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Mk I / Mk II
The Difference !

When I got my V4 I had no idea there was a Mk I / Mk II ,
From what I have managed to sort out the differences are as follows ..... (Thanks to Alex for the info)

If the VIN/Chassis/Frame Numbers start 47X then it is a Mk I,
If the VIN/Chassis/Frame Numbers start 1GE then it is a Mk II,

In the Motor there is a balance shaft running off the front crank shaft on the 47X model,
On the later 1GE (1985 onwards) machines this was changed to run off the rear shaft,
Also the 'timing' on the 1GE was altered in an attempt to reduce vibration.

Things you can see with the naked eye are ???
Top yolk on the two Mk's are different (See pictures below)

                       
Mk I (47X)                                                                                                 Mk II (1GE )

The ignition switch is protected on the Mk II

Also the top exhaust pipes stick out a little more on the MkII (See picture below)

SuperBike Dec 85

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Thanks to Wayne Thomas for this extra information !!

The 47X and the 1GE bikes do have different timing set ups on the balance shafts,
Also the ignition boxes have quite different curves in them , The 1GE advanced the ignition an extra 8 degrees and the curve does not fall off at 9000rpm as on the 47X, Wayne seems to think Yamaha made several production runs with the 500, so there seems to be a big overlap on interchangeable parts between 47X/1GE

These are some pictures of Waynes Beautiful Bike ( Check out those pipes )

As for the motor!!!!
Wayne knows someone that has done 40,000 miles and the motor is still going strong?

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If you know of any other differences please let me know
Also what miles you got from your 500 before it needed a motor rebuild!!

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