Service Honda CR500AFX SM: 2WheelTimes Main Street Moto
By: Michael Hannas
CR500! Those two letters and three numerals alone are enough to make pulses race and palms sweaty when mentioned in the presence of anyone who has tried to tame the beast. Since Honda put her to pasture five years ago, nothing else has really been available that delivers equally frightening acceleration. Sure, a built 450 MXer or big-bore four-stroke puts it down pretty hard, but they just aren’t the same as the lightning-quick snap of a well tuned CR500.
A company called Service Honda realized that many riders still yearn for a big-bore two-stroke and has made quite a business stuffing CR500 engines into modified CR250R and now CRF250X chassis. They actually started putting the 500 into the second-generation aluminum CR250R chassis when Honda still produced the CR500, but business has definitely exploded since Honda announced the big-bore two-stroke would be discontinued after 2001.
The model 2WheelTimes tested is called a CR500AFX, which is a CR500 engine in a CRF250X chassis. The pudding on the pie with this model is besides the headlight, taillight, and odometer; you also get a green-sticker in California. That’s right, there is still a way to get a brand spankin’ new green-sticker legal two-stroke in Cali. When 2WheelTimes heard that one of our readers had motarded and plated one of the monsters for the street, we grabbed our gear and headed over to see if we could flog it for a day without getting our licenses revoked.
Upon first inspection, the bike looks almost ordinary, like it just came off a dealer showroom. You can tell that the frame was modified but the job is clean enough that the engine looks like it belongs in the chassis. The owner retained the stock CRF-X headlight and taillight, simply adding a brake light switch to the rear unit to avoid a two-ton SUV enema. A small dual-sport mirror, enduro computer with speedo, and plate mounted under the rear fender complete the street-legal mods. No, it wouldn’t really pass a brake and light inspection, but the owner claims says he’s been pulled over and just played dumb and didn’t get written up. Hey, it had a plate and that was enough for us.
The stock dirt wheels and brakes were swapped for a Rad MFG wheelset. The black rims laced to red hubs shod with Avon Distanzias complete the factory look. The suspension was left stock, while Braking took care of the front and rear brakes. The whole package was so clean that one could easily walk right by it if it was parked in the pits at a local race. That is, unless it was running.
Once the machine is kicked to life, it is anything but ordinary. Small children run, women cover their ears, and men are drawn to it like moths to a light. We took a trip downtown to grab some coffee and scare some grannies. You would be amazed at the amount of attention you draw to yourself while riding this animal. It’s like your driving the Oscar-Meyer Weinermobile with Elvis Pressley riding on top of it in his birthday suit. Everyone stares. One old lady even proclaimed it loud and smelly. It was truly wonderful.
The combination of two-stroke power in a modern chassis with 17’s on the street was intoxicating. To say the bike is high-strung would be an understatement. It is definitely not a daily driver. Compared to other street-legal motards, the 500 is a pure racer. It vibrates, it’s loud, and you can only carry so much premix. The powerband is surprisingly mellow, if you respect it. If you short-shift it and keep the revs low, it is very smooth and predictable. However, you’d better be pointed straight when she comes on the pipe because the front wheel will be in the air. Unlike another heavy hitter from its nineties, good ol’ Iron Mike Tyson, the CR500 has thankfully lost none of its punch.
The stock suspension was on the soft side for aggressive riding but seemed to work well on the bumpy low-grip surfaces encountered most on the street. As a side note, wheelies and stoppies were also made much easier to do with the stock trail-biased valving.
It was when we found some dirt-gravel roads that the 500 really surprised. The balanced and cushy suspension and light weight made the bike much more planted and flickable than a normal street tard. It felt more like a motocross bike than a Supermotard, which is probably because it is as close as you can get to a MX bike on the street. The gravel brought wheelspin into the equation, which made the power even more manageable. The bike was a willing flat-tracker and had plenty of ponies to steer with the rear. It was almost more fun in the dirt than it was downtown.
We didn’t really want to giver her back but it was probably best that 2WheelTimes.com only had possession of the CR500AFX SM for a few glorious hours. We don’t know how the owner managed to get it plated, and we didn’t ask for fear of promptly maxing out our credit cards and then losing our licenses when we found out how to get one of our very own. Well, now that I think of it, I did just get a new card with a $15K limit, and I guess I could always take the bus to work…
Service Honda CR500AFX- SM
Wheels: Front 3.5x17 black Behr wheel with red Rad MFG. hub
Rear 4.5x17 black Behr wheel with red Rad MFG. hub
Tires: Front Avon Distanzia AM43 120/70/HR17
Rear Avon Distanzia AM44 160/60/HR17
Brakes: Braking Supermoto 16mm master cylinder
Braking Supermoto caliper
Braking 320 wave rotor
Braking rear wave rotor
Speedo: AceWell Service Honda Ultimate speedometer
Handguards: Cycra Pro bend triple clamp mount with profile enduro shields
Exhaust: Pro circuit pipe and silencer
Report Card: Service Honda CR500AFX SM
Motor: A
Handling: A
Brakes: A
Ridability: A-
Value: B
2WheelTimes.com Moto G.P.A. = 3.75
The owner of the bike asked that we keep his identity secret, for fear of being inundated with even more requests for help in other people’s street-conversion projects. As he said to us, “ Every time I ride the thing and stop I get some guy coming up wanting to know how I got a plate for it and what he needs to do to get his 1984 CR480 plated.” To be honest, we can’t blame him. Being gracious enough to invite us to sample his creation, we had no problem honoring his request for anonymity. He was able to answer a few questions for us though.
2WT- What gave you the idea for the CR500AFX street supermoto?
JG- I have a friend that started racing supermoto about a year and a half ago. I went to a couple of his races and I fell in love with the sport. All my supermotard riding is on the street, never been to a track but I love smashin’ around town on a dirt bike, you know.
2WT- Why a CR500?
JG- My Dad has a couple old street-legal two-strokes I got to ride a few times; a 1985 Yamaha RZ500 and a 1975 Kawasaki 750 H2 triple known as the “widowmaker.” These bikes inspired me to make a modern street-legal two-stroke; something without old leaks and squeaks. My first street motard was a 2005 Yamaha WR450 with a green-sticker that I was able to plate, so I knew it could be done with the Service Honda.
2WT- What was the most difficult part of the conversion?
JG- Spending the money and not really knowing if it would be what I was looking for.
2WT- Is it what you were looking for?
JG- For sure!! It’s a two-stroke, which produces radical power. That is why some people are addicted to two-stroke power and speed.
2WT- Well, thanks for letting us feed our addiction.
JG- No problem, thanks for not getting it impounded!
