KX500

Introduced for the 1983 model year, this nameplate became Kawasaki’s flagship big-bore motocross two-stroke and remained part of the brand’s off-road lineup through the early 2000s. It arrived during the era when 500cc two-strokes were the top class in motocross and quickly earned a reputation for intense power delivery, long-travel dirt-track capability, and strong desert-racing appeal. Over time, the machine went through a series of incremental updates rather than constant reinvention, with the most notable early milestone being the shift to a more modern liquid-cooled design and the later adoption of Kawasaki’s power-valve technology in the mid-1980s. Through the 1990s, it stayed visually and mechanically recognizable, which helped give it a long-lived, old-school character that enthusiasts still associate with the classic big-bore two-stroke era. Production ended after the 2004 model year, making that final version the last factory-built example of Kawasaki’s legendary 500cc motocross line.