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

mx466
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mx466 11/15/2013 7:08am
11/15/2013 7:08am
when I was 15 this guy let me ride his 02 kx500 that was supposedly bored out to a 550 or something rediculous like that. It was terrifying I never made it out of second gear. It was a nice bike though, all the aftermarket parts imaginable on it lol.
P-Nut
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P-Nut 11/15/2013 7:13am
11/15/2013 7:13am
Back in the '80s, I had the pleasure of throwing my leg over a friends
'87 CR500....absolute blast for a 15 year old... I still smile when I think
about that machine.

Also got to ride a YZ490.....air-cooled beast
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 11/15/2013 7:15am
11/15/2013 7:15am
88 CR500
MiSledder
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MiSledder 11/15/2013 7:36am
11/15/2013 7:36am
Ive had two, An 89 CR500 and an 90 KX500, The KX I used for woods riding for awhile then tried to use it for a sand drag bike, extended swingarm, motor work, etc. tranny would never hold up, The CR I MX'ed and was bullet proof and alot of fun, took alot more out of you to ride it then a 125 or 250





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dirtbikemike 11/15/2013 7:38am
11/15/2013 7:38am
Well, yes I have.







FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 11/15/2013 7:46am
11/15/2013 7:46am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 9:10am
It's interesting to hear people's perspective if they only had the chance to ride a buddies rather than having owned one and figured out how they work. Guys can tend to try to ride them like a 250 they are used to, which brings out the worst and beats you to death. They are pretty controllable experience if you get up a gear or two higher than your 250 instincts tell you and stay there, rolling on the throttle. It's not a brute power experience, it's a finesse experience. That's a bit of what was fun about watching smart fast guys race them.

(Since there are few mentioned sub-500 open class bikes showing up, I'll note my 73 Maico 400 and 77 Husky 390 as well. but they were not very like the full 500's IMO).
ridge
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ridge 11/15/2013 7:49am
11/15/2013 7:49am
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.
yota wrote:
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...
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.
Tracks were different back then and they weren't trying to be outdoor supercrosses. 500's were so much fun to ride on a fast, hilly track.

I need to download more pics....


BobPA
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BobPA 11/15/2013 8:07am
11/15/2013 8:07am
yota wrote:
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...
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.
I guess I'm just from a different era, I've always had more fun (and was much faster) dancing on the rev limiter rather than tip toeing around trying to find traction on one of those behemoths.

I first rode those bikes around 2003, I know they were a bit dated then. But they still felt like I was on something from a different time in Moto. Big hp does not automatically make something epic and awesome.
Jack mehoff
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Jack mehoff 11/15/2013 8:09am
11/15/2013 8:09am
JoJmoto wrote:
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...
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!
I also had that atk 406 it was like riding a cheater bike 250 frame real smooth power , but when you stalled it race over the kick starter was on the wrong side and kicked the wrong way
Ramrod
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Ramrod 11/15/2013 8:12am
11/15/2013 8:12am
P-Nut wrote:
Back in the '80s, I had the pleasure of throwing my leg over a friends '87 CR500....absolute blast for a 15 year old... I still smile...
Back in the '80s, I had the pleasure of throwing my leg over a friends
'87 CR500....absolute blast for a 15 year old... I still smile when I think
about that machine.

Also got to ride a YZ490.....air-cooled beast
15 years old on a 500 haha, bet it made your eyes water on acceleration.

I just remembered I tried an 88' CR500 also. Bike was wwaaayyyy thinner, lighter and better handling than the 86' we had.

We were such rookies at mx when we got our 500 that we were scared shitless to start it. I once bumpstarted my brother on the street in front of our house and it lit up and he looped it out and cartwheeled haha ... wish I had video of that.

After that I learned to tame the beast and be a man. That bike taught me more about life than any of my other bikes.
Fiberglassflyer 11/15/2013 8:14am
11/15/2013 8:14am
76 CZ 400 Falta Replica, 78 Husky 390 CR, 78 Maico Magnum 400, 2001 KTM 380 MXC.
ridge
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ridge 11/15/2013 8:28am
11/15/2013 8:28am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 8:29am
BobPA wrote:
I guess I'm just from a different era, I've always had more fun (and was much faster) dancing on the rev limiter rather than tip toeing...
I guess I'm just from a different era, I've always had more fun (and was much faster) dancing on the rev limiter rather than tip toeing around trying to find traction on one of those behemoths.

I first rode those bikes around 2003, I know they were a bit dated then. But they still felt like I was on something from a different time in Moto. Big hp does not automatically make something epic and awesome.
The 500's were basically 1989 technology (at least for the KX)...so even in 2003, the bike was around 24 years old. But back in the early 90's, they were still comparable to the smaller two strokes. The power delivery, once you learned how to ride them, wasn't much different than today's 4 stroke 450, but a little harder to control.

I still think they had more power than the 450. And, you didn't always have to finesse the throttle. When traction was there, you could let the big dog eat and you better be hanging on.
BobPA
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BobPA 11/15/2013 8:35am
11/15/2013 8:35am
ridge wrote:
The 500's were basically 1989 technology (at least for the KX)...so even in 2003, the bike was around 24 years old. But back in the early...
The 500's were basically 1989 technology (at least for the KX)...so even in 2003, the bike was around 24 years old. But back in the early 90's, they were still comparable to the smaller two strokes. The power delivery, once you learned how to ride them, wasn't much different than today's 4 stroke 450, but a little harder to control.

I still think they had more power than the 450. And, you didn't always have to finesse the throttle. When traction was there, you could let the big dog eat and you better be hanging on.
2003-1989 = 14 haha

But I understand what you are saying. I rode a Honda at Broome-Tioga a few times and it was an absolute blast motoring up those hills...getting her slowed down is a whole different story.
segers
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segers 11/15/2013 8:43am
11/15/2013 8:43am
mx466 wrote:
when I was 15 this guy let me ride his 02 kx500 that was supposedly bored out to a 550 or something rediculous like that. It...
when I was 15 this guy let me ride his 02 kx500 that was supposedly bored out to a 550 or something rediculous like that. It was terrifying I never made it out of second gear. It was a nice bike though, all the aftermarket parts imaginable on it lol.
What the hell where u doing in 2nd gear anyways Laughing Tongue
ridge
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ridge 11/15/2013 8:44am
11/15/2013 8:44am
ridge wrote:
The 500's were basically 1989 technology (at least for the KX)...so even in 2003, the bike was around 24 years old. But back in the early...
The 500's were basically 1989 technology (at least for the KX)...so even in 2003, the bike was around 24 years old. But back in the early 90's, they were still comparable to the smaller two strokes. The power delivery, once you learned how to ride them, wasn't much different than today's 4 stroke 450, but a little harder to control.

I still think they had more power than the 450. And, you didn't always have to finesse the throttle. When traction was there, you could let the big dog eat and you better be hanging on.
BobPA wrote:
2003-1989 = 14 haha But I understand what you are saying. I rode a Honda at Broome-Tioga a few times and it was an absolute blast...
2003-1989 = 14 haha

But I understand what you are saying. I rode a Honda at Broome-Tioga a few times and it was an absolute blast motoring up those hills...getting her slowed down is a whole different story.
Hahahaha...yeah. My math suffers at times...especially early in the morning!
davistld01
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davistld01 11/15/2013 9:00am
11/15/2013 9:00am
Had the opportunity to race a full-Wheelsmith Maico 490 & a 501 too a few races back in the day. The bikes kinda scared me because of the power (I was racing 125's at the time), but once I got used to lugging and not revving...they were great. Biggest difference was how tired I was after riding them.

I also tried (key word..."tried") to race a bone-stock Suzuki TM400 Cyclone at a local race. After a lap and a half of it totally freaking me out, I parked it. I've seen lots of guys who could really race that bike, but it was too gnarly for me.
nytsmaC
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nytsmaC 11/15/2013 9:06am
11/15/2013 9:06am
After outgrowing 80s at the age of 13 I couldn't afford a big bike and took a couple years off, focusing on mountain biking. When I was 15 I got a great deal on a low hour 94 KX500 and got back into moto. It was a great bike but the wrong choice for a 15 year old novice! I raced it for 4 years and never really developed the aggression that you get from riding smallbores. I tried to ride it on the pipe for the first few years, I'd holeshot almost every race, lead for a very short while and drop anchor because the bike was riding me and I was in survival mode. They do force you to develop a smooth riding style and conserve energy. I catapulted myself into the ground countless times on that bike but still have tons of fond memories. It didn't help that I was clueless about bike setup, I couldn't afford to keep the tires fresh and the thing handled like shit unless you were going in a straight line, then it was brilliant.

Every now and then I get nostalgic and want to get another one, I wonder how much better it would be the second time around with a proper setup and having spent the last 13 years on 250s and 125s, but I talk myself out of it pretty quickly. I remember riding my buddy's 125 after being on the 500 for a few years and it was like the clouds parted and heaven shined down, discovering how a MX bike is supposed to be.
Ramrod
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Ramrod 11/15/2013 9:39am
11/15/2013 9:39am
The 500 was the only bike that you could moto down on then hook on the track disc and prep the track.

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Wandell
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Wandell 11/15/2013 9:54am
11/15/2013 9:54am
FreshTopEnd wrote:
It's interesting to hear people's perspective if they only had the chance to ride a buddies rather than having owned one and figured out how they...
It's interesting to hear people's perspective if they only had the chance to ride a buddies rather than having owned one and figured out how they work. Guys can tend to try to ride them like a 250 they are used to, which brings out the worst and beats you to death. They are pretty controllable experience if you get up a gear or two higher than your 250 instincts tell you and stay there, rolling on the throttle. It's not a brute power experience, it's a finesse experience. That's a bit of what was fun about watching smart fast guys race them.

(Since there are few mentioned sub-500 open class bikes showing up, I'll note my 73 Maico 400 and 77 Husky 390 as well. but they were not very like the full 500's IMO).
I agree. I had a RM250 and had a couple friends with CR480's (an 82 and an 83). I enjoyed riding them. You could just stick them in third gear and ride the entire track we practiced on. Definitely taught you throttle control!
dlhamblin
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dlhamblin 11/15/2013 10:07am
11/15/2013 10:07am
1983 KX500. At the time I didn't realize how bad it was, but still had fun on it.
TomZ
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TomZ 11/15/2013 10:07am
11/15/2013 10:07am
FreshTopEnd wrote:
It's interesting to hear people's perspective if they only had the chance to ride a buddies rather than having owned one and figured out how they...
It's interesting to hear people's perspective if they only had the chance to ride a buddies rather than having owned one and figured out how they work. Guys can tend to try to ride them like a 250 they are used to, which brings out the worst and beats you to death. They are pretty controllable experience if you get up a gear or two higher than your 250 instincts tell you and stay there, rolling on the throttle. It's not a brute power experience, it's a finesse experience. That's a bit of what was fun about watching smart fast guys race them.

(Since there are few mentioned sub-500 open class bikes showing up, I'll note my 73 Maico 400 and 77 Husky 390 as well. but they were not very like the full 500's IMO).
FTE - Great description of the experience and technique needed to ride the 500. They are powerful to be sure but not the uncontrollable beasts that some make them out to be. I trail rode and raced my CR500 AF for many years. I sometimes miss it now.
Some great memories associated with that bike.
Fraser
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Fraser 11/15/2013 10:15am
11/15/2013 10:15am
Well unlike some of you I never really enjoyed riding the Cagiva 500. True I was only a lightweight teenager and it was a big old bike, but it was fierce. The engine was so powerful it would loop out in any gear if you gave it slightly too much throttle. Kick starting it also took a huge amount of brute force, and if you lacked body weight that meant leaping as high in the air as possible and hoping you connected properly. As well as this it had really wimpy forks that were always too soft and flexed about all over the place. Corners were never its strong point!
Shiftfaced
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Shiftfaced 11/15/2013 10:40am
11/15/2013 10:40am
FreshTopEnd wrote:
It's interesting to hear people's perspective if they only had the chance to ride a buddies rather than having owned one and figured out how they...
It's interesting to hear people's perspective if they only had the chance to ride a buddies rather than having owned one and figured out how they work. Guys can tend to try to ride them like a 250 they are used to, which brings out the worst and beats you to death. They are pretty controllable experience if you get up a gear or two higher than your 250 instincts tell you and stay there, rolling on the throttle. It's not a brute power experience, it's a finesse experience. That's a bit of what was fun about watching smart fast guys race them.

(Since there are few mentioned sub-500 open class bikes showing up, I'll note my 73 Maico 400 and 77 Husky 390 as well. but they were not very like the full 500's IMO).
I think you are hitting the nail on the head, FTE.

I had a 2002 KX500 for desert racing, and I was never really overwhelmed by the power. What surprised me was the torque that it produced, and how controllable it really was.

People talk like they were an atom bomb or something, but that simply was not the case.

And yes, I was WAY FASTER on my 4 stroke. I sold the KX because I wanted to be competitive, not nostalgic.
The Rock
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The Rock 11/15/2013 10:42am
11/15/2013 10:42am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 10:43am
Raced a 88 CR500 Honda from 88 through 94. Lots of fun but the times where I broke my right knee, then later tib fib, then fractured pelvis then three ribs, collarbone and partially collapsed left lung.........not as much fun.

Still I will take the memories of starting in third gear and wheelying all the way to the first turn at Carlsbad with me to the grave.........along with arthritis from these injuries. LOL

Shitfaced-You can't compare racing desert on a 500 IMHO to the point and shoot style of MX on a 500.
daveoevo
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daveoevo 11/15/2013 10:48am
11/15/2013 10:48am
My dad built this 87 kx 500 a couple of years ago for the vets gp at Farliegh and I love it.
Race it at modern meetings as well where the only major problem is kids trying to take you out in the corners because a fat bloke on a old bike has just blasted by them with a big grin.Woohoo Woohoo
chase383
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chase383 11/15/2013 11:00am
11/15/2013 11:00am
Picked up a 91 CR500 in the spring... Love it...
Bigfoot
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Bigfoot 11/15/2013 11:41am
11/15/2013 11:41am Edited Date/Time 11/15/2013 11:48am


440 Maico back in the day. More recently a '90 CR500 with a big ol' Moose flywheel that lets it chug like a 4T. Lug it and ride it a gear or two higher than you'd think...heck, stick it in third and just forget about shifting altogether!
ridge
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ridge 11/15/2013 11:43am
11/15/2013 11:43am
The Rock wrote:
Raced a 88 CR500 Honda from 88 through 94. Lots of fun but the times where I broke my right knee, then later tib fib, then...
Raced a 88 CR500 Honda from 88 through 94. Lots of fun but the times where I broke my right knee, then later tib fib, then fractured pelvis then three ribs, collarbone and partially collapsed left lung.........not as much fun.

Still I will take the memories of starting in third gear and wheelying all the way to the first turn at Carlsbad with me to the grave.........along with arthritis from these injuries. LOL

Shitfaced-You can't compare racing desert on a 500 IMHO to the point and shoot style of MX on a 500.
I have the same Carlsbad memories! The front wheel about 3-6 inches off the ground the whole time...the sound...the occasional missing knobs from catching the gate just right!

What years did you race there and (about) how old are you?
The Rock
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The Rock 11/15/2013 12:04pm
11/15/2013 12:04pm
First time at Carlsbad was December 87 on my 79 450 Wheelsmith Maico then March of 88 showed up on my brand new PC tweaked (motor and suspension) 88 CR500. Raced with them through October of 94 when I snapped my tib fib (on the same Carlsbad jump that Malherbe broke his femur on) and missed all of 95. Started back racing in 96 on a 95 HoT CR250.

I was so bummed when REM moved their operation to GH but after racing on the back track now known as the REM track I now love the REM track at Glen Helen. Comparing the drive to the IE versus going south along the coast to Carlsbad however there is no comparison but nothing lasts forever. Speaking of, I turned 57 this past July.
LappedU
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LappedU 11/15/2013 12:33pm
11/15/2013 12:33pm
Shane Trittlers dad had me ride his YZ490 one day when I was bragging about my R&D RM 80 how fast it was, I remember him yelling at me telling me to shift, shift! I got back and told him it didn't have any top end!

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