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Took my 97 and put it in my old race bike 09 crf450 don't get to race anymore due to working every weekend but I ride once a week and I go just as fast on the 500 as i did on the 450
I had never ridden my "94" CR500R like that!
Then again, I never had ever ridden any bike like that before.
Thing kinda sounded like a 125, he sure rode like it was.
Incredible!
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The last generation KX500 and CR500 are what most people are familiar with. I owned several of both (and still have a 97 KX500 with about 30 hours on it, original (ugly) tank graphics still in place) so maybe I can share some experiences that will help.
The CR engine lacked an exhaust valve, so in stock form it didn't have as broad and smooth a powerband as the KX did/does. Honda put a large "boomerang" silencer on it that detuned it and took a lot of the bite out of the power. When I replaced that silencer on my 93 with a PC straight design, it picked up a large surge in the power curve that made it difficult to ride. Nothing like having a five-honey come on the pipe!
A friend of mine had the same bike and raced Open A MX and ISDE qualifiers on it. He had it ported (wish I could remember who did it), installed a RAD valve and a heavy FWW. It was night and day different. The power was the most linear 2-stroke power I've ever ridden on a bike without an exhaust valve (and maybe any 2-stroke for that matter). Very controllable.
Both of ours could be jetted to where the muffler was grey and dry - no drips, no spooge. Very clean and dry.
The KX needed a fix before you did anything else so you could get it to run right. They need to have the squish recut in the head so it will run cleanly. Stock, it blubbers like it's rich but won't clean up with jetting changes.
On my last one I had the head cut, cylinder ported (for linear power delivery, not more power), installed a RAD valve, a PC desert pipe (spreads it out and meters the power) and a FWW the size of a manhole lid. This made it very smooth and manageable - but don't let that sound like "slow". It still has enough boost to give you religion, it's just easier to keep hooked up.
Starting - I've been starting open class bikes since I was sub-100 pounds. It's technique, NOT brute force.
Vibration - Buzzier than what the current generation is used to? Definitely, but civil compared to their predecessors. The last KXs and CRs were glass smooth compared to some of the old air-cooled YZ and Husky bikes. On some of those the bars felt like they were 5" in diameter and were filling your hands and forearms with Novocaine.
Riding style - The trick was to short shift and run them in the lower rev range. This minimized wheelspin, vibration and gyro forces. Just like a 125 is different from a 250, a 500 requires a style that makes it most effective for most people. Respect it and live - don't and suffer the consequences.
They may not be the fastest way around a modern, SX influenced MX track, but if they're raced against other Open class smokers all that will matter is the rider and the fun factor.
I could tell he was an expert class rider as soon as he got moving - wasn't afraid to huck that beast over the jumps.
Could also hear that familiar brake squeal in the background!
On the flipside, I read that David Bailey used to practice on a 125 to help keep the aggression up for the 500.
I agree with the starting technique, you have to be right at the top of the compression, with very little "gap" and a full swift kick.
Pit Row
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