Honda CR 500

Beeler341
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Beeler341
Edited Date/Time 11/22/2012 9:10am
I am looking for some ideas on a 89 CR 500. I am going to completely go through the bike and redo everything. Maybe an aluminum frame? Or keep it all original. Give me some feed back. Pictures would be nice to. Thanks all
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Craze
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Craze 10/5/2011 8:13pm
10/5/2011 8:13pm
Beeler341 wrote:
I am looking for some ideas on a 89 CR 500. I am going to completely go through the bike and redo everything. Maybe an aluminum...
I am looking for some ideas on a 89 CR 500. I am going to completely go through the bike and redo everything. Maybe an aluminum frame? Or keep it all original. Give me some feed back. Pictures would be nice to. Thanks all
Get 91 or 92 forks.....That's it

The Shop

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MCfan4life
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MCfan4life 10/5/2011 9:58pm
10/5/2011 9:58pm
Check the Old School section of the forum. Plenty of info in there Wink
-eagle-
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-eagle- 10/6/2011 6:52am
10/6/2011 6:52am
Depends on what direction you want to go.
Are you wanting a modern age novelty bike or a restored classic?
I personally like em traditional.

Also depends on what kind of base you have to start with.
If its haggard its going to be much cheaper and way less hassle to freshen up the motor and thrown it in a new four stroke corpse.

Salvaging a 15-20 year old hilljack hand me down is a nightmare.
Trust me, I'm about 1.5 years and a small fortune into a 93 500.
croom mx
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croom mx 10/6/2011 8:07am
10/6/2011 8:07am
You will like looking at the Service Honda website, lots of nice CR500s for sale and some used ones to.
wildbill
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wildbill 10/6/2011 10:31am
10/6/2011 10:31am
I put a fatty on mine and carbon fiber reeds. Honda mellowed them out by putting eyebrow reliefs above the exhaust port (compression reliefs).
To make them hit harder, either fill in these reliefs or bore the cylinder out .080. (Make sure wiseco still has pistons available).



I bought mine back after it sat outside under a semi trailer a few years ago but have since sold it to huge kid. Thing still ran great after getting the mouse nest outa the pipe.

The forks were horrendous but, I just slapped some stiffer springs in them (rear also) and hung on for dear life.

Holeshots were not a the problem.

vmx3
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vmx3 10/31/2012 8:07am
10/31/2012 8:07am Edited Date/Time 10/31/2012 8:11am
89 CR500's are great bikes
vmx3
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vmx3 10/31/2012 8:10am
10/31/2012 8:10am



Just clean it and go ride it, I love mine, I wanted one forever, I think that they are they sexiest production MX bike of all time!
motosmith
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motosmith 10/31/2012 8:21am
10/31/2012 8:21am
A friend of mine let me ride his CR 500 in the sand dunes. It's the funnest bike I've ever rode. Rocket ship fast.
reded
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reded 10/31/2012 8:28am
10/31/2012 8:28am
vmx3 wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2012/10/31/MY_1989_HONDA_CR500R_779786.JPG[/img] Just clean it and go ride it, I love mine, I wanted one forever, I think that they are they sexiest production MX bike of...



Just clean it and go ride it, I love mine, I wanted one forever, I think that they are they sexiest production MX bike of all time!
I had one that looked exactly like this. Only difference was the number 9 and a red and white Renthal pad. Like everyone else said, convert the forks and have the shock setup for your weight. Send the cylinder to Eric Gorr and bore the carb if you really want it to be rocketship fast.
neverwasfastenuf 10/31/2012 8:43am
10/31/2012 8:43am
vmx3 wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2012/10/31/MY_1989_HONDA_CR500R_779786.JPG[/img] Just clean it and go ride it, I love mine, I wanted one forever, I think that they are they sexiest production MX bike of...



Just clean it and go ride it, I love mine, I wanted one forever, I think that they are they sexiest production MX bike of all time!
sweet
AJ
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AJ 10/31/2012 10:16am
10/31/2012 10:16am
vmx3 wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2012/10/31/MY_1989_HONDA_CR500R_779786.JPG[/img] Just clean it and go ride it, I love mine, I wanted one forever, I think that they are they sexiest production MX bike of...



Just clean it and go ride it, I love mine, I wanted one forever, I think that they are they sexiest production MX bike of all time!
nice 500
Cool
geedavid
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geedavid 10/31/2012 3:56pm
10/31/2012 3:56pm
Just remember "buyer beware" If the owner won't let you loosen critical fasteners to insure that they are free take your money elsewhere. Best money spent was on a Rekluse. Here is my 94 after restomod.
Kartwheel84c 10/31/2012 4:07pm
10/31/2012 4:07pm
Get a set of CRF450/CR250R 47mm Showa forks, have the shock revalved/sprung and ride it. Here is my '92 with '96-up KYB clamps and 47mm Showa forks. You have to shjm the lower clamp with a Coke/Monster can but other than that they slide right in.



A close up of the Monster can shim for the lower clamp.



Since this picture I have trimmed the can shim so you cant see it. The Showa forks made a HUGE difference.
reded
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reded 10/31/2012 4:33pm
10/31/2012 4:33pm Edited Date/Time 10/31/2012 4:34pm
I hope you rerouted the front brake line when you had the forks off to trim the shim.
Kartwheel84c 10/31/2012 4:41pm
10/31/2012 4:41pm
reded wrote:
I hope you rerouted the front brake line when you had the forks off to trim the shim.
Yes, this was just a test fit, the caliper bolts are finger tight. I replaced the line with a new one and routed it correctly once I got done.

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CR500Rider
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CR500Rider 10/31/2012 4:46pm
10/31/2012 4:46pm
If you're gonna keep it in the steel frame, and I would, I'd swap those God awful forks for a set of 43mm conventionals or do a twin chamber swap. Either way is a big improvement.
Kartwheel84c 10/31/2012 5:03pm
10/31/2012 5:03pm
CR500Rider wrote:
If you're gonna keep it in the steel frame, and I would, I'd swap those God awful forks for a set of 43mm conventionals or do...
If you're gonna keep it in the steel frame, and I would, I'd swap those God awful forks for a set of 43mm conventionals or do a twin chamber swap. Either way is a big improvement.
Yep, either the '95-up 43mm KYBs or the 47mm Showa's are a massive step up from the stock '89 forks. Even going back to the 43mm conventional cartridge fork from '85-'88 are an improvement.
TrailDigger 10/31/2012 5:32pm
10/31/2012 5:32pm
Stuff that sucker's motor into a 450 frame. Give it a modern update and make it look badass with new plastics.
Kartwheel84c 10/31/2012 5:39pm
10/31/2012 5:39pm
If you are going to do an aluminum frame conversion, the '02-'07 CR250R is way easier and the end result works better than a 4T conversion, IMO. If you do it right, the only modification you have to do to the CR250R frame is the front motor mount tabs need to be relocated and you have to bend the right side engine cradle to clear the 500 water pump housing. No chopping of the Y or cradle needed.
CR500Rider
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CR500Rider 10/31/2012 5:56pm
10/31/2012 5:56pm
CR500Rider wrote:
If you're gonna keep it in the steel frame, and I would, I'd swap those God awful forks for a set of 43mm conventionals or do...
If you're gonna keep it in the steel frame, and I would, I'd swap those God awful forks for a set of 43mm conventionals or do a twin chamber swap. Either way is a big improvement.
Kartwheel84c wrote:
Yep, either the '95-up 43mm KYBs or the 47mm Showa's are a massive step up from the stock '89 forks. Even going back to the 43mm...
Yep, either the '95-up 43mm KYBs or the 47mm Showa's are a massive step up from the stock '89 forks. Even going back to the 43mm conventional cartridge fork from '85-'88 are an improvement.
95' up were 46mm USD KYB and they sucked slightly less than the 43mm USD KYB which wasn't even close to the 43mm conventional cartridge fork. I currently own all 3 and would choose the conventional over the other 2.
Kartwheel84c 10/31/2012 6:04pm
10/31/2012 6:04pm
CR500Rider wrote:
95' up were 46mm USD KYB and they sucked slightly less than the 43mm USD KYB which wasn't even close to the 43mm conventional cartridge fork...
95' up were 46mm USD KYB and they sucked slightly less than the 43mm USD KYB which wasn't even close to the 43mm conventional cartridge fork. I currently own all 3 and would choose the conventional over the other 2.
Correct, I got the sizes wrong. If i had an '89, I would go conventional 43mm or 47mm Showa. Pretty much everything in between is a step down.
vmx3
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vmx3 10/31/2012 6:11pm
10/31/2012 6:11pm
that one's gonna stay the way Honda intended in 1989, I have a couple of others that I will modernize a little but I will never remove the heart of a CR500 and put it in another frame. Now building one from NOS motor parts is an entirely different matter haha
CamP
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CamP 10/31/2012 6:21pm
10/31/2012 6:21pm
Kartwheel84c wrote:
Get a set of CRF450/CR250R 47mm Showa forks, have the shock revalved/sprung and ride it. Here is my '92 with '96-up KYB clamps and 47mm Showa...
Get a set of CRF450/CR250R 47mm Showa forks, have the shock revalved/sprung and ride it. Here is my '92 with '96-up KYB clamps and 47mm Showa forks. You have to shjm the lower clamp with a Coke/Monster can but other than that they slide right in.



A close up of the Monster can shim for the lower clamp.



Since this picture I have trimmed the can shim so you cant see it. The Showa forks made a HUGE difference.
You need a .010" thick shim to maintain fork alignment. The typical thickness of a beverage can is .005" so you may want to check that. I use two layers of DP can.
Kartwheel84c 10/31/2012 6:33pm
10/31/2012 6:33pm
Correct, I had forgotten that I used two layers, thanks for reminding me. You cant see it in that picture because I realized I needed two layers and cut the second one to the size of the clamp, but its there.
Orange724
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Orange724 10/31/2012 7:26pm
10/31/2012 7:26pm
Speaking of 500's


This is a sick pic of Stanton on the big half liter that was in Blaziers jearsey thread.

TerryK
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TerryK 10/31/2012 7:53pm
10/31/2012 7:53pm
I don't care what anyone says, I would not ride a bike that had shim stock in the triple clamps.

Bad juju all around.
CamP
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CamP 10/31/2012 8:03pm
10/31/2012 8:03pm Edited Date/Time 10/31/2012 8:13pm
TerryK wrote:
I don't care what anyone says, I would not ride a bike that had shim stock in the triple clamps.

Bad juju all around.
.010" thick Aluminum sheet stock is the perfect shim material for this application. It has all the same properties of the clamp itself. It's relatively soft, so it grips well and doesn't allow the forks to move. I have 8 hours of racing on mine and the forks haven't moved one iota with just 15ft/lbs on bottom clamp.

Read "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance", and you find a very interesting analogy to this. It talks about the analytical mindset of a German engineer that would find an aluminum beer can shim the perfect solution to a similar situation, as opposed to a mechanically inept drummer that finds the solution totally unacceptable.

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