Who here had the pleasure of riding a 500 two-stroke?

Ramrod
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Ramrod
Edited Date/Time 12/21/2013 5:46pm
My brother and I had an 86 CR500 when I was about 18. What a beast! What a motor!!

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Tumblin
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Tumblin 11/14/2013 9:22pm
11/14/2013 9:22pm
490 Maico, 480 Honda....wussed out after those and picked up some additional speed dropping down to 250's. But yes, my buddy had that 86, piped it and cleaned up the ports.
Every bit a missile...I'd say more of a wrestled than guided model though.
Outsider
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Outsider 11/14/2013 9:28pm
11/14/2013 9:28pm
I rode a YZ490 once *shudder*... the owner was demonstrating the power near our camp in the desert and promptly smashed into my buddies truck when he couldn't stop.. huge dent!!

Laughing
Jack mehoff
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Jack mehoff 11/14/2013 9:36pm
11/14/2013 9:36pm
The best thing that ever happened to me racing was the 500 , it taught you how to be smooth , many rear fenders latter when I mastered that the race wins on the 125 just started coming , to bad it was 1990 and the open class was dying it was a split gate with the experts and the same 15 ams and 15 ex showing up every week . A AF conversion is the next bike in my garage .
JM485
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JM485 11/14/2013 10:00pm
11/14/2013 10:00pm
I still race a 2001 CR500! Since I am mainly a hillclimber, I race my CR in the 451-700cc pro and exhibition classes. These bikes are awesome for hillclimbing, they are fast enough to have good straight line speed, but nimble enough to take corners well if there is one in the racing line. Awesome bikes, especially with a flywheel weight.

The Shop

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40Plus_922mx
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40Plus_922mx 11/14/2013 10:48pm
11/14/2013 10:48pm
2001CR500. My brother in laws bike. Ocotillo Wells 2004. That bike just always seemed to be pissed off. Great machine.
Radical
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Radical 11/14/2013 11:04pm
11/14/2013 11:04pm
I rode an old KX500. I didn't like it. I like the feel of a 125 or 250. The 500 just wasn't nimble enough for my taste.
Hat's off though to those who can ride one to it's potential.

I'll stick to my YZ125!
segers
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segers 11/14/2013 11:23pm
11/14/2013 11:23pm
stil ride a 92 cr 500 weekly,they r bullet proof.
barkbustn33
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barkbustn33 11/14/2013 11:33pm
11/14/2013 11:33pm
Ive been riding with a guy my whole life that rides AA harescrambles. Hes had a hip replacement and races his 250f on a regular basis. He likes to jump on his CR500 and blow by us. Just to let us young guys know he still has it!!
JBernard_401
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JBernard_401 11/15/2013 12:02am
11/15/2013 12:02am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 12:03am



soooooon. Cool
DL
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DL 11/15/2013 12:13am
11/15/2013 12:13am
I had a 85, 87, and 89 CR500. I started riding 4-stokes in 87 and when I sold the 89 CR500 I continued riding 4-stokes.
scott_nz 11/15/2013 12:31am
11/15/2013 12:31am
have owned a 2000 and 2002 KX500, raced a 2004 model a couple of months ago,
BobPA
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BobPA 11/15/2013 12:43am
11/15/2013 12:43am
Rode a 98 and 01 Honda, and a 93 Kawi. They are fun for a novelty item, fairly useless on a track except for starts. They are a blast on coal hills though.
Bluelion
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Bluelion 11/15/2013 2:56am
11/15/2013 2:56am
I have been racing and riding since 1977. I have rode about every type of open class bike including the scary TM400!!! OMG what a scary deathtrap!!!!
fullfloater 11/15/2013 3:09am
11/15/2013 3:09am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 3:13am
I raced an 89 ktm500 and loved it. I sucked at starts until I started holeshoting on that thing. 3rd gear starts and you could ride some tracks in 3rd the whole race. Not one shift for a whole moto. You really had to lean forward when you hit the throttle though. I mis-shifted out of a corner once on a sandy track and went over the bars b/c I was too far forward. lol
blusmbl
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blusmbl 11/15/2013 3:32am
11/15/2013 3:32am
Ridden a friend's modded '87 CR500 a bunch and I owned an 01 for several years with mild porting/pipe/etc.

I liked it, but it definitely wasn't a nimble machine. Fun for ice racing and at the dunes, but on a track or trail riding I preferred either my smaller bikes or my current 450X because it's so much easier to manage the throttle.
motogrady
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motogrady 11/15/2013 3:42am
11/15/2013 3:42am
Top 10 in Dist 7 40plus, back in '96, on a YZ465.

Rode it for 2 years, rode the piss out of it, I think I put one set of rings in it.........
JoJmoto
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JoJmoto 11/15/2013 3:51am
11/15/2013 3:51am
Man, I am quite sorry to say I have never had the chance. I have rode a yz490 but it was old and ragged even back then...

I have also rode an ATK406... My bike was down and I rode a FTR race and was loaned that bike. Little over an hour later, I finished the race and had to have my hands pealed from the grips! Ouch!
Vecchia Scuola 11/15/2013 4:53am
11/15/2013 4:53am
Some times i borrow a '98 one from a dear friend of mine who works too much to ride it so...I have to do the dirty job!Sideways
It flys!
It's a great bike,wonderful torque if you think it has no power valve!
A bit too thick beetween the legs I have to say..
Can't wait 4 the next sessions..

Pit Row

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ga_pike
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ga_pike 11/15/2013 4:54am
11/15/2013 4:54am
When I was 13 and on 80's, I used to hop on a guys XR600 and "rip." That was one of the most interesting bikes to ride because it was my first experience with compression braking and plain out raw power. I also took a few laps on another guys KTM 500.

UIf I could find a late 80's XR 600, I'd think real hard about picking it up. Bulletproof and about as much fun as you could ask for!
DoctorJD
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DoctorJD 11/15/2013 5:13am
11/15/2013 5:13am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 5:14am
Back in the late 70's early 80's, I had a racing buddy who raced the open class (big dude). He started out on YZ400's and eventually got a YZ465. We trained together, so invariably, I'd end up taking his bike out for a lap, or two. It usually only took one lap for me to get my fill of that 465. I weighed all of 145lbs back then, so I had the power-to-weight ratio of a Formula-1. It scared the sh*t out of me, I can't imagine racing one of those beasts.
Spartacus
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Spartacus 11/15/2013 5:22am
11/15/2013 5:22am
Several CR500's, one CR500/2004 CRF conversion and currently a CR500 to 2004 CR250r conversion in the works.
MPM64
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MPM64 11/15/2013 5:26am
11/15/2013 5:26am
I rode some 500 Nationals in '86 and '87. The AMA used to split the season with half the season on 250's and the other half on 500's.

I loved riding 500's but I never got slammed on one either. You could jump anything on them with little or no run at all. So much HP. Pretty lucky I guess as I think I only weighed about 140 lbs at the time.

The more guys you talk to will all tell you that it's not a matter of "IF" you are going to get rocked it's a matter of "WHEN". Glad I survived.




Fraser
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Fraser 11/15/2013 5:33am
11/15/2013 5:33am
Mid Eighties I raced a Cagiva 500 wmx (total beast for a teenager) and a Suzuki rm 500/250 which was a lot more civilised

hybrid

yota
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yota 11/15/2013 5:34am
11/15/2013 5:34am
BobPA wrote:
Rode a 98 and 01 Honda, and a 93 Kawi. They are fun for a novelty item, fairly useless on a track except for starts. They...
Rode a 98 and 01 Honda, and a 93 Kawi. They are fun for a novelty item, fairly useless on a track except for starts. They are a blast on coal hills though.
some people just don't get it. they were designed to be on a track with other 500's. It was racing 500 vs 500. it was about controlling the beast. it wasn't about if a 250 had a faster lap time than a 500, it was about who could ride a 500 fastest.

I'm sure you would be considered useless on a track if you were old and had no tech upgrades for 20 years.
burn1986
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burn1986 11/15/2013 5:53am
11/15/2013 5:53am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 6:15am
I have. Several. 82 RM465, 84 YZ490, 87 & 94 CR500. Make sure your brakes are working good. My 88 KX250 ran and felt like a 500.
Jimfunn
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Jimfunn 11/15/2013 5:57am
11/15/2013 5:57am
Rode a KX500 with a motor that had been used for sidecar cross! Was a 560, PC pipe, boysen reed valve (I think) and some port work.
did about 10mins at a practice track and also rode in on the road with a trials tyre on the back. Thing was lethal....so no, I have not had the "pleasure" of riding a 500! I have had the horror of riding one
Arkmx
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Arkmx 11/15/2013 6:22am
11/15/2013 6:22am
.

Here are a few of mine from the early 80's....














.
Ramrod
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Ramrod 11/15/2013 6:45am
11/15/2013 6:45am
I saw some vintage guys racing awhile back and one guy had an RM500 and it was in perfect condition. This bike sounded amazing.

As a fan of mx my only regret is not being able to see a 500 national race with riders that could tame the beast and ride it to potential. Ward, Stanton, Bayle, Johnson, Bailey, Glover would have been great to watch. I always thought it was cool that Emig that one year at the des nations volunteered to race one and did well. He was past the time when they still raced them here.
wardy
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wardy 11/15/2013 6:49am
11/15/2013 6:49am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 6:51am
"had"????

I still race my Service Honda A/F 500. Just put it's 4th season behind it with only replacing the clutch fibers twice. 4 seasons on the top end.

mostly HS racing and Gp's. with a sprinkle of MX .

Why did the OEM's stop making and producing them, simple they are bullet proof and last a very long time. Can't sell parts and make money on that process.
Socket946
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Socket946 11/15/2013 6:52am
11/15/2013 6:52am
Dad has a mint '01 CR500R that I spent a week overhauling.

I have ridden it twice...and never on a MX track.

I need to throw a tire on it, and take it to the local track, and see how it goes.

It does run like it's pissed off, all of the time.

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