CR500 or YZF426???

[zorroz]

I'm currently looking debating weather to get either of the above bikes. I can get a 2002 CR500 or a bit cheaper a 2002 426. The bike would only be used for sand dune riding with a paddle tyre. I currently ride a '98 YZ250 up the dunes and its great fun but I thrash the living hell out of it keeping up with mates banshees etc. I would really like to get another blue bike in the shed but would the 426 have the power the old CR500 has? I've seen the CR500's up the beach and they really haul ass. I have never ridden a 426 or 450 and but own a WR250F for bush work which I really enjoy for that purpose.

?

[cruise]

My brother has a cr500 it is worked and has twice the power as my friends 426 and woops my 450 on and off road

[SSpeeDEMONSS]

i would say get the 500. i love my 426 but i would get a newer(AF) 500 if i could, it's just too bad that they're red. i believe that the 500's are making something like 65hp stock.

[felony]

if you can tolerate the vibration for extended periods get the the 500! if i can remember right,my 87 cr500 would eat my 01 426 alive,i was scared to death of that bike back then,but it would still be faster than my 426,plus maintenance would be cheaper,good luck

[NAFLASH]

I dont know about the cr 500 but my dad had a 83 cr 480 and itwould rattle any bolt out no matter how hard you tighten them, plus it was a left side kick which my dad broke one day while riding on the trail. It wasnt fun pushing it back. But on a brighter note the my buddy has a 85 or 86 cr500 and it kicks ass. If i were to get a 500 i would try to get one of those service honda ones IMO they are the best.......dam now i want one.

?www.servicehonda.com

[grayracer513]

On an MX course, there's no way I would ever go back to my old '94 CR500 over either the 450 I now have, or even a 426.

However, If I could have a bike just for the dunes... well, that's a different deal. Then I would probably go with the Big CR, especially if you are really talking about an '02, since that would be one of the aluminum frame (AF) models built by Service Honda, or home built by someone else. The last "real" CR500 was the '01, and had the same steel frame, with geometry changes, that the '91 had.

Yes they do make something like 65+hp stock, and more is pretty easy. Yes they will blow away almost anything if they get hooked up. Yes they are near bullet proof. And yes, they will kill you and eat you if they can. But they are fun! ?

[426mankiller]

If you hang around a bike shop long enough, you will cross paths with a former cr500 owner who will be telling a story like this--"Well, I used to have a cr 500 but I tried this jump one day and broke my leg and well, I ride a 250 now...."

[zorroz]

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'll go for the CR500. Here in Australia they released the 2002 model (same as the 01 model) with street rego! Yep you can ride the big girl on the road. And with rego there is no hassles for places to ride. I'll just buy a spare rim for the paddle and tear that beach up....

[grayracer513]

One word of warning: This bike produces such an enormous amount of torque that leaving the crests of jumps under power, especially at lower speeds, can produce a somewhat more vertical front wheel high attitude than what you intended. In fact, where a most bikes will correct a front wheel down attitude in the air by grabbing the throttle and revving hard, a CR500 will do the same thing with just a blip of the twist grip. In fact, I'm not sure you couldn't backflip one just by cranking the throttle while airborne.

But like I said, they're a gas.

There was this guy on a Banshee who was stalking guys on a big sand hill where I ride a lot. He would wait 'til somebody was on the hill and then blow past them half way up. One time, as he was just passing one of his victims, I went by him 15-20mph up on him and and shifted 5th while we were looking right at each other. Followed that with a huge, roost blowing 4th gear turn back down the hill. And that was with a knobby on the rear.

He left. ?

[revolucien]

If you're gonna ride that beast on the street you better practice riding on the tank and being very easy on that throttle to start.

[grayracer513]

Rode mine at the Elsinore GP once. Fun to float the front wheel 4" off the ground all the way through 4th gear. ?

[Shane_Bettin]

ya that bike would just be stupid crazy on the street. im sure you couldn't crack it more then half to stay alive. if there was a 4 stroke comparable to that wouldn't it have to be like 900? btw has anyone seen that 750 2 stroke made by maico, i think thats the correct name and cc's.

[grayracer513]

Maico did have a monster something like that. Never saw one, though. Keeping the wheel down on a throttled up CR500 is just a matter of moving far enough forward and rolling the throttle.

Realize this: My old '94 model at 245 pounds and 67 HP had a power to weight ratio of 3.66 pounds per HP. The new Yamaha R1, even though it would be a lousy dirt bike, comes in at 375 pounds and 180 HP (yes, those are the numbers). That is right at 2 pounds per HP, and it's more power than a Ford Focus SVT has! ?:cry:?

[2strokeguy]

i have a 87 CR500 on the street it is out of this world, many times i have been on the back wheel in fouth gear doing prob 50 too 60. i would try too keep this bike on the dirt and only with one rider ? .

[yz400fl1]

My girlfriends father has an ATK 700cc 2-stroke. Good thing about something like that is you only need to use like half the throttle at most.

[Satch0922]

http://www.dirtrodders.com/atk700/

[Shane_Bettin]

ya actually that was the bike i was talken about. i just didn't know exactly what i was talken about. it does say its based on the lastest maico stuff...so maybe i did see a maico?

[SSpeeDEMONSS]

damn, all this talk about 500's makes me want one even more. ive wanted a CR500AF for a lil while now and now that i hear how powerful they really are, im hooked. i almost bought a KX500 right before i got my '00 YZ426. not sure how power compares to the CR but at times i kinda wish i woulda got that. oh well, s**t in one hand and wish in the other, see which one fills up first(i think thats how it goes).

[bmxr]

The bike would only be used for sand dune riding with a paddle tyre.

Total no-brainer. Get the CR for what you want to use it for. The street, trail, and MX tangents are irrelevant if you're gonna put a paddle tire on 'er.

[holeshot]

The 426 works better everywhere except the dunes. The planted front end that makes it so work so well on the moto track works against it the dunes (front wheel tends to dig in). It also tends to overheat and lose coolant with the extra load from the sand. However, it's closer in acceleration to the 500 than it feels (the 426 has ample power).

The CR500 is a better dune bike (I've owned both and rode both in the dunes at different times).