Motorcycle Fun

[CI]

At one time I worked for corporate, and it was an 8-5 job, so I had a good bit of free time for family, travel, fun, etc.
I always liked motorcycles, and so we had two Honda XR100's, an XR200, a Honda CB125, two Yamaha SR500's, most of these purchased used.

I was looking for an upgrade from the XR200, which is a really nice 4-stroke dirt bike based on the XR125 frame, so a relatively light 4-stroke bike.
I went to the Honda dealer with my dirt bike riding buddy, and was looking at a CR250.
There was a CR500 sitting nex to the 250.
My buddy said "Why don't you get the 500".
I said "I don't want a bike that is heavier than a CR250.
He said "The weigh the same", so I said "Well then, CR500 it is".

I pointed the bike out to the sales person, and they said "You don't want that bike; it is a MAN KILLER !".
I said "Yes, I want the man killer".
Back in 1997, they actually allowed people to test ride a CR500, after filling out some paperwork, and verifying sufficient experience.
I had trouble getting the bike moving without stalling the motor.
The power band is pretty much ON-OFF, with "ON" being 60 hp.
I finally made it down the parking lot, turned around, and came back, driving like the quintessential little-ole-lady, at about 10 mph.

It was a very tall bike, with 12" of wheel travel front and back, very thin profle, and had a very lightweight feel to it at 230 lbs.
it is a 2-stroke design, and creates a most impressive vibration with the trottle is blipped.
I knew I had a long learning curve ahead of me, but I had ridden dirt bikes for perhaps 20 years prior in some very rough enduro-type situations.

I think the sales person was just counting the days until he had to send flowers to some funeral home.
He was pretty sure I would not last a week.

I got the bike out on the trail, and starting learning how to ride it.
At first I tried to ride it around like an XR200, in a slow enduro fashion, and it did not do well at all when ridden like that.
Luckily I happened across someone who was riding an identical bike, and so I asked him "How does one go about riding this bike slowly".
He said without hesitation "Oh, you don't ride this bike slow......you gotta go.....".

So I tried "going", with a minimum speed of about 40 mph, and an upper speed of who knows what.
Low and behold, the bike came into its own, and what a magnificent ride it was.
I accidentally rode over a 12" tree that had fallen across the trail, and it was a mild bump that I hardly felt on the bike.

The CR is truly a magnificent ride, and a very impressive piece of engineering.
I rode it until about 2003, and then started my own business; so the CR went to the back of the shed, and has not been ridden since.

Today I figured it was now or never, and so I dug the CR out of the shed, cleaned it up, put fresh gas with 2-stroke oil in it, aired the tires, removed the disentigrated foam air cleaner, and put oil in the crankcase.
Using WD40 for starting fluid, I got it to fire briefly.
I drained the fuel tank and carburetor in 2003, so they were not gummed up, or at least they should not be gummed up much.

The compression is very good, and there is a bit of an art to starting a CR.
The trick is to wear a riding boot, keep the right knee locked, and follow all the way through on the kick, until the kickstart lever is all the way down.

After kicking for a while, my body rebelled, and so I will have to try again tomorrow.
I will go purchase some real starting fluid.

Robbie Knievel (Evel Knievel's son) rode a CR500, and made some impressive jumps with it.
I did not have time to learn jumps on the CR (yet), but perhaps one day I will try that on a small scale.

The power comes on so strong that generally I blip the throttle on and off, never leaving the throttle open more than a fraction of a second.
I tried holding the throttle open in a large field on time, and the bike will literally pull itself out from under the rider, regardless of how tight one is holding onto the handlebars and gripping the tank and seat with the legs.

These have become collectors items, and the prices has gone up a lot.
I recall paying something in the 5K range in 1997.
I have seen some high quality CR500's selling these days for anywhere from 10k to 20k.

My bike has very few hours on it, and very little wear and tear.
The tires are original, and still have plenty of tread.
A changed the flywheel to a heavier unit, but it had no effect at all on the engine power, so I will reinstall the original flywheel.
The engine power is bascally ON or OFF, like a Jato rocket.
My bike is otherwise 100% original and unmodified.

And to get an idea of what the CR500 will do, check out this person riding one.
The power of this engine is best described as explosive.

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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4U4HHp1AbCQ

Edit:
If you are a follower of the parody movie "Spaceballs", the villainous "Dark Helmet" declared "Go to LUDICROUS SPEED !!! ", and then everyone held on for dear life.
That is what the CR500 does; it goes from 0 to ludicrous speed in a few milliseconds, and you had best be leaning all the way down on top of the fuel tank, and have a death grip on the handlebars.
From a handling standpoint, the bike is extremely stable, and you can lock both wheels at 100 mph on a rough dirt trail with complete control and stability, and slide in a straight line to a halt very quickly.
The bike feels very light and nimble, and the suspension will absorb very rough terrain with no problems, while traveling at speed.


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[CI]

Photo of the CR500 new in 1997, and in the driveway this evening.
Luckily it stayed relatively clean in the elevated shed.

I added the bolt-on spark arrestor, since they are required when riding in local State Parks.

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[Admiral_dk]

Never tried the CR500 but I was a trip round the local MotoX track on a CR250 some 20-25 years ago, and I can honestly say that I was VERY impressed with how much bottom end Pull it had compared to the Racers of my youth.
I came into one corner in Fourth and forgot to go two down as I was so focused on hitting the right line through it .... and Immediately thought Sh!t - this is Not going to end well, when the Engine stalls (barely much over Idle) ....
I opened the Throttle anyway and it just pulled forward (Whew) and I just marvled how much modern Engineering (I rode in the Seventies) of Variable Exhaust Port Timing etc. had Improved the Two-Stroke Motors        

I'm a bit surprised that the CR500 don't have those qualities .... But the again - ALL 500cc MotoX bikes are BEASTS - no matter what brand.

Remember to keep the Ruberside Down         (I newer owned a Car - but have Motorcycles).

Per       

[gbritnell]

I grew up in the era of the Yamaha SC 500, the Kawasaki KDX 500, Suzuki RM 500 and the aforementioned Honda. At one time or another I rode all but the Suzuki.  I was mainly a woods and hare scrambles rider so those bikes were WAY TOO MUCH for me. Fun to play with out in the open. I'm 80 and still ride my Suzuki DRZ 400 on occasion. Just can't seem to get it out of my system.

[Art K]

I have to admit my first bike was a Kawasaki KH 400 triple. It had a wicked power band. A friend in high school also had a Kawasaki triple but he had the 750, still don't know how he managed not crashing it.
Art

[tghs]

started my riding at 18 with a Yamaha DT250, went to a Honda CB400F from there,, then I saw a BMW R90S,, a year later I had a BMW R100rs,, never looked back..

[CI]

The CR500 was basically a professional motocross racing bike that Honda decided to sell to the public.
It is really an all out racing machine, and the motor acts that way.
It is a lot of fun to ride at speed, but no good for slow enduro work.
I have always used great caution when riding it.
The tales of folks getting hurt when riding a CR are legendary.

I rode a Yamaha TT500 years ago, and for very rough, tight, and steep hilly terrain, it is pretty much unstoppable.
You could also use it to plow a field like a tractor.
The torque band on the TT is flat, and it really does not matter what gear you are in, if you want to go, just roll on a lot of throttle, and it will go.
I have an SR500, which is the street version of the TT, and they share the same engine, so I am familiar with how much torque it has.

The CR500 being a 2-stroke is very high strung.
I rode an earlier Yamaha 250 2-stroke, and it had a heavy flywheel and tons of low end torque.
The CR torque turns on like a light switch, but it has no torque at low speeds, since it is not designed to operate at low speeds.

I had a Yamaha XS650 twin 4-stroke for a short while, and it was a fast street bike with lots of torque, but heavy overall.
The XS650 seemed to me to be a Japanese knockoff of a Norton.

I rode my buddy's Husky 400 2-stroke, and it was a really nice bike with lots of torque across the powerband, and relatively good travel.
He always had mechanical issues with it, but it rode and handled very well.

I have not ridden a modern 4-stroke motocross or enduro bike, but I heard they are nice, with good torque.

My XR200 is a very comfortable lightweight bike to ride all day, but I tend to bottom its suspension, since it does not have enough travel.
Once you ride a bike with a good suspension, and 12" of travel front and back, it is hard to go back to less travel and smaller diameter front fork tubes.
I suppose one could fix the suspension on an XR200, and probably beef up the motor a bit, but it is hardly worth the money and effort, and it is not like I am racing the bike.

The 2-strokes are loud and have a lot of high frequency vibration, but are lighter bikes, with a much more simple engine design.
I prefer a 4-stroke for dirt riding, but I won't ride a 4-stroke dirt bike that weighs over 230 pounds.
I rode an XR400, and an XR650, and both are too heavy to ride at any decent speed on trails.

It is easier to wheelie a 4-stroke, and generally for a 500cc 4-stroke, I can wheelie while shifting through all five speeds.
I can't do that with a 2-stroke.

My brother-in-law had a Kawasaki triple 2-stroke 500cc street bike, and that bike was a screamer, and scary to ride.

I had a Honda 500cc 4-cylinder, 4-stroke street bike for a while, but hated it.
Everything I have now is one cylinder, with 500cc being the largest.
I would never own another bike that had more than one cylinder.

I like it when we have heavy snow here (which is rare).
I get out the dirt bikes and ride all over town without an license.
The police can do nothing since they cannot catch me in the snow, and I can ride anywhere, not just on the street.

People often ask me how I survive riding a CR500.
I was lucky in that I started with a Yamaha MX175 2-stroke, learned to do enduro on very steep terrain, and then rode a bunch of my buddy's 400cc 2-stroke and 4-stroke bikes.
By the time I got the CR, I had throttle control down to a science.
You basically blip the 1/4 turn throttle on the CR; you generally never just open the throttle and hold it open, at least not for more than a few milliseconds.

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[CI]

started my riding at 18 with a Yamaha DT250, went to a Honda CB400F from there,, then I saw a BMW R90S,, a year later I had a BMW R100rs,, never looked back..

I have dreamed of owning a beemer, and have never had the chance to ride one.
I probably won't own one at this point, but what a sweet bike.

.

[CI]

I have to admit my first bike was a Kawasaki KH 400 triple. It had a wicked power band. A friend in high school also had a Kawasaki triple but he had the 750, still don't know how he managed not crashing it.
Art

My brother-in-law had a Kawasaki 500 triple 2-stroke, and he never wrecked it, and was a good rider despite not having much experience.
I rode it a few times, and it was a screamer, and hard to hang onto.

I saw someone drop a triple 750 when he gave it too much gas, and that was a mess, but he was not hurt.

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[CI]

I grew up in the era of the Yamaha SC 500, the Kawasaki KDX 500, Suzuki RM 500 and the aforementioned Honda. At one time or another I rode all but the Suzuki.  I was mainly a woods and hare scrambles rider so those bikes were WAY TOO MUCH for me. Fun to play with out in the open. I'm 80 and still ride my Suzuki DRZ 400 on occasion. Just can't seem to get it out of my system.

Edit:
There were different bike followers, just like with cars, such as the Chevy vs Ford vs Hemi.
There was the Susuki, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki crowd.
The Husky's were very good enduro bikes, but not reliable.
For a while, the Maiko's were "THE" bike to have, but that suddenly changed when the quality went down.
I have only owned Honda and Yamaha, more or less by chance.
Once you get hooked on bikes, there is really no going back.

 
The first real motorcycle I rode was a Sears, probably 50cc 4-stroke.
My buddy found it in a ditch; someone had taken it apart and tossed it.
He put it back together (this was in perhaps 1970), and rode it all over town.
I saw my buddy a few days ago, and asked if he remembered that bike.
He said "I still have it".

After riding the Sears, I was hooked, and it was just a matter of time before I could save enough money to buy a used Yamaha MX175 2-stroke in about 1976.
I have been dirt riding ever since.
I have a few street bikes, but not licensed, and I ride them for fun off road (Yamaha SR500's).

I never rode in a motocross race, although I toyed around on a few tracks.
All my motocross buddies broke their shoulders, and so I avoiding getting into motocross.
I learned enduro on very steep and rugged terrain, and I still prefer that; expecially hill climbs.

There was a hill about 2 hours from my house that was 600 feet tall, and very steep.
A number of folks had died trying to climb it.
People would line up at the bottom, and go flying up at full speed, generally flying off into space towards the top.
I could make it up about 2/3 of the way on my MX175, but I always stopped soon enough to make a controlled 180 turn, and rode back down.

One guy pulled up in a pickup truck with some sort of large bore 4-stroke dirt bike, loaded backwards in the truck bed.
He did not have a ramp; he just started the bike and rode it off the tailgate.
There was a creek at the base of the hill, and one had to wheelie across the creek at speed, in order to get enough momentum.
He hit the creed doing perhaps 90 mph, doing a wheelie, zipped up 95% of the hill in a few seconds, turned almost perpendicular near the top, and chug chug chugged over the top.
He made it look easy, but he was the only one I saw that made it ever.

Below is a truly brutal hill climp video.
Painful to watch.
You could make a lot of money being in the motorcycle repair business during this event.
See 9:00 for the perfect way to climb the hill flawlessly.

The trick with hillclimb is to hit the bottom of the hill going as fast as a bike will go, letting the momentum carry you as far up as it will, and then shifting down and using very carefull throttle control and clutch slipping to finish the very steep part.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGDMX51AZIc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGDMX51AZIc</a>

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[CI]

I put some gorilla tape on my disentigrating motocross boot, along with some new dense foam padding, and was able to get the CR started.
What an absurd beast of a bike it is; I can't believe I use to ride that bike.

I rode to the end of the street and back.
It was dark, so I did not push my luck, since I need to check the tires and make sure they are still ok.
The neighbors were probably wondering what the heck the rocket was going down the street.

What an incredible amount of power that bike has, and the 1/4 turn throttle keeps you close to death's door at all times.
I was thinking the entire time "This is really insane".
Many folks online call the CR a "beast", and that name is well earned.
I will have to relearn how to not die when riding; I was struggling with how fast the power was coming on.

Visions of me appearing in the news tomorrow were flashing across my eyes.
Headlines:  Old fart splatters across the roadway in tragic ending on racing motorcycle.  His wife was last heard saying "Slow down, you are going way too fast ...........lookout........".
But I am alive; against the odds.
I never got out of third gear, and no telling how fast I was going.

I took a video, but it was dark, and so sound will be the only thing from that video probably.

Edit:
As luck would have it, my video camera turned off right before I started riding.
I wanted to capture the restart of the engine after 23 years, so I did get that.
It started and ran like a champ.
I will take another video tomorrow that has actual riding in it.

I probably need to find a helmet somewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xt58Lg0hWSY



Edit02:
I wiped a bit of the dirt off of it.
I never power wash my bikes, since it drives water into the bearings and fasteners, and causes all sorts of problems.
Its an all original 1997 model, except for an o-ring chain, and spark arrestor.
Original tires, plastic, stickers, seat, etc.
1997 seems like it was about three years ago; seriously.
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Edit 03:
The seat extends up onto the gas tank, since that is where you need to be sitting, and hanging your body over the front wheel, to keep from being flung off the back.

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[Admiral_dk]

You keep on complaining about the Throttle 

I had a GSX-R1100H (from 1994 to 2004) and (slightly over) Idle to Full Tilt forward was 10mm. ...    or approx. 40 degrees between stops ....
Equivalent to 40Km/h to 275Km/h (25-175 m/h) in fifth Gear in a few seconds ....
all while feeling like a pussycat - as she pulled strongly from 2500RPM to Redline @ 10500RPM.   The Tach first started from 3000RPM (Bottom stop).

I only ever encountered a single Two-Stroke (that wasn't a street legal 50cc, 1HP, Danish Moped) - that couldn't lift the front wheel on the Throttle alone - and that was a 100cc Yamaha Twin ....
I learned to Wheelie on 50cc MotoX Racers - they ALL easily could flip all the way over on the Throttle in first gear .... just a question of Technique ....

Per           

[AVTUR]

The last bike I bought, sold it earlier this year.

The only two stroke I have owned was a BSA D14/4 Bantam. What fun!

AVTUR

[uuu]

I never had a two stroke.  I sat on a Yamaha RD400 and blipped the throttle - and got frightened.  So I had a Honda CB400F instead.  I just passed the bug onto my son, who's never ridden anything smaller than a 500.

Wilf

[ozzie46]

 I found a basket case 83 hon da Goldwing GL1100 Interstate and restored it. Got it in Oct 24 had in running in  Feb 25 and fully restored by April.

After 40 yrs I am back in the saddle again, I'm79, Last bike I had was in 85.

Sorry about orientation of pics. Don't know how to correct it.