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Cr 500 af

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
I wonder if you got it from the guy I was talking to at the 4x4 swap meet... there's another one available that is his buddy. They said one thing that made me pause, that there's a major update that they're buying - to me, it'd be cool to save the coin because they were asking half new price - that said, it always seems that whenever I buy an older version I end up with the new version eventually - thus spending twice the money

I got the new flywheel today.... I wish I knew how to test the strength of a magnet, according to one seller his had "minimal wear" another said "without major wear"... to me that suggests that there is some kind of interference... so when I pull the bike back in the shop - that will be the first thing I check




​the magnets don't look like they'd be that difficult to copy...
 

twinmill28

Spilled Milk
Messages
1,545
Location
El Centro, Mehico (Way So Cal)
Yeah, the sheer amounts of wide open desert plus having my own personal sand dune (Glamis) made the KTM a no-brainer for me. My buddy at work was ripping his 530EXC across the desert whoops when he hit a huge dip that he couldn't avoid, ended up ripping his biceps and a few other things by refusing to dump the bike. He said he rode the rest of the day before going to the hospital, though there wasn't much he could do about the lack of muscle every time he hit a bump.
Not having been on bike with this much power and having very limited experience has me hesitant to get stupid with it yet. Every time I pull on the throttle at any speed it's willing to go to unknown speeds with lots of torque, so I back off quick and continue trying to catch up on 40 years of experience I should have had if I'd have bought the dirt bike my mom absolutely refused to hear me out on.
I just finished the basic riders course this week and gained tremendous confidence with the bikes handling, so I just need all the seat time in all kinds of conditions.
 

twinmill28

Spilled Milk
Messages
1,545
Location
El Centro, Mehico (Way So Cal)
BTW SBG---what's the final weight on your monster? Mine is something like 263 with gas which is the single largest reason I went with this bike. I didn't care who made it, I just wanted something that would be easy to sling around in the garage to get out of my way when needed and something easy to manuever wherever I ride it.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
Every time I pull on the throttle at any speed it's willing to go to unknown speeds with lots of torque, so I back off quick and continue trying to catch up on 40 years of experience I should have had if I'd have bought the dirt bike my mom absolutely refused to hear me out on.
I just finished the basic riders course this week and gained tremendous confidence with the bikes handling, so I just need all the seat time in all kinds of conditions.

It's a paradox for me, my dad grew up in southern California, and he used to run an altered 37 Chevy Coupe. I suspect he did a lot of hooning both on and off the track, but because of that he absolutely refused to let my brother or myself have muscle cars. However, oversized motorcycle? no problem I was 10 when I had my first CR250. My first "built" 250 happened a couple years later. What's odd, I guess, to me, is my current bike isn't anywhere near as scary as the 500 - I figured I'd be riding on the front fender to keep the nose down or putting a weight on the flywheel. Granted, if I ever (and read, I will never) supermoto this bike; I'm certain my tune would change because then the bike would have traction.

BTW SBG---what's the final weight on your monster? Mine is something like 263 with gas which is the single largest reason I went with this bike. I didn't care who made it, I just wanted something that would be easy to sling around in the garage to get out of my way when needed and something easy to manuever wherever I ride it.

I don't know, I'll roll it across a scale once my wife leaves :)
 

twinmill28

Spilled Milk
Messages
1,545
Location
El Centro, Mehico (Way So Cal)
That's an awesome story about your first 250, I really wish I'd have had that option---I'd be riding a monster touring enduro right now.

I adjusted the suspension down on the KTM to make it easier for the riders course, took it out for a test ride and learned about suspension dynamics when it pulled a straight up wheely because the ass was too low---kinda scared the hell out of me but felt fantastic as well!

It's because of the riders course that I now understand why people super moto these things, if it handles that well on knobbies, you know it's gotta be great on sticky treads. I'll never moto it, absolutely hate the look of the KTM's done that way, but it's amazing to now how sweet that can be.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
249# and the wife is none the wise about the scale :horns:

I kind of like the super moto'd CR500 af - especially the videos of them chasing down 600s on a track.... be like running down a Corvette in an H3 on a track day
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
so I pulled the flywheel/rotor tonight
interestingly - it's a weighted flywheel

the inside, there's some corrosion


compared to the new, used on


nice whoops here, the last guys who were in here didn't tuck this wire up

fortunately, it doesn't appear to have worn through - so I tucked it back in its place

and cleaned it up and put it back together... Think I'll wait until tomorrow to annoy the neighbors (more this - no headlight on my bike so I could start it but not test it).

I think, in the end, I will buy the high-output set up from Service Honda - but as long as it runs/starts better, I think I'll wait until next winter. Then I'll pull the jug, put a big-bore kit in this, and a compression release.... after all, too much is almost enough
 
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backcountryislife

Well-Known Member
Messages
858
Location
Dumont, CO
Then I'll pull the jug, put a big-bore kit in this, and a compression release.... after all, too much is almost enough

Yeah... for what I'm doing I could sure use a bit of "too much"!!

11378_10206683187308167_3599418465053326677_n.jpg


13721_10206683185788129_1243475899630515634_n.jpg


11169191_10204404739620633_5431584178015112035_n.jpg



Now that I've got a brand new husqy 300 (so so on snow, but awesome on dirt/rocks) I'm looking for a CR500. I'm going to put Abby on the 300 (the bikes are so much easier to ride than sleds that I can't make her stay on a sled now) and I'll try to find a 500, the nice thing about snow, it's less chassis dependent imo (whole swingarm is gone, and forks need to be WAY stiffer anyhow) so it's not that big a deal running the older frame.

Do you have any feedback on the 500 BB setups? I've seen a few of them, but not enough to have any opinion.

Looks like RPM's stroker setup is $3kish... considering how cheap the bikes are, spending that would be no big deal to have a decent setup. The RPM one is claiming 122 hp... that would be more than acceptable!! :D
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
1 hp for every 2 lbs, yes, that would be adequate.

At the moment, and with the guys I ride with, my bike is top dog (wish I was top rider, but it is amazing how hp can be a equalizer) - that said, they're all on Kmart Trail Machines....errr.. KTMs :horns: so no, I've not heard anything other than from the guys who built the top end on this motor originally - LRD in Gresham, Oregon.

Those are some pretty cool pics of snow riding. That last picture... wow.
 
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backcountryislife

Well-Known Member
Messages
858
Location
Dumont, CO
Yeah... if you have time on sleds, and have ever thought about stopping on something that steep... that give some appreciation for the bike's capabilities.
Last sled I had was 260-280 hp and just under 400 lbs (this was a bit of a unicorn, I'll never build one like it again) so 2:1 isn't BAD... but I'm always game for more :D

I'm just not sure how reliable the cr500 BB's are... it's one thing being broken down in the summer, but a very different thing in the winter.

Here's a pic of the actual rig, broke the bike in on snow, literally put the kit on before it had ever been fired (I get my toys in the crate from our dealer)

11150894_10204404740020643_8462289143474689593_n.jpg


Looking at the power curve of the 500 even without big bore compared to the K-mart 300 motor, it seems like it would be ideal. Double the power and it would be even more ideal!
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
When my brother first started going to those guys, they wouldn't touch a banshee - now they're almost "the" go-to guys for them.

I don't know about BB 500 kits, but I do know my brother went from a 280 to a 330 kit then back to a 280 kit on his TRX250 because it was faster with the smaller bore. So I don't know, since what I did with my bike is so popular with the supermoto crowd; I've seen nearly 100 hp (dyno) of a stock bore bike. I'd be interested to see where mine is now, but honestly I'm not about the numbers - this bike is so much fun to ride; it is a beast that you have to respect, but it is pretty civil.... of course, I also have a gps track of 100 mph on a gravel road - where I had no idea I'd gotten going that fast...

CR500s must be warmed up if you ride them in the cold - that was the impetus for the LRD build, we went out riding at Sand Lake (I on my KX250), and his entire ride was 50 yards. He didn't warm it up and it broke a ring. One thing my bike does have that makes it a bit more manageable is a flywheel weight.

My first 2 stroke was a Bultaco - which is, in my mind, a cousin of Husky motorcycles, I liked it except the impossible-to-start-with-its-kickstarter. To which, I always carried a rope with me so we could pull start it with one of the other bikes.

With all of that said, I had to get a ownership-in-dispute title for my bike. I have no idea where the title was for this motor (it was from my brother's estate), and the frame came from Florida - so in 2 years (3 year waiting period) I'll have a clear title (I can sell it now, but whoever buys it doesn't get the title until the waiting period is over). By then, I'm 50 and I think I may go for a more civil 4 stroke - never fear, though, nothing I drive is stock.
 
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SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
So tell me about your track-kit. I really want to buy one, and almost pulled the trigger on a couple different ones in March; but the guy who was selling it made me pause - he said "he was upgrading" and that made me wonder what the difference is between the two.
 

backcountryislife

Well-Known Member
Messages
858
Location
Dumont, CO
The one I'm running is a 2013 timbersled short track. Rode the newer ones & didn't see it being worth over double the $$. I'm ABUNDANTLY happy with it... really fun.

Had a deep day the other day, it's easy to ride, had a day last weekend that was over the pipe, about 2' most of the day... still had more fun than on a sled.

Right now there are two more companies jumping in for next year, but older kits you're pretty much stuck with timbersled, and most seem to strongly prefer the short track.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
I hate starting a whole new thread, so I think this will become my motorcycle/atv/utv catch bucket....

So the bike sold and came with a trade.
I got what I wanted for it plus this


a 2004 TRX 450r

outside of being pretty scuffed up, it's a nice bike. That was several months ago, the carb was always kind of finicky, and finally it just wouldn't start.... so pull it apart (and if you ever do this, there's a great youtube video on taking this apart)



I can't get over how unmolested it is... and it has plenty of nuts for playing.... IF I keep it, I will probably start with the suspension and leave the motor alone.

so I pulled the carb off, and somewhere in the advice was "don't screw with the TPS" - so I priced the rebuild kit at the local honda dealer, and on a whim I asked them how much to rebuild... $175 including kit.... yeah... the kit is $40, tax is $20, a rebuild book is $45 - and I don't smell like gas for 2 weeks... done
so I stacked it back together and waited.


oh forgot to mention, when I was pulling the carb I got about 1/2 gallon of gas out of the float bowl.... ummm... no... I clamped the fuel line and then got a couple ounces... the problem. All of my seasonal stuff gets drained because dried seals are so much easier deal with then alcohol talc screwing up the carb. Of course, I dutifully turned the fuel off but it didn't shut off. So the carb was full of talc. It's even worse in Washington since Arco is one of two major refiners - and usually the cheapest gas.... and they love alcohol... seriously, get 10-15% better fuel economy on anything but Arco.... I digress.... so I ordered a new valve (can't rebuild the old one).... comes with a new fuel hose

the carb came back today

and was installed... still waiting for the valve
so stacked again.... but close

As I said though, I don't know what my plans are for this - I still think I'd find a UTV with a bed more useful, but until then.... powerslides will be happening in my yard
 
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