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2/24/2021 8:40am
2/24/2021 8:40am
Edited Date/Time
2/25/2021 9:06am
I know this might start some furious debating, but what do you guys think - is the CR500 the greatest Dirt Bike of all time?!
I made this video discussing the topic (which also features 3x world champion Dave Thorpe), and after looking at the history, success and legacy of the bike, i personally think it's difficult to find a machine that matches the CR.... I'm interested to hear what you guys think
I made this video discussing the topic (which also features 3x world champion Dave Thorpe), and after looking at the history, success and legacy of the bike, i personally think it's difficult to find a machine that matches the CR.... I'm interested to hear what you guys think
The Shop
Change my mind. It's won in every discipline from Desert Racing to Supercross and everything in between.
It takes a special kind of person to ride a 500 well.
Don't get me wrong, I love me a CR500, I've spent a ton of time on them. The sheer fact of how scary they can be makes it hard for me to accept its the best dirt bike ever.
Also, my current steed is a KTM 500 so I'm certainly not a big bore hater!
Another bike I have great memories of is my 88 KX-250, that was a very good bike.
As an experiment, my friend fab’d a KTM 380 into an Aluminum YZ 250 chassis and that is now my favorite 2 stroke of all time. Talk about a fast bike, and the thing turns on a dime.
Late model KTM 380 motor may be the perfect 2 stroke motor..
One nitpick in the video for historical accuracy, the 76 RC500 was indeed Honda's first year. However you picture a 79 or 80 RC500 with the prolink rear suspension that arrived in production 1981.
No argument, the CR500 is indeed a very special bike. Never owned one and have only ever ridden one once, in 1986 as a teen at the local deep sand track. Coming off my CR125, I couldn't ride it even in power robbing deep sand. It humbled me, possibly even scared me. Respect to those who could ride it, let alone competitively.
If we are picking greatest of all time bikes, how do we make the argument? Most professional titles in AMA and MXGP? Bike that had the biggest impact on the sport? Production longevity with few changes? Continued competitiveness at an amateur or professional level?
The big CR certainly did win a ton of championships. How much of them were on works bikes, not production based? Team Honda was certainly a juggernaut for a number of years with their works bikes, probably outspending all the other manufacturers combined for a good period of time. You were lucky win if you weren't on a Honda works bike
Not an argument against it being greatest of all time, just questions for discussion or even consideration.
Certainly Husqvarna and CZ had a massive impact on the direction of Motocross, or offroad racing. The Husqvarna 360/390 motors are considered some of the best open class motors for vintage racers even to this day.
The KX500 owned the CR500 in Baja, but that isnt MX.
The Yamaha DT1 could be argued to be the most impactful production bike, and what came from it in American motocross. It turned the tide east from Europe and ignited mx in America.
Or the original Elsinores, the 250 first, but the 125 even bigger when it came to production motocross bikes in America.
Looking forward to following the thread.
Pit Row
This is the greatest MX bike of all time; hands down. The mighty 1974 CR125M
Sold more units and spawned the SoCal aftermarket industry and helped create the massive MX wave of the early 70's.
Yes I have a CR500 as well.
This gentleman wins with the correct answer.
Introduced more young humans to riding and racing, than anything or anybody,'
Virtually unchanged for forty years.
* If we are only talking big bikes, my vote goes to the 87 CR 250.
The other day I was bored and wondered which manufacturer had won the most US titles so I made up a spreadsheet but it's just by brand and not bike. Would be pretty easy to figure out the last 30 years or 35 years but I'd be lost going back into the early 80s and 70s probably. Especially in Europe.
Surprised he hasn't chimed in with his 40 posts about the ESR 325 and Mike Alessi holeshot.
RM125X is the greatest dirt bike of all time,
Took bikes from the twin shock , aircooled bones, to state of the art watercooled , linkage suspension , factory looking kit in one hit.
Owned and raced both, but would have the CR now .
Here is our 500 Hybrid from 2019
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