I have all the parts in hand, it is just a matter of putting everything back together. The pistons and crank never came out of the crankcase, I just took the head off, and removed the camshafts.

Between reading stuff online, and talking to friends, I decided to bite the bullet and do this job myself.

Besides, it'll be fun, and I have a friend in Rochester who is more than willing to ride out here and help me. I just hope the service manual and supplement have all the bolt sizes/thread count/etc. for all the ones that have been replaced with zip ties.

 

The exploded parts diagrams on http://www.buykawasaki.com/ are very helpful too. Even if you don't want to pay for the KHI replacement part, they usually mention little clues like the length and threadpitch in the item description.
-CCinC

 

So I got my manuals inthe mail this weekend! only the main manual is for the EN400/EN450. Not sure if this manual is supposed to cover the EX500 as well, but I plan on calling Kawi today to sort it out. They did send the correct supplement, however. Once I get this damn fridge out of my garage and get rid of the dog crate the rebuild shall commence.

 

So I just got off the line with customer service, and I'm in good shape with the en manual. The guy told me just to use the supplement, then when called for in the supplment to look at the base manual.

1 step closer!

 

The best thing to do is to find someone who knows what they are doing and trick him into helping for the price of beer or lunch, but still use those FSMs. good luck and keep us up to date.