Ive had my 500 for a few months now. I love it but recently it feels different. Even in first gear 2000-5500 the bike feels as if its hesitating and above 5500 the power increase is very slight if any at all. Ive checked the plugs, filter, and wires. The guy i bought it from said it was setup for cold weather driving and suggested i adjust the carbs. But i have never doen so before. Any help would be awesome.

 

Not you, not the bike, but the previous owner.
What did he do to screw it up (i.e. 'setup for cold weather driving')?

Could be one of the following:
~Fuel tank vent tube blocked or kinked
~Gunk in carburetor float bowls or jets (probable if the bike sat for several weeks without being properly winterized)
~Carbs really far out of synchronization

The first step would be to ask that lunkhead what he did to set it up for winter riding.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
-CCinC

 

he told me he did a jet kit to go with the k&n filter/muzzy exhaust. he told me when the weather warms up to turn the adjustment needles in or out... not 100% sure.

 

I'm sorry that you got stuck with an "adjusted" bike, but THIS IS EXACTLY THE REASON I TELL EVERYONE THAT STOCK EXHAUST AND JETTING IS BEST.
The reason this poor jack@$$ sold the bike is because he screwed it up and was too embarrassed to return it back to stock. Ebay and Cycletrader are awash with such stories:
~Guy puts louder pipes on bike.
~Now believing himself to be an automotive engineer, guy puts on a K&N airbox and possible drills holes in his airbox ("to let her breath")
~The carefully-engineered exhaust and intake pressures now FUBARed, the owner now puts a jet kit in the carbs, taking the fuel economy from 50mpg down to about 30.
~Unable to regain that balance of carefully-engineered pressures, the owner sells his bike, claiming "I hopped up that 500, but ultimately just needed something with more power." (which is just a BS excuse.)
These ham-fisted clods who put pipes and jet kits on their bikes know a lot less about making an engine run properly than Mr. Kawasaki does.
Did the seller include the stock pipes? If so, I would put them back on.
Then I would take the bike to a dealership and ask them to restore the stock jetting.

The moral of this story is: If you want a more powerful bike, buy a more powerful bike; don't mutilate your ride..

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
-CCinC

 

lol chris, your pet peave has returned again I see (exhaust and mods).

Something is goofy. If set up correctly, you can ride summer and winter with it.

 

S'not my pet peeve as much as it is for the hapless b@$t@rds who buy these FUBARed bikes and then have to sort them out (without the advantage of knowing what changes the mechanical engineering prodigy made.)
-CCinC

 

im not a hapless b@$t@rd...... i want the stock exhaust... cuz when im driving around and wanna nail it i dont want the sound going "BWAHBWAHBWAHABWAHWBAHWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ". muzzy pipe shounds nice but i hate how loud it is... if anyone is looking to trade stock pipes for a 2-1muzzy lemme know.