Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.TEST. 1995 Honda CR500 By Donn Maeda any years ago w hen I fina lly decided to abandon my not-sopromising ATV raci ng career so I could to try my luck on two whee ls, my father gave it his all to convince me to ge t a 500. "T hat's the slo b class," I reme mber h im saying . " It will be th e easiest class to win, and I wo n' t have to bu y you a new bike every year." Against my fath er's wishes, howe ver, I picked a 1987 Honda CR250 as my first motorcycle. I chose 250s for the next four yea rs befor e buying a 125 in '9 1, an d until last year, had never even thrown a leg ove r a big bore. The Cycle News Battle of the Monst er Bikes Shoot out marked the occasion, and I was at the same time ente rtained and horr ified by the po wer of the open classers. Though Honda and Kawasaki loaned us their bikes for several months, they we re, wit hout a doubt, th e lea st ridden vehi cles in th e Cycle News garage. This year is d ifferent. Even th ou gh the 1995 Hond a CR500 features abso lu tely no engi ne upd ates, a lengthy list of suspe nsion cha nges make it the most changed open classer in years. So what's th e big new s? I' ll give yo u a h int. It's spe lled K-A-Y-A-B-A. O Yes, it' s true. Th e big CRSO comes fitte d with Kayab a sus pe nsi on components, both front and rear. Though the largest CR has had a KYB shock in years past, this yea r marks the first time that the bike has come with Kayaba legs as well. Thus far into ou r relationsh ip w ith the crop of '95 MX bike s, I can honestly say that I ha ve s pen t the m ost tim e aboard the CRSOO. Why ? Was it because of the handful of letters that we received from disgruntled readers after last year's op en class shoo tou t? "You littl e girls!" they wrote. "It takes a real man to rid e a 500." Or maybe because I've aged another yea r and closed to within four yea rs of the Vet class minimum age requi rement? No! Actu ally, I've grown quite fond of the big red an d purple machine and JYJ o::t< 0\ 0\ rl o ("f') l-< CIJ "E CIJ ~ o z 20 have go tten used to the monster power of the mot or. And to my surprise, I've even learned to go faster on some tracks aboa rd the 500 than on a 125 or 250. I'm n o Da ve Th o rp e, m ind yo u, bu t I d o wish that the 500cc class were more popular on the local racing level. With the demi se of the 500cc Nationa l Cha m pionship Series, I'm afraid that I've grow n into the open class a few yea rs too late. Asid e from th e n ew g ra p h ics an d purple radiator shro u ds and seat cover, the latest version of the beast looks much like it has for the past three years, and upon cas u a l observation, most wo n' t eve n notice the subtle cha nges. On the track, however, there is little doubt that this bike has been grea tly refined . Engine-wise, the CRSOO has the same 491cc, cylinder-ind ucted powerplant that it has had since 1991. A 38m m Mikuni fla t-s lide ca rbureto r still delivers the fuel! air mixtur e to the cylinder, and the same low-boy exhaust pipe and humongous silencer handle the spent fumes. As expected, the '95 bike has the exact same power characteristics of the '94, but this year it's easier to put all that power to the ground. But more about that later. The eng ine revs rather qui ckly in com parison to the other open class machines, and Hond a riders will find them selves ge tt ing on th e pipe m ore of te n th an Kawasaki KX500 riders. While the KX500 is an absolute handful when revved out, the CR has a more manageable, smoother power delivery. Still, the most effective way for most mortals to ride the Hond a is to keep the rpm down and rely on the awesome amoun t of low-end torqu e and mid range power. As expected, eng ine vibra tio n is mu ch greater tha n, say, a CR250 - but contrary to most peopl e's fears - it is quite tolerable. Sta rting th e CR500 is ea sy . A few slow kicks to find top-dead -center, then a healthy do-it-like-you-mean -it kick are all that's need ed to bring the engin e to life when cold. Even a panic stab at the kickst art lever durin g a race brings the motor back to life with relative ease. Cl u tch action is typ ical Honda: fairl y ligh t (for a 500) an d with smooth an d predictable action . Unde r hea vy abuse, however, the clutch can heat up and fade rath er qui ckly. Okay, back to that "easier to pu t the p ower to th e gro u n d" s tu ff . Wh en Honda anno u nce d tha t th e ent ire fullsize CR lineup would come with Kayaba

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