Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The lower routing of the exhaust pipe helps drop the Honda's center of gravity. The fuel tank also sits lower in the frame for the sam ereason . ing o f th e CR' s weig ht, by means of low erin g th e ex ha ust pipe a nd gas tank, a nd changing th e frame, mak es the H onda eas ier to turn a n d maneuver o n the track , Much effort went into stre ngthe ning the CR's frame by addi ng g ussets to the major stress po in ts. T h is was done because 'o f the new Showa in verted fo rk. One o f the main a dvantages o f th e in verted fo r k desig n is rig idi ty. by elimi nati ng for k flex , Wit hout for k flex . more shock a nd pounding is transferred to the frame, With th e beefier frame a nd stro nger forks, th e CR 's overall feel is mor e soli d than befor e, gi ving the rider a mor e secure feeling while jammi ng over rough grou nd, This is ex treme ly evident While landin g off j u mps and under hard brakin g down bu m p y hills . In stock form, the fork soaks up the jolts qu ite well , a nd p rod uces a smooth ride. T he in verted for k helps the CR turn better, too. Since there is no flex , the fro nt end tracks m uch more precisel y a nd acc u ra tely . T he CR pivo ts in tight turns bett er th an befor e, too. The CR litera lly goes wh ere it's pointed wi thout hesita tion Anoth er ad va ntage with th e inverted fork is that th ere is no part o f the for k leg exte nding be low the fro nt ax le. This elimi na tes the lower fork leg from ha ngin g u p in ru ts, wh ich wou ld normal y ham per steering control. T he o n ly co mp lai nt we ha d with th e fro m end was head sh ak e a t hi gh The kick starter lever bend helps improve starting procedures, a nd seemed to perf orm well even a fte r lon g o u tings o n the track. Combi ned with its quicke r turning abi li ties. better tracki ng rear suspensio n a nd sligh tly lower sea t, the CR500 is o ne good ha ndling motorcycle. No surp rises a n ywhere. Bot h front and rear disc brak es a re superb. Both d iscs have larger b ut fewer cooling holes for better heat dissipation a nd to redu ce weight. The rear bra ke has ext re mel y progressive feel, which is needed o n a big-bore, since they are more p rone to engine sta lli ng un der hard braking th an 250s and 125s. Sto p pi ng power is pl enty sufficient, a nd th e front brake is as stro ng and smooth as ever. T o reduce weight, th e CR now ha s ligh tweigh t di e-cast hubs, fo u r dis c mounting bolts instead o f six (rear wheel), 32 spo kes in stead of 36 spokes (rear wheel ), a lighter chai n guard, a redesigned swingarm a nd an allnylon front brake hose. R id in g po si tion is ty p ica l o f H onda - comforta ble. T he ha nd lebars ha ve a new bend to fit th e new frame a litt le better, and the grips and 'levers ar e, once aga in, first class a ll the way. The sea t is fir m a nd comfortable a nd is sligh tly low er at th e ba ck w h ich imp roves r id er mob ilit y. The sh uffli ng o f th e H onda 's weig ht is very noticeable o n th e tra ck. It's much easier to flick the H onda arou nd in th e turns a nd ma ke q uick li ne cha nges any whe re on the trac k, plus it feels feather light for a n Open classer. The Honda 's exce lle nt cha sis, combined with its easy-to- use, vibration -free motor, easily rates th e Honda as th e best big-bore twostroke MXer we've ridden to date. T he 1989 CR500 is one motorcycle th at's hard to dislike. It has a smoot h , con trollable powerb and, excelle nt handli ng , good suspension, it's easy to start and it 's q ui et. What more co uld you wa nt from a two-s tro ke, bi g-bore mo tocrosser? May be a lower price tag. Since midyear 1987, th e price tag on the Honda CR500 has increased 41%. H o nda has a n no u nced that the 1989 CR500 R will retai l for $4098 a nd blames this rather high price on the value o f th e Japanese yen to th e Ameri can doll ar. Nonetheless, the CR500 is expensive, but H onda has mad e eno ugh cha nges to its 500 to make it worth the p ri ce. And that's saying a lo t. • .... IJ.) ..0 o .... u o 1989 Honda CR500R Eng ine type Water-cooled two-stroke. single Bore x stroke 89.0 x 79.0mm Displacement. : 491 .4 cc Compression ratio '.. 6 .8:1 Carburetor 38mm Keih in Starting system Primary kick Ignition ' CO l Lubrication . • • . . ... .. . . Premix Primary drive . . . . •. Straight-cut gear Final drive # 5 2 0 cha in Frame ... •. . . High -tensile steel. semi-double cradle Rake 62.0° Trail 4 .8 in . Front suspension Showa. inverted telescopic fork Fork tube diameter • ••• •• N / A Front wheel travel 12.0 in . Rear suspension Showa single shock. swingarm Rear wheel travel 13.0 in . Front brake . .. ... .• • • • • •. Disc Rear brake Disc Front tire _ 80/100-21 K490 Dunlop Reartire 110/100-18 K695 Dunlop Claimed dry weight.. . . 223.8 Ibs Wheelbase 59.0 in . Ground clearance 1 3. 8 in. Fuel capacity 2 .4 ga l. Seat he ight 38.2 in . Colors . . . .. .. . .. . . • . . . • . . Red Retail price . . . . . . . . . • . . $4098 spee ds. The Showa fork has ex terna l co mpression damping adjus tm ents at the bo ttom of each fork leg, which seem ed to ease the prob lem after fiddl in g wi th the adjustm ents bu t doesn 't elimi nate it. A sana rubber/ n ylon guard wraps around the lower fork tu bes protecting th em from rocks and banging into other bikes o n th e tra ck. The fro nt dis c brak e assembl y is also protected. The detachable rear su b-frame is positioned 12mm lower to reduce height at the back of the seat, and th e foot pegs ar e wid er than befor e. The new 500 sha res rh e same Delta-sh aped Pro-Link rear su spens io n co m po ne n ts as la st yea r' s CR250. The new lin ka ge ratio s, refinements to th e Sh owa shock and new frame geometry ha ve giv en the 500 a stable rear end. The rear suspension had no problem s handl ing anything we could dish out , (Above) The '89 CR500 feels lighter and easier to maneuver. (Below) It'll come stock with effective K490 and K695 Dunlop t ires. 15 '

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