CR500... B!tch to Start!!!!

[Tri-Z 250]

Is your plug a 9 or 8...if it's a 9 try a hotter plug like an 8

[200x newby]

pop startin wont work either. I have puled it behind a 1 ton van in every gear while bouncing on it and the tire just stays locked up.

[Youngrasher]

what gear are you trying to pull start it in? use a higher gear.

[200x newby]

what gear are you trying to pull start it in? use a higher gear.

Read my last post again! It says I've tried it in every gear!

[Billy Golightly]

For shits and giggles, go to the mad scientists lair and read my thread about boosting spark output at low RPMs. You might try it. I doubt it'd hurt anything the cost is minimal (<$5)

[Da_Catt]

I had a hard time starting my cr500 when i first got it. Make sure you have a good spark plug, turn the choke on and don't give it any gas. find tdc and then give it a hard fast kick. when i first got it i would kick and kick and kick and it would not fire. later i learned that it needa a good hard fast kick. I am 165 lbs and I have to jump on the kick starter to get a good kick. If i try to keep one foot on the ground when i kick it it will not start. I have to put everything i have into a good kick. You might want to check your pipe and make sure it is still sealed up good, seemed like mine started better after resealing it. the bike fires up with a few kicks when cold now. when warm it needa a little gas at the bottom of the kick to fire up. If after a few kicks it will not start like that then i turn off the gas, hold the throttle wide open and kick away. usually fires up with a few kicks.

[cr480r]

Gotta have a fast foot...all the way to the peg... I weigh 190lbs.. only have a 30" inseam.. and I have started every CR500 I have came across without too much difficulty.. even the 1990 I had with a milled head and 1.75mm overbore(no decompression reliefs)... Maybe try retarding the timing a bit...

[PLJ.]

I also have had this problem over the years. I have owned and ridden the 84, 85, 86 and 2000 versions of the CR500. The 84 was by far the worst! As described above, it had to be pull started all the time. No method of kicking would work. It would start only by being pulled by an ATC to boot!! I have sinced switched to a KX500 for ice and flattrack racing. The previous owner let me in on a trick that worked like a charm on the KX. Lean the bike over the left side until the overflow tube on the carb starts leaking gas, upright the bike, choke it and kick. Worked every time. Another trick I learned, while staging for heats and practice you could sit for quite some time waiting to get to the track. Some really knowledgable tuners noted, that you could increase the volume of the combustion chamber on the KX to lower the compression and make it easier to start while waiting in line and on really cold race days. This lower compr. would never come into play on a 1/2 mile track and may make the bike rev. more. I had this done on mine and am completely sold on the trick. Thanks.

[nickster116]

dude, your just not wump'n it hard enough.

My release works well. Ask most who were at TF. Most will agree the bike starts nice. Just doesn't start when I'm dead tired stalled in the middle of the track. harhar!

Whats you jetting at? Trying fattening up the pilot. Make sure you air screw is 2 turns out from bottomed.

"Fattening up the pilot and making sure you air screw is 2 turns out from the bottom is the correct thing to do. The previous message was dead on. I tried this to my 1985 CR500 and it lights up after the second kick every time hot or cold. However, mixing the gas of 32:1 is a good thing to do as well. The manual says 20: 1 and that helps guard against seizure the only down side is that is make the gas harder to combust with the high concentration of oil. I tried everything including new ignition with an AMR Monster Coil to and it helped but did not cure the problem. Please look at your carburetor adjustments.

[Maico]

Here ya go. It's a KX500 head but the same mod can be done to your CR500 head.

[03 ORANGE SHEE]

i can also start my kx500, one kick, always fires, hot or cold, even after its laid over with gas pooring out the overflow. i find tdc, listen for the "click, bring the kicker back to the top , and kick. mine has 177lbs of compression with throttle wide open.i love mine, but hate my zilla, thats alittle harder to get going, but i ve had the kicker shatter the bottom of my foot too, so im nervous about it everytime i have to start it.