Australasian Dirt Bike — June 2017

ENGINE

ThecustombikesportsaKeihin

PWK36,likeKTM 300 EXCsusedto.

SMOOTH

Hoganleansheavilyonthetillerto

makethebargeturnleft.

VICIOUS

Raptor titanium footpegs are known to

eat old Rossi boots for breakfast.

Gearlever is by Hammerhead.

OOPS

LeeHoganinvestigatesaburningsmell

comingfromtheclutchdepartment.No

onedied.

The A-Kit suspension makes the bike
handle like a dream. It is like a 450cc
four-stroke with a twist. There is no
engine braking on the two-stroke,
especially when riding in a taller gear,
soyou have to brake hard when
coming into corners. This can create
trouble on a rough track, but when
ridden properly and smartly, the bike
really does handle superbly.
When I stepped off the bike, you
couldn’t wipe the smile from myface.
Now it was time to ride the old girl. My
first laps on the ’89 CR500 had me
scrambling back through time to figure
out how to ride thistank-likebeast.It
felt wide, heavy and had virtually no
braking power. The seatingposition
was that low that I may as well have
been sitting on the ground. The bike
barked like an angry rottweiler and the
power came on so strong through the
mid-range that you had to prepare to
be bucked off the back.
But, like Jason Bourne, it all started
coming back to me. You had to ride

this machine differently to the custom

job, but when you got it right, you

could really find yourself flying

aroundthetrack.

EASY RIDER

I never thought I’d say it, but the

custom bike was a lot easier for me to

ride at full speed than the original, and

almost as easy at a 450. When ridden in

a taller gear, it felt very similar to a

450cc four-stroke with 60-plus horses.

The trick with the 500 engines is to

keep it in the right part of the range. If

you can do that then you’ll build speed

and the bike will handle extremely

well. If you let it rev out, it won’t

handle as well and will begin to

vibrate badly.

The main difference between the

pair is that the ’89 motor ran a shorter

rod than the ’96 motor. This gave the

’89 a more aggressive hit of power in

the mid-range.

The ’96 engine comes on stronger

right off the bottom and flows nicely

http://www.adbmag.com.au JUNE 2017| 65

When I stepped off the bike,

you couldn’t wipe the smile

from my face