My CR500 is made by Service Honda. I don't have a scale to weigh it and Service Honda is now out of business so I can't call them. To the best of my knowledge, the Service Honda CR500AF weighs 230 lbs wet, give or take a few pounds. From my understanding, it is a 2005 CRF250R motorcycle that had the 4-stroke engine removed and the frame modified to accept a 2001 CR500 2-stroke engine. I do know that when I buy any parts for this bike, with the exception of the engine, I have to order parts for a CRF250R. But all engine parts are for a 2001 CR500. Honda stopped making the CR500 in 2001. All factory CR500s were steel frame as Honda never made an aluminum frame CR500. A 2005 CRF250R weighs 204 lbs dry.
2005 Honda CRF250R Specifications
So gentlemen, what I have here is a nothing more, nothing less than a 250 motorcycle with the power of a 500! The end result is roughly twice the power of a 250 with an additional (approximate) 9 lbs for the larger engine. The 250 bikes are quite capable of motocross and winning races. But when you double the power, the additional weight of the larger engine simply disappears! This bike cost $10,000 new when it was bought from Service Honda by the previous owner. Being the second owner, I only paid $3,000. But they typically sell for around $5k to $8K & up depending on mods, trick parts, and condition and that prediction is from a few years ago before Service Honda went under. This bike is in exceptionally good condition, especially considering it is 13 years old. It has only been ridden on light trails a handful of times. It has never been raced or seen a race track that it was made for.
As for riding skills, I have been riding motorcycles all my life, and this beast is a lot to for someone of my skills to handle. It has an insane amount of torque and can lift the front wheel with the simple twist of the throttle. I have never had it off of my 4 acre property so I can't really say what the top speed is or how hard it is to handle off road. To make matters worse, it has an unpredictable power curve and the engine can all of a sudden have a surge of power. Some people believe this is the result of what is commonly referred to as a powerband, believing that a powerband is a device that can be removed or added to the engine. There is no such device called a powerband! The term powerband actually refers to the torque curve of the engine. Ever hear someone say "when the powerband kicks in"? I am going to install weights on the flywheel to smooth out the "powerband" and make the engine a little more predicable
As for anyone wanting to buy a CR500 or always dreamed of owning such an animal, they are as powerful as you think they are. They are fun to ride and the 2-stroke sound is intoxicating! But if you are just wanting something that is fun to ride, a modern 450 4-stroke is plenty capable off road and is a lot of fun to ride off road. You can get a trail version 450 that has wider spaced gears making it a lot better for leisure off-road trail riding. The CR500 is a race only bike. Taking off road as I plan to do takes it out of the element that it was built for. The modern big bore bikes are also much less expensive used and typically has electric start. But a half liter 2-stroke dirt bike is like nothing else on the planet! But it is an absolute @#$% to kick start! I really need a decompression valve! Short riders be forewarned, I am 6'3" and I sometimes stand on a milk to start it when it is cold and requires salvo of 20 kicks, 10 minutes of rest, followed by another 20 kicks. Absolutely aggravating! But when the engine cracks, pops, and comes to life, it is truly worth all the pain and aggravation!
