NEW OPPORTUNITIES
I’ve always been on the hunt for new
opportunities to swing a leg over a
500cc motocross bike. Whether they
are restored originals, or modern
customjobs, I’ve looked on with
interest. Most modern-day 500cc
conversions, which put a 500cc
engine into an alloy-beam frame
with modern suspension, are a
failure in comparison to the
traditional steel cradle.
The alloy frames can make the bike
vibrate and feel extremely rigid, and
they are a little unfriendly to ride.
Sure, the old-school CR500 can make
you feel like you’re sitting in a big,
heavy lounge chair, but with a little
bit of patience, you can still sneak
around a track in a competitive time.
The idea fora head-to-head
comparison between old and new,
really fell into my lap. I was on the
phone to my mate Paris Corless. I told
him about a custom CR5 00 that ADBhad lined up for me to test in
Newcastle. ADB wanted to know if it
was faster than a 450. He then
suggested putting it up against his
pristine 1989 CR500 that he’d just
finished restoring. Now we’re
talking! And so with the Ranch
(formerly Raymond Terrace) booked
as the test venue, the planning began.
History told me that Newcastle
weather can often throw you a
curveball. When the day finally
arrived the temperature would soar
to 37 degrees and a whopping 35mm
of rain would hold off until the
following day. Cyclone Debbie
almost got us!
The custom Honda CR5 00 was
owned by Ryan Sylvester, a
motorcycle enthusiast from Sydney.
The engine was from a 1996 CR500
that he found in America. Hethen
fitted it into a 2 0 11 Honda CRF25 0 R
chassis and gave it a tune with help
from Ross McWatters at MCD. After a
bunch of cutting and welding thebulk of the project was done. Ryan
fitted Showa A-Kit suspension to
finish the package off nicely. He said
that he stopped counting the cost of
the project after $8000.
I alwaysget excited when I have a
500 in front of me. The bike fired into
life after one kick. As I said, my
experience with alloy-framed 500s
have been pretty average but, after my
first lap on this bike, I was converted.IMPRESSIVE
The chassis and handling
characteristics were impressive, even
in those early laps. The bike had a
superb seating position and it tipped
nicely into turns.
As expected, thepower was strong
and smooth, and it allowed you to
pull third gear through even the
tightest of turns. The vibrations
weren’t noticeable unless you held a
gear slightly too long and blasted
through the mid-ranger power into
the less desirable top-end.RETRO TEST IHONDA CR5 00 CUSTOM
64 |JUNE 2017 http://www.adbmag.com.au