Description
Click here for an CycleVIN Motorcycle History Report on this 1985 Honda CR500. Additional photos are available here for your perusal.
When originally released in 1984, the CR500 was the most powerful MX bike that Honda had ever produced. It quickly got a reputation for pinging (including the nickname of “Ping King”), which was rectified the next year with liquid-cooling. The rest was history – in a period review of the ’85 CR500, Dirt Bike Magazine said riding this bike was like “playing with a loaded shotgun.”
Said shotgun packed about 55 horsepower into 230 pounds of bike, and many riders thought it was the best Japanese open class bike of the time. The legend lives on – in 2008 VitalMX compared a late model CR500 to a new at the time CRF450, concluding that the new bike was a better overall package for the average rider but the CR500 would be faster if you truly had the skills to handle it. In their words, “The CRF450 is Dr. Jekyll. The CR500 is Mr. Hyde.”
The seller of this example (VIN: JH2PE0207FC404120) acquired it ten years ago from his step father.
The seller states that the bike has been restored with a suspension rebuild and complete motor rebuild, the latter of which was done by Eric Crozon of Performance Cycle in Garden Grove, California. The work also included new radiator hoses, new carb, new chain/sprockets The motor has 2 hours of run time and he now keeps it in his home but he says that “it runs perfect and is ready to hit the dirt.”
Modifications:
Nickel plated expansion chamber.
Aftermarket exhaust.
ASV levers.
Boyesen Factory Racing clutch cover and OMF skid plate.
Currently located in Westminster, California, this CR500 is offered on a clean California off-road title. Have any CR500 stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the comments!
