anyone here ridden a cr500?

[portland250r]

what i would like to know is what is the difference between riding a cr500 versus a cr500 trike.
i have wanted to get a trike done with a cr500 but cant afford it and now im being offered a full cr500 for 1200.

these are the bigger dirt bikes i have ridden:
a team kawasaki 250 2 stroke
a older yamaha 400 2 stroke
i have ridden a countless number of smaller 2 stroke dirt bikes and i think i could ride a cr500 without any worries.

people i have asked always told me all it took was one time ride and it scared the piss out of them. no bikes ever suprised me and im exited to have a chance to get one for cheap.

i just want to know more about this model bike.
people make it sound like its impossible to keep this bike tamed.
thanks for the comments.

[atc500x]

I have a cr500af,stock with fmf fatty and reed valve.yes it's very powerfull,but in my opinion I prefer the power curve of my 2 stroke to the other 4 stroke like crf450 yf450f....What make the 500 scary is the low rpm torque for a 2 stroke,if you have a 250 f or 2 year and ump on a 500 the difference is big,but after a week of riding you will never want to take the 250.

[ATC-RYDA]

i've ridden a handful of cr 500's and yes the power is certainly there ! but as stated above its nothing u cant get used to .. the bottem end torque will rip your arms off and beat u with em , if u don't RESPECT it ... imo

[3wheelmecca]

I have ridden a KTM 500MX, and it was certainly scary, until I got used to it. I just played it safe a few rides, then had some serious fun.

[RIDE-RED 250r]

i used to own an '89 CR500....AWESOME bike! had plenty of power when not on the pipe yet, and was crazy powerful when on the pipe. the thing usually scared/surprised me in some way or another each time i rode it. no 250r short of the big bore R's can even compare, and i think even the bigbore R's are in for a schoolin against the big half-liter CR...but i cant say for sure on that as i have never ridden a big-bore 250r. all i know is that CR was a beast and yes, i regret ever selling it!

[bigbadktm]

always wanted one, buddy had an 89 that I would tool around on, but compared to my 2000 ktm 250 2 stroke it was a dog. probably needed to be rebuilt

[portland250r]

its a 89 and has a pipe and some engine mods.
im going to give the guy 200 a week and after i pay off 1200 i get to either go to the hospital or have fun i get pretty insane on dirtbikes.

the 250r i have is built and bored almost as far as you can go and its crazy fast.

[RIDE-RED 250r]

its a 89 and has a pipe and some engine mods.
im going to give the guy 200 a week and after i pay off 1200 i get to either go to the hospital or have fun i get pretty insane on dirtbikes.

the 250r i have is built and bored almost as far as you can go and its crazy fast.


your R still will be no match for the CR. when i mentioned the "big-bores", i was refering to actual big bore kits, like for example the ESR 330 kit. big diff between overboring the stock cylinder and installing an oversize piston and the big bore kits that consist of a whole new cylinder, and often times a stroker crank. sorry for the confusion..

have fun on that beast when you get it, but be sure and respect it or it WILL hurt you!

[cattle-dog]

listen since no one has mentioned, first thing you dont want to do with that big of a bike is think your going to go out and ride it like your 250 big mistake, i have seen many a good rider on the smaller bikes get seriosly hurt on the 500`s , if you get it take your time at first, just to see the diffrences, the big bikes ride diffrent than the smaller ones dont care what anyone tells you, seems like you have some seat time all i am saying is be carfull more people get hurt on the big bikes than the smaller ones, the 500 will be a blast once you get it down,

[leviblue]

Love my 87 CR500. It was my fathers and now mine for the past 15 yrs. IT'S NOT FOR BEGINERS!!!! This bike CAN and WILL hurt you. I bring mine out of storage a few times a year and it still scares the SHT out of me. I've often thought of putting the motor in a R frame but it would be a waste of a great bike. Just take your time with it cuz it will pull the front wheel off the ground in every gear.

[swampthang]

The next bike I get will be a big bore 2stroke I havent decided what yet cr500,kx500,yz490,rm500,cr480... The way I look at it if you take it slow at first to get used to the bikes power then you'll be fine.Ive seen guys that there first bike were 250 2strokes. Plus when you wipe out at less your on a badass bike and people will say "well thats a 500 no wonder he ate it":lol:

[HuffieVA]

Big bores are as I'm sure you know and have been told here are much more powerful (I guess thats common sense) but the big difference is the torque... you cant just hop on and ring the thing out wide open like a 125 or even a 250 its a much broader powerband with lots of grunt and all kinds of top end as well... some time on the seat will be the only true way to understand the difference in the power curve. I like my big Husky's for the woods and for wide open stuff like fire roads and , but as far as motocross I perfer 250's as a 500 has the ability to surprise you when your not expecting it (i.e. if you run out of a corner like you do on a 125/250, you have a very good chance of looping a 500 if it hooks up) you will have to change your style a bit but you will have a blast once you get it down

[fabiodriven]

I have always heard that the 85-87 or so CR500's were a lot more brutal than their newer counter parts. I was told the power delivery on the older ones was almost too much of a hit and they had to be tuned or possibly de-tuned in the late 80's to make the power more "usable". Is it true? I don't know. But I can say I used to ride on the back of my buddy's 87 CR500 all the time, and to say that it was a hairy bike would be the understatement of the year.

[keister]

Just make sure you are able to start it before you buy it.
They are no picnic to kick.

[trikebuilder30]

The cr500 is just a bike of its own.I have owned several and built several cr500 trikes and quads.They are in a class of there own.Very sick...Built if built right and stable in a frame they can be alot of fun.Very fast and there isnt much out there that will beat you...I build a kx500 tecate last year and that was pretty sick as well...Rick at http://www.threewheelerbuilder.com/

[cr480r]

500's are great machines... in alot of situations I think the massive torque makes them easier to ride.. like when you're tired and trying to ride up a rooted & rocky hillclimb... just click her up a gear and point her at the top... great sand machine as well.. They can get away from you if you are tired or dont know what to expect... just remember the throttle doesnt open itself!!! Only use what you need, cover the rear brake, and dont mind what other people think or expect from you or the bike... You'll do fine..

[portland250r]

whats funny too is my friends old cr500 that sat in a barn for about a year beat a guys built banshee and the cr just wasted the banshee and it was worn down and ran poor and beat a piped and jetted, bored banshee.
my only worry is drag racing a cr500 people just rip the throttle to full the second its go time on bikes but i have a feeling if you do that on a cr500 your going to get slammed on trailprotrailpro ass.
when i go up to a bigger bike i dont ride it full out i get used to the power and throttle control and slowly test everything for about a weeks worth of riding before i start actually riding.

[willrideanythin]

I have a cr500af,stock with fmf fatty and reed valve.yes it's very powerfull,but in my opinion I prefer the power curve of my 2 stroke to the other 4 stroke like crf450 yf450f....What make the 500 scary is the low rpm torque for a 2 stroke,if you have a 250 f or 2 year and ump on a 500 the difference is big,but after a week of riding you will never want to take the 250.

Exactly. I have only riden steel framed 500s, But it has 4 stroke like power with a 2 stroke power band tossed in there. I love it.

[lazybiker79]

I own a 91 cr500 the power is crazy. there is so much low end power. The power is there any time you need it. Billy is building my 86 atc250r frame now to fit the 500 motor. I'll post pics and put videos on YouTube when it's done.

[trikes4life]

my brother had an xr500 i thought that was fast until the cr500

[jeffatc250r]

I ride these things on a daily basis, i even have one thats street legal that gets a minimal of twenty miles put on daily, sometimes double that, then the weekends can be upwards of a hundred.
In my opinion they are the best two stroke you can get. The particular year you are looking at has the short ratio trwnny which isnt something i personally wouldnt want. But any of the newer ones like the one you are looking at start quite easily.
The 85-87 seem to be the sluts as far as starting until you figure out the trick but also have a more agressive power. Ive been aboard many 500"s and the early ones are the ones that will bite you.
Do a comp test and possibly take off the pipe before you buy it and take a peek. Other problem spots seem to be the drain plug and the level check......people are retarded and overtighten things.

[Dirtcrasher]

MANY people overtighten aluminum...........

I think the most deadly thing is a 500 with a new tire :lol:

Any power when you want it!!

[portland250r]

im not going to buy the 89 it needs a coil and is in too rough of condition to sell for 1200 im going to look for a 87 or older theyre on craigslist all the time so i should have no problem finding one when i get the money.

whats scary is i have seen a guy 3 times my size get dumped right on his ass and he weighed almost 400 pounds and had all his weight at the front.

does a cr500 have more low end power than a yfz450?

[RIDE-RED 250r]

im not going to buy the 89 it needs a coil and is in too rough of condition to sell for 1200 im going to look for a 87 or older theyre on craigslist all the time so i should have no problem finding one when i get the money.

whats scary is i have seen a guy 3 times my size get dumped right on his ass and he weighed almost 400 pounds and had all his weight at the front.

does a cr500 have more low end power than a yfz450?


YES, it does!

[portland250r]

this is going to be very fun.
after i get to know the bike im going to be a part time yfz exterminator.
those things are everywhere! all you see for quads in oregon is yfz's ans some banshee's.
it gets annoying people always brag about their new 4 strokes and how they cannot be beat by any other bike.
yfz's are nice but i dont like 4 strokes as much they are to breakable and 2 strokes are a simple fix while 4 strokes have twice as much things on them.
i have a 200x and i use it for small trails and utility areas it hase the right amount of power and can get you through the roughest things while the 250r is for open areas that are easy to get through.