1989 CR500 project

Is that frame chrome plated?

I have always wanted to chrome plate one of my steel framed bikes and add some custom pin striping. Cool build.

Jealous!!!

Did you look online or called dealerships for the right engine case? Because I know a month ago or so it was available but people told me it’s not available anymore.
So if I was you I would try to call a bunch of places to make Sure you can get one before it’s all gone.

I would see if you can find a frame on ebay....save them don't crush them...save the 2 strokes!!!

If possible, source another frame. Prices are outrageous for 500’s. If all you need is a frame to move forward, I’d keep it.
I sold a 92 awhile back and, regret it everyday.

As Chance suggested prices on 500s have gone up more than the other displacements.
A frame wouldn’t be that hard to find. Facebook CR owner pages would give you a great resource.
That bike with a mid or higher restore will fetch over $5000 once done.
Check out Aaron’s build on the Doug Henry tribute. He has some incredible skill with Tig. Buy a raffle ticket from him and see if he or could that damage be fixed.

Millennium is your friend. If the cylinder is in bad shape they can often repair it and, match a piston. I had some minor scratches in my cylinder and it was repaired and sent back with a matched piston. They’ll service and clean the power valve as well for $80 if I recall correctly. Also, I believe they can plate a steel cylinder with Nikasil if that’s something that may interest you. 👍

Nice!! Good looking walls there....

Have a spare piston ...i can let go cheaper

Step one...

Just a tip to try to minimize the habitual cracking of the Intake side of the CR500 pistons:

Radius the edge of the barrel on the intake - more so than any you might do on other ports, say, after a re-bore. It's an iron liner, so nothing to chip off. A sharp edge to the port tends to 'gouge' the piston.

Then, radius the piston skirt on the intake side . Basically, take any sharp edge off the skirt. I, in fact, do that to the entirety of the skirt edges. I'm only talking about the lightest of 'de-edging', not a dirty great big bit of radiusing. I also do the same with the inside edge of the piston skirts if they are sharp. Some pistons have Very sharp edges that really assist the propagation of cracks.

That big Bucket of a piston, does rock about, especially after a bit of use. So, sharp edges and 'skirt slap', really does put a lot of stress into the intake side of the piston skirt.

My CRE500 has done Road Bike type mileage and (but, on the dirt) over the now 19 years I've had it, and, after 5 or 6 std pistons, I've done 1 re-bore only, to a .5mm OS piston (I was not happy , it was a bit sketchy to try a OEM .25 piston - How dare it wear that much!......... ). The first 2 pistons, came out with the typical (for a CR500) two cracks on the piston skirt. After doing this de-burring/ radiusing, the next 4 pistons came out with No cracks, after many, many hours - I'm talking about a couple of hundred, at the very least.

Now, most of my riding is tight single track, so I'm not hammering the bike like some "Loon in the Dunes", but, by the same token, it has run very, Very hot, for much of it's life, until I fitted fans to it.

So, as I said, it's just a tip - a broken skirt can really ruin you day (it must have ruined the previous owners day, with those pictures of yours) , and that wonderful, primitive, Big Teddy Bear of an engine.

I am looking into a soda blaster for carbs and cleanup of parts...you may eyeball a small blaster for clean up...

This should help you. I used it on my 250. http://www.oem-cycle.com/HONDACR500BIKEID.shtml