Louis Mielke
10-07-2013, 07:01 PM
A friend (who will remain nameless unless he chimes in) let me know about this bike, how it was for sale and he knew I'm into 500s. He told me about the couple problems it has so like a good friend he was $1000. Well can't really beat a running CR500 engine for 1k so I had to go check it out.
I get there, check it out, not too hurtful. Rear shock is leaking, forks are leaking, brakes a fine. Wheels are straight, chain and sprockets are tired. Has a ugly skin industries graphics kit and it's dirty as well a dirt bike.
He's all like "I might have to start it for you."
I ask, "it runs?"
"Yah."
"Okay." I walk the bike away from the garage post it's leaning on, click it through all the gears, everybodies there like they should be but shifter is slopy as a 5$ whore. Give it a little once over, bone cold pipe & cylinder, click into first, give it a rock back and forth, choke, climb on, push past the compression, kicker is slopy as the 5$ whore's sister but whatever, WHACK, starts first kick.
Let it warm up to the touch, Have to nurse the throttle to keep it from dieing but it's running with no red flags. Take it around the yard, pulls hard like it should but it's drowning wide open *shrug* Typical. Come back and shut it down.
"Whoah man, I've never seen anyone start that bike in one kick." *shrug*
He wants a thousand, is what I would consider a decent friend so I take it and give him his asking price. Came with some new silencer packing and a 80% tire for the rear cause the one on it was shot. I feel like it's not a bad deal. load it up, hang with some other friends and head home next day.
Get it home and start going through it.
First thing I do is strip off the plastics and start removing the crappy graphics kit. Of course I find a ton of non OEM hardware, and a few standard bolts thrown in for good measure. I curse a little and start chasing threads and installing helicoils. Here's where I ended up. Still has the ugly poorly installed seat cover I plan on replacing. Now honestly I don't think my friend did any of this, I suspect it's just the way he bought it so none of this is directed at him.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps6529f5c8.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps6529f5c8.jpg.html)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsf5765347.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsf5765347.jpg.html)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps00eea1a1.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps00eea1a1.jpg.html)
Has the Works heal guards so that's kinda nice, FMF exhaust, missing 2 pipe springs and rear mid pipe mount but I had them so I replaced em. Silencer is barley mounted so I need to reference some pics to see how this FMF is supposed to be mounted and whats missing.
The above pictures looks decent but this was after about 5 hours off cleaning graphics and misc stickers. Wish I would have taken a before picture. This bike was fugly.
While I had all the plastics off and put a new plug in it, was the wrong plug and it was loose on top of that.
Also found the radiators where tweaked upwards so spent some time with a block of wood and broom handle tweaking them back into the correct place. Left rad is missing lower shroud bolt hole :-(
Of course this far in I'm already making a punch list.
mud guard is shot, one bolt striped on bottom of air box
one side frame mount in airbox is striped
fork seals
shock rebuild
new seat cover
replaced the grips already
clutch cables is shot
levers are sloppy
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps23e64be7.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps23e64be7.jpg.html)
shifter
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps3623e97b.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps3623e97b.jpg.html)
kicker
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsb8592bc0.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsb8592bc0.jpg.html)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps77b088ec.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps77b088ec.jpg.html)
chain and sprockets
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps0e050a97.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps0e050a97.jpg.html)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsfaa26b27.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsfaa26b27.jpg.html)
Finally though, as I'm continuing my clean up I come to the real disappointment. I don't know how I didn't notice it, I swear I must have stared at this damage 3 times when i was checking the bike out at my friends house and it just never registered anything was wrong. :cry:
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps1eb0fd74.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps1eb0fd74.jpg.html)
I get there, check it out, not too hurtful. Rear shock is leaking, forks are leaking, brakes a fine. Wheels are straight, chain and sprockets are tired. Has a ugly skin industries graphics kit and it's dirty as well a dirt bike.
He's all like "I might have to start it for you."
I ask, "it runs?"
"Yah."
"Okay." I walk the bike away from the garage post it's leaning on, click it through all the gears, everybodies there like they should be but shifter is slopy as a 5$ whore. Give it a little once over, bone cold pipe & cylinder, click into first, give it a rock back and forth, choke, climb on, push past the compression, kicker is slopy as the 5$ whore's sister but whatever, WHACK, starts first kick.
Let it warm up to the touch, Have to nurse the throttle to keep it from dieing but it's running with no red flags. Take it around the yard, pulls hard like it should but it's drowning wide open *shrug* Typical. Come back and shut it down.
"Whoah man, I've never seen anyone start that bike in one kick." *shrug*
He wants a thousand, is what I would consider a decent friend so I take it and give him his asking price. Came with some new silencer packing and a 80% tire for the rear cause the one on it was shot. I feel like it's not a bad deal. load it up, hang with some other friends and head home next day.
Get it home and start going through it.
First thing I do is strip off the plastics and start removing the crappy graphics kit. Of course I find a ton of non OEM hardware, and a few standard bolts thrown in for good measure. I curse a little and start chasing threads and installing helicoils. Here's where I ended up. Still has the ugly poorly installed seat cover I plan on replacing. Now honestly I don't think my friend did any of this, I suspect it's just the way he bought it so none of this is directed at him.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps6529f5c8.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps6529f5c8.jpg.html)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsf5765347.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsf5765347.jpg.html)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps00eea1a1.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps00eea1a1.jpg.html)
Has the Works heal guards so that's kinda nice, FMF exhaust, missing 2 pipe springs and rear mid pipe mount but I had them so I replaced em. Silencer is barley mounted so I need to reference some pics to see how this FMF is supposed to be mounted and whats missing.
The above pictures looks decent but this was after about 5 hours off cleaning graphics and misc stickers. Wish I would have taken a before picture. This bike was fugly.
While I had all the plastics off and put a new plug in it, was the wrong plug and it was loose on top of that.
Also found the radiators where tweaked upwards so spent some time with a block of wood and broom handle tweaking them back into the correct place. Left rad is missing lower shroud bolt hole :-(
Of course this far in I'm already making a punch list.
mud guard is shot, one bolt striped on bottom of air box
one side frame mount in airbox is striped
fork seals
shock rebuild
new seat cover
replaced the grips already
clutch cables is shot
levers are sloppy
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps23e64be7.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps23e64be7.jpg.html)
shifter
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps3623e97b.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps3623e97b.jpg.html)
kicker
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsb8592bc0.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsb8592bc0.jpg.html)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps77b088ec.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps77b088ec.jpg.html)
chain and sprockets
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps0e050a97.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps0e050a97.jpg.html)
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsfaa26b27.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zpsfaa26b27.jpg.html)
Finally though, as I'm continuing my clean up I come to the real disappointment. I don't know how I didn't notice it, I swear I must have stared at this damage 3 times when i was checking the bike out at my friends house and it just never registered anything was wrong. :cry:
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/louis_mielke/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps1eb0fd74.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/louis_mielke/media/my%20bikes/89%20CR500/null_zps1eb0fd74.jpg.html)