Actually it's a pretty effective permanent fix. And another thing, those cush-drive rubbers leave a lot of play EVEN WHEN NEW. On my first bike, I used the standard metric (skinny tires) inner tube (700x23) on every other finger, but those go on pretty tight. The wider 700x35 slide on like they were made for it and work like a champ.
I've heard of track guys using anything to shim those rubbers, even cut-up aluminum beer cans.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Peace!
-CCinC

 

Okay fill me in on the benifits of having tight cushs, (no pun intended)!

 

^tight cushes. lol
Less on/off throttle jerkduringtransitions. almost reminds you of a chain that is developing a tight spot. The rubber degrades and shrinks/cracks. Causing more slop.

edit: You get the feel for it now? hehe

 

So what is a good way to prevent this shrinking/cracking in the first place? or is it inevitable wear that just has th be dealt with?

 

In my experience, it's not even a matter of them thinning or cracking. They were too thin when I first got the bike and they were STILL too thin when I ordered and installed brand-new OEM replacements. Still had a little more than an inch of play between the sprocket assembly and wheel. They're solid rubber and after more than 50,000 miles on both my ZX9R and W650, I still have no shrinking, cracking or play in either of those bikes, so I can't imagine the 500 with the smaller engine will cause them to age any more quickly.
To see if you've got excess play, grab your rear sprocket with both hands like a steering wheel (use a rag so you don't get chainlube stains on your hand); attempt to rotate the sprocket back and forth (parallel with the rear wheel.)
Those rubber cushions are there to reduce the beating on the chain, sprockets and tires when you make a clunky shift. But having too much play make it difficult (IMO!) to shift smoothly. It feels as though there is too much slack in the chain, even when there is none.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Peace!
-CCinC

 

Let me see if I've got this technique down:
1. Purchase bicycle inner tube
2. Cut long enough to fit over the "teeth" ,for lack of a better term ,of the cush drive
3. Slip over every other one
Done.
Do you think this would require the wheel/tire to be balanced again?

 

I've never bothered to rebalance the wheel/tire afterward. We're talking about maybe 4 or 5 evenly-spaced* grams added to the centrally-located hub/sprocket assembly. If you get your wheel spun after doing this and it requires rebalancing, I'd be astounded.
-CCinC
*Assuming you cut the inner tube pieces into equivalent lengths.

 

Hey I figured I'd ask this here. What are those tubes on the bottom of the 500R for? The ones that don't connect to anything. I see 3 of them total. THey are bottom middle'ish, one on the left side, one on the right and one right in the middle.

 

My guess from your description is:
One tube is the battery vent.
One tube is the carb vent.
One tube is gas tank overflow.
PQ

 

[sm=exactly.gif]^^^^^^^^