Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

plaint, so a pair of Renthal Aluminum handlebars were in order. Axo Sport provided a pair of Honda bend bars, as well as a set of medium-density Renthal grips. But what about the looks? You can't forget the looks, can you? It's no secret that the Japanese manufacturers haven' t burned the midnight oil trying to red esign th eir open class mo tocrossers, and the CRSOO h as boasted tha t same look fo r three years n ow. Though we d idn't opt for the all-o ut, fulI-eoverage graphics kits offered b y some compan ies, we did im p rove the CR's styling considerably with the help of N-Style' s Rob Healy. NStyle Honda Wing HRC rad iator shroud logos, pre-cut numberplate backgrounds, a rear fen der sticker ki t and Pro-dig its completed the look of our CRSOO project bike. ON THE TRACK Installin g all o f th e aforementioned good ies wa s the firs t step in our p roject, and we learned a great deal abo ut a few of the products before we even took to the track. The Marzocchi forks bolted on w ith ea se, thanks to a set of machined al uminum collars that sli p in to the triple clamps before th e fork tu bes . Since the conventional fork 's tubes are much smaller in d iameter than inverted fork slid ers, collars are necessary to make up the size difference. The forks are manufac tured with Hondas and KTMs in mind, so our front brake caliper bolted righ t on. Pettersson has fabricated conversion brackets so that Suzuki, Kaw asaki and Yamaha owners ma y also install the forks. The WER St ee ring St a b ili z er was another story. Th ough the unit requ ired tha t only a small ho le be drilled in th e frame for installation, getting the stabilizer to clear the front numberplate was a d ifferent story. We ruined two pla tes before we finally got it right. U we had to ra te the stabilizer's looks on a scale of 1-10, we'd probably give it a one or a two. Most of the MMF accessories bolted on cleanly and with little effort, bu t we did struggle a bit with the Stadium Skid Plate. Drilling out and elongating the mo unting holes quickly solved our problems, and to the best of our know ledge the MMF unit is the only plate availab le th at incorporates the mo tor moun ts for mounting. On the track, it quickly became apparent that our time and efforts were well spent. On the fast, sometimes-ehoppy straights at Glen Helen Raceway, the Honda tracked straight and true. In stock condition, the stock CR500 bottomed frequently an d shook its head v iolently. Erratic swapping under power was also a problem, Curious to see how much difference the conventional forks or steering stabilizer ma de on its own, we disconnected the stabilizer for a few laps in order to evaluate the Marzocchis by themselves. To our surprise, the forks alone made a huge differen ce in the bike's ability to track straight, even under braking. Thanks to their conv entional design, the forks have more "give," or flex, than today's superrigid inverted units. Slap-down landings are less-painful, and gone is the bike's tenden cy to g la n ce off of s q ua re edged bum ps. Adjusting the Marzocchis is odd. The le ft fork leg co n trols the comp ression du ties, w hile rebound is handled by the righ t fork leg. Both ad justers are located on the top of the forks, an d feature big, easy-ta-tum adjus tment d ials. With only s ix a dj ust men ts on compression and rebou n d, w e quickly fo u nd tha t one adjustm en t "cl ick" was eq ual to four-or five clicks on the stock units. One "click" made a w orld of d ifference. After a considerable number of laps, we found that the forks worked best when compression less fatigue and greater control when the was set on four, and rebo und on three. go in g got rough. And we spea k from As fo r the sh ock, the PPS-m odified experience when we say that the Renthals unit fel t worlds better th an the stocker. do n't bend as easily as the stock units. Blasting out of a rutted corner yielded the As for the M MF protection compobest in dica ti o n that the ac ti on w a s nents, le t's just say that w e have bee n improved. In stock condition, the rear end lucky enough so far to have not put them te nded to deliver a harsh feel, b u t the through a torture test...yet. revalved shock felt m ore com pliant and All in all, our H onda CRSOO project for givin g. Under power, the rear of the bike was a grea t su cces s. Though we m o torcycle stayed straight instea d of elected to leave the motor alone, the glan cing off srnaII bumps and swapping. upgrades tha t we di d make allowed us to With th e stabilizer connected, th e make better use of the Honda's awesome Honda b eca m e a high-speed m issile. motor. DI Absolutely no headsha ke was appare nt, es peciall y with the stabilizer se t on the While Cycle News believes thefore going test relistiff side. For motocross work, however, ers able, it is the opinion of the review only and only the ligh test setting is required. A few should not be relied upon in determining the pertesters were hesitant to ride with the sta biformance or safety of the »ehicleis). The reader lizer, afraid tha t they wouldn't be able to should makehis or her own investigation turn. While in motion, however , the res ista nce supplied by the WER unit is not noticeab le. The bigg est differ ence comes at speed w hen the bars would normally be ripped out of the Marzocchi Magnum for ks $1110 rider's hands. PPS fork mods $150 Take a quic k look at the PPS shock mods $115 . results column a t any desert Works End uro Rider Stabilize r $299 race, and yo u're alm ost guarMMF Rad iator Guards $48.95 anteed to see mo re Kaw asakis MMF Stad iu m Skid Pla te $48.95 fill in g th e ro strum. We feel MMF Master Cylinder Gu ard .$14.95 that the WER Steering StabilizMMF Chain Guide _ $19.95 er could qu ickly change all of MMF Frame Guards $39.95 that, though, as our Honda MMF Pro Stand $69.95 CR500 proved to be just as staRenthal Handlebars $69.95 bl e a t high-high off-road Ren thal Grips $8.95 speeds as well. • N-Style Honda Wing Logos $19.95 Thanks to the Renthal hanN-Sty le Numberplate Backgro un ds _...•....$19.95 d leba rs, the amount of engine N-Style Factory Rear Fender Kit , $12.95 vi bra tion tran smitted to the $7.95 N-Style Pro's rider was lessened, resulting in What the cost (Left ) The Works Enduro Rider Steering Stabilizer worked wonders. Headshake was no longer a problem, and the stabilizer offered a wide range of adJustabllity. With the exce ption of the unsightly hole cut in the front numberplate, the WER unit was easy to Install. (Right) The MMF Radiator Guard s offered a gre at dea l more roost ' protection than the stock plastic pelces. The guards offer add itiona l side protection as well. Whova'gonna c all? Pettersson Pro Suspension 817 Lakeview, Uni t B Placentia, CA 92670 714/970-2423 Wo rks Enduro Rider Box 279-A Jenny Jump Av e. Great Meadows, NJ 07838 908/637-6385 M MF Raci ng 12145 E. Slauson Ave. Santa Fe Sp rings , CA 90670 310/693-9096 . AXO Sp ort 24950 Anza Dr. Vale ncia , CA 91355 805 /257-0474 N-StyIe 27811 Avenue Hopkins, Unit 2 Valencia, CA 91355 805/294-1118 (Above) PPS revalved the Sh owa shock to be more compliant in the first half of the suspension trave l. The MMF frame guard s protect the rear maste'r cylinder from damage, and look trick, tool

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