Honda Cr500r
HONDA CR500R
CYCLE WORLD TEST
A LITTLE NEW, A LOT BETTER
YOU DON'T RESORT TO BRAIN surgery when aspirin will do the job. And in 1985, Honda’s CR500R needed nothing more than a mild prescription to cure a few suspension headaches. That’s why the big news about this year’s CR500R motocrosser isn’t how much it has changed; it’s how little it has changed. But the end product is a bike that’s much better than ever.
Suspension was the most widely criticized feature of the ’85 CR500R, so it’s not surpising that most of the changes on the ’86 model have something to do with suspension. The CR boasts a new Showa cartridge fork, and a new rear shock with revised linkage, and that was enough to change the bike’s suspension picture from fair to excellent.
Honda’s factory MX bikes have been using a cartridge-type fork for quite some time, but for 1986, the cartridge design is standard on the production machines. So in effect, the buyer of a new CR500R gets a factory fork free. The cartridge system’s main advantage is that it separates damping oil and air. Because the inner cartridge is filled with and is surrounded by oil, a constant supply of oil remains around the small damping valves at all times. Thus there is no fear of air entering the damping mechanism and adversely affecting the fork’s performance.
As in the past, each Showa fork leg still has adjustable compression damping, but the adjusting mechanism now operates quite differently. Last year, the adjuster screw simply altered the spring preload on a blowoff valve. But this year, the more the adjuster is turned inward, the more a tapered needle obstructs a damping orifice, and vice-versa. Additionally, there is a spring-loaded seat for the needle, so sharp bumps can still be absorbed smoothly. The fork is the smoothest that Showa has ever built for a production motocrosser.
The rear suspension is less changed, but works every bit as well as the front end. The progression curve of the Pro-Link system now starts lower and peaks higher, which means the suspension is more compliant on small bumps and bottoms less on big ones. A new Showa shock with revised damping and a heatcompensating valve helps keep the suspension’s performance constant during a long moto.
The bottom-line for all of these fork and shock refinements is that the ’86 suspension works wonderfully. The big motocrosser glides across the nastiest terrain, soaks up landings from the highest jumps and never gets confused. Spring rates are perfect for a wide range of riders, and when the damping adjustments at both ends are in the middle of their ranges, just about anyone should be pleased with the setup, all the way from Novice to Pro. Only the spring preload has to be changed to dial-in the rear end for different riders; but as a rough guideline, about four inches of sag with a rider on board seems optimum.
With the suspension working so well, it was a foregone conclusion that the bike would handle great. Handling has always been a Honda strong point, and now it’s even stronger. Steering precision is excellent; any line through a corner seems like the hot line. The front tire never skates or tries to run wide, and the rear stays on the ground and swallows the nastiest stutter-bumps in stride. Headshake when crossing high-speed bumps and when entering rutted corners was a real annoyance on past CRs, but the ’86 doesn't exhibit any of these bad manners. This must be due to the new suspension, because the steering-head angle, trail and wheelbase all are unchanged.
Also unchanged is the CR's holeshot capability. Just start in second or even third gear, ease out the clutch lever while dumping the throttle open, and hold on. The ’86 engine has the same peak horsepower as the ’85, but the powerband is smoother and the power easier to use. There is more low-end power on tap than on the '85 motor, and the transition into the mid-range is very controllable. The engine also will rev out to higher rpm, although the key to turning quick lap times on the CR is to keep it in the lower part of the rpm range and let it lug around the track. But at any rpm, the engine vibration that usually is an unwelcome companion on an Open bike is practically nil on the big Honda; the 491cc engine runs as smoothly as a 125.
Honda’s Open-class powerplant has been a good one for quite some time, so it was little-changed this year. In fact, most of the changes were intended to make the bike easier to start. The compression ratio was lowered from 7.4:1 to 7.0:1; and a new ignition has a maximum advance of 28 degrees at 5000 rpm (last year’s was 22 degrees at 4000 rpm) and a higher-output ignition coil. Otherwise, the ’86 engine uses the same cylinder porting, pipe, carburetor and reeds as the ’85 version.
Despite all that, starting the beast is still a chore. Cold, the engine requires three to five violent kicks. When hot, the engine might start first kick, or it could take a dozen. The biggest problem isn’t in the engine, but rather in the shape of the kickstart lever itself: It simply hurts to kick the engine over, so the rider invariably doesn’t kick as hard as is necessary to start the big CR.
There are, of course, a few engine changes that aren’t related to starting. The transmission, for example, uses the same ratios as before, but first and fifth gears each have four engagement dogs instead of three, and the gears are claimed to be stronger. A new clutch-actuating arm makes for an easier-pulling clutch lever, and, according to Honda, a better feel, as well. But while the clutch does pull nicely, it engages too abruptly for our tastes.
That might sound like a nitpick, but the truth is that it's hard to find even little things to complain about on the CR500R. The bike feels just right no matter if you’re seated or standing on the pegs. And whereas last year’s gas tank and seat were a tad wide, that’s been remedied for ’86.
What’s more, smaller improvements abound everywhere you look on the Honda. Although the drive chain itself is suspect (ours stretched continually and had to be replaced after just two days of testing), the chain slider is quite effective andean be replaced without removing the swingarm; the Bridgestone tires are effective on a variety of soils the airbox and foam filter are larger; the steering stem is thicker for strength; the frame has more gusseting around the swingarm pivot; the swingarm now pivots in four needle bearings instead of two; the rear hub has two bearings on the drive side; the rear brake shoes are 3mm wider; and the front brake rotor is lighter.
The changes to the brakes are minor but significant improvements. The long grooves in the front rotor and the wider rear shoes add progression while eliminating the initial grabbiness prevalent with previous CR brakes. More progressive brakes and an engine with a lower compression ratio make the CR easier to ride and harder to stall.
If it sounds as if we like the newest CR500R, it’s because we do. A lot. We can’t compare this bike with other ’86 Open motocross bikes because this is the first one we have tested. But we can tell you that the ’86 CR500R is the most serious, best suspended, best handling, fastest, easiest-to-ride Open-class motocross bike we’ve tested to date. And we also can say that if the CR isn't the best bike in its class for 1986, Open motocrossing is in for one whale of a fine year. E3
HONDA CR500R
$2698
