I started smoking again...

yamasaki

yamasaki

MADMAT said:
Are you serious that 500's are getting lapped????
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yep. the ones ive seen are usually just old-timers reminiscing that buy/ride them.

check out the specs.. http://www.servicehonda.com/06_500AFX.html

they START at $9500...

:haha:

dont take my opinion (Thats all it is) as law though, read up on all the cr500 posts out there in wonderful digital keyboard country... ;-)

the way you control a 2-stroke is by feathering the clutch, you HAVE TO keep it on the pipe or youre dead in the water. putting around at 2000 rpm on a 2stroke might work great on trails or farms while youre checkign your email from your handlebar-mounted laptop, but in mx, you fall off the pipe, youre dead in the water and 3 or 4 4-strokes will come by you. :naughty:

2-strokes are still fun as hell though, i just dont think the old "no replacement for displacement" is true when applied to dirtbikes.. unless youre riding a dirtbike on the street or some other place it was not really designed to be ridden on and you just want to be able to cruise at 60 or whatever
 
dbrutherford

dbrutherford

Parts Whore
Location
Fairmont, WV
Well I just priced the exact same YZ250 two banger today and they wouldn't budge offof the MSRP, $6500. So in my opinion paying $9500 for a 500 conversion really isn't that bad. If you go to www.CR500Riders.com there are tons of posts on how to do the conversion yourself. But with the Service Honda conversion bike you are getting their years worth of R&D plus a brand new engine. If you did it yourself, you are going to have to buy two different bikes and play frankenstien. I do think is is easily done for a very skilled fabricator/mechanic. I would rather just get one from the originators. The guys from there post on that forum too. Also if you search on eBay, there is a guy doing them for about a grand less than Service Honda. The eBay guy even had one that was street titled and had motard tires on it. I was very tempted... Transworld MX did a test on the 500 conversion and the pro mx riders were infact faster on the 500 when compared to a 450. But I do have to agree, if I was racing, it would be on a 450. But since I am a play rider... I want one of each... 125, 250, 250F, 450F, 500, ect... I want them all! I agree with the "on the pipe" statement about most two strokes but my 98 was a low end end motor unlike most two strokes. I would love to see a bunch of 250 two strokes going up against the 250 four strokes! Man I need to win the lottery!
 
yamasaki

yamasaki

dbrutherford said:
I want one of each... 125, 250, 250F, 450F, 500, ect... I want them all!
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for real, i'd have to be a millionaire with tons of free time though to keep all of them running perfectly and looking pimp all the time! :crutches:

it might be hard to wheel and deal on ANY '09 right now since theyre still basically just out of the factories.

i bought my '06 450 brand new in '07 for $4800 OTD because when i bought it, the 08's were already out. the deals are out there.
 
dbrutherford

dbrutherford

Parts Whore
Location
Fairmont, WV
Yeah I am with ya... At least you came back to the good old days and got another two stroke even if it is a alittle boys bike... Just messin with ya.

I am leaning more towards a WR 450 so I can dual sport it. That same dealership I was at today had both a WR Dual Sport and Super Moto WR250. If Yamaha would make a 450 WR dual sport that would make a killing. Heck Honda already handed them the two stroke market! I just can't justify paying that much money for a 250F. But a 450F, where do I sign? I am just a trail rider anyways.

I used to be a die hard Honda guy when I was a teenager. Once I got a Yamaha, I started to bleed blue. Now all I own is a bunch of Kawasakis (quad and skis). I hate the quad by the way. Once I win the lotto, I am getting all blue Yamahas of everything. Raptor 700, 450 Quad, Wave Bastard, SJ, GPR1300, R1 street bike, YZ/YZF125/250F/250/450F ect... Oh yeah a snowmobile too!


Back on topic, keep on smoking! Congrats on such a sweet new ride.
 
Captain PegLeg

Captain PegLeg

GJP
Location
Villa Rica, Ga
Here ya guys go...enjoy! I'll get some pics riding it this sunday!

DSC_00951.jpg
 
dbrutherford

dbrutherford

Parts Whore
Location
Fairmont, WV
I concur, only downside I see about Yamaha's is that they still don't make the radiator shrouds cover the whole gas tank. The shrouds are a lot cheaper to replace than the tank. Tank graphics always end up turning yellow and peeling. Plus you run the risk of striping out those brass inserts where the stuff bolts up to the tank. Oh well, a minor complain when yo urealize there aren't many people making two bangers anymore... You have Yamaha, KTM, and some other European bikes that have way too expensive and hard to get parts. +1 for Yamaha again!
 
MADMAT

MADMAT

Location
Ohio
I would like to see 2 highly talented riders race a 500 2 smoke and a 4 stroke of choice.

2 smoke would have to eat it alive, right? You can not mess with a 500cc 2 stroke man....no way!!!??
 
dbrutherford

dbrutherford

Parts Whore
Location
Fairmont, WV
There was a test where Transworld MX mag compared lap times aboard a CR500 AF (the Service Honda conversion bike) and a CRF450. Pro level MX test riders posted faster lap times on the 500. I also have a recent edition of MX Action where they rode a conversion bike and said that it was one hell of a bike but... they were sticking to 450s. Each has their place. I don't race so bring on a 500 for me!

The reason no one in the US rides 500's is because Honda and Kawasaki both quit making them. Suzuki and Yamaha put pressure on the AMA to end the 500 series because they didn't have a bike to compete on. YZ490's don't count...

For years afterwards (1993 was teh last year for AMA 500 MX racing) people still did race 500's in Europe. There was still a class there. But in the last 5 years or less the 500's have goen away for fourstroke MX bikes.

Most recently, Robbie Maddison used a conversion 500 to set the world distance jumping record. But now Ryan Capes has surpassed Robbie's distance using a 450.

All in all 500's have their place. If you want the meanest, biggest two stroke dirt bike ever made, then you need a CR or 500 MX bike.
 
yamasaki

yamasaki

if you wanted to have a close comparison though, you'd have to put that 500cc 2banger up against a +/- 1000cc 4-banger. comparing a 450f to a 500cc/2t is not really a good comparison. also, i'd bet a pro rider would hate a 500cc/2t bike for 30min+2laps vs a 450f. they'd be exhausted 10minutes into the moto.

:smile:
 
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