after racing the bike at Mammoth Motocross, Jeremy felt that the offset was not ideal. Out back, the stock Showa shock was maintained but completely reworked by Showa’s Scott Bennett. A modern rear brake system was also adapted to the bike. Unused mounting tabs and several inches of excess hydraulic brake line were eliminated by the conversion. Finally, in an effort to slim down the bike’s ergonomics, a gar tank from a 1988 KX250 replaced the bulbous stock KX500 tank. The wheels utilized stock hubs that were Ceracoated by Dubya USA, and mated to D.I.D rims. 

Click here to see McGrath in action on the bike on the day he broke it in at Fox Raceway. 

Click here to see a cool Monster Energy edit of McGrath ripping Mammoth Mountain on the KX500.

We’ve already planned out a cool video and story project with McGrath, comparing his modern Kawasaki KX450 four-stroke and this KX500 two-stroke. Which bike do you think he’ss be faster on? Comment below!