Cr500 and kx500 starts very easily. They are super reliable bikes, the trick is having good jetting and priming the bike with a few light kicks through the stroke to top dead center, with one really good strong kick, they go on every time. Now if you don't know the correct way to start a big bore, you can be there kicking it all day until it starts.
thats just the difference of another being 2 stroke and another 4 stroke, ofc when they are of similar cc power the 2 stroke will absolutely smoke 4 stroke on acceleration. In fact newer 250cc 2 strokes are similar in power to 400 4 strokes
They haven't came as far as you think in all out power but what they have done is spread the power out over the rev range and put it to the ground more effectively. Those big old two strokes are still a contender. I have an 84 yz 490 and ride with guys with modern 4 strokes and I'm not hurting any when they twist the throttle.
I did notice the side you had on the 500,had a very deep rut you made with it must be throwing up a huge roster tale , the power is digging a much bigger groove then the 450, cool runs
Always fun to watch these comparisons, I've ridden both and own a KX500 and I like the 450's but the real monster is the KX500, even went down 2 teeth in the rear for more lower torque to top end speed.
@@jonasmolinari5994 Imagine the front end being lifted by the wind in every gear, if it's jetted correctly. You will definitely know when it's on the pipe and for sure be ready to hold on. I recently went back to stock gearing so it's really fun now. I've ridden the cr250,kx250,kx450f,cr450f and I use to own a cr500 which was a beast also, but once I got this kx500 I was hooked. If you like 2 strokes this is it, just keep gas/oil, hand grips and rear tires on hand.
@jonny Begood your wrong, I own KX250 2 stroke and CRF450 and 450 will shit on 250 2 stroke any day and all day cause of larger displacement plus it much easier to ride and keep getting update every years and I know the fact! Now 250 2 stroke are eligible to race MX2.
I wish I had a 500cc 2-stroke, I started riding motorcycle at age 6. Currently I just own a modded Yamaha raptor 770cc with plus 3mm intake valves and plus 2mm exhaust valves, 11:1 compression. Full Hinson clutch, efi controller, freed up the exhaust and intake, stage 3 cam. At 75mph in 4th gear I can pull it up, then shift in 5th and it's stupid fast. I got it geared tall up front and installed the smallest rear sprocket I could find out back. 23 inch tires up front and 22 inch tall rear. I do mostly trail riding with it, plus 5mm stroker crank, 105.5mm piston. I enjoy riding a great deal, I may build a can am defender 6x6 with cab and powered dump box next to make a swamp monster out of it.
Wanted to cry when I seen this vid, reminded me when I had one back in 2003,people don't realise the f might have advantage on hills but two stroke is a turbo, air is forced into the cylinder.
It doesn't pressurize the fuel/air mixture like a turbo at all bro. It only takes the same amount as what it sucks. Granted thay bang twice as often, but that is also lessened by the amount of combustion that two strokes produce by design. I'm a 2 stroke guy by the way.. no hate js
@@scottyd2262 can't argue with stupid I don't know how, I can only say the bottom end of the piston forces air into the chamber, you aren't the first person I've had to explain this too.
@@Kevin-cn7nb It gets the same amount as what it sucks.. Just like a na 4stroke. A turbo produces more of an atmosphere into the barrel.. Your not arguing with stupid now bro... You can't argue into a mirror stupid..
You really should have said "You're not the 1st person that I've told incorrect information to. I work at my Dad's performance shop for the last 25years on turbos & superchargers. I raced 2t's since I was 9.... stupid
The two stroke is actually similar to a turbo, it exceeds atmospheric pressure during certain points in the rpm range, this is what creates the so called powerband
@@zachdavis3974 got ya 👍. I have a fully professional worked up kx500 myself, far from stock, and smoke the majority of bikes I've raced. My best race was against a crf450r that had athena bigbore kit made out to a 510cc. We were head for head but ran out of distance by the time my kx500 started pulling in front. My cr500r thats been a project for a while, will lay a smack down on my kx500 (as the cr500r engine has been built top to bottom by Eric gorr - the guy who used to build all team pro hondas 500 bikes back when they still raced the 500 class and spanked the competition. My cr500r engine is ported and polished, squish band adjusted, head milled, set up for high compression and to run on race fuel, big 40 mm carb (stock was 38mm) boyesen rad valve, msv exhaust flange, and all the other supporting mods to brinng out big power gains.
@@High_Octane haha nice try troll. You are clueless... That's why the steel frame kx500 and cr500r still can win first in pro level motocross races? Imagine getting wooped on by a 20-30 year old bike... Go watch a few youtube races with the pro's racing both the kx500 and cr500r steel frame old school big bore, and winning first place against the modern four stroke 450s. You apparently must be talking through your teeth and never rode a steel frame 500 before.
It sounds like he shifts at the bottom of the power band. Holding it in half a second longer will keep it in the power band on the next shift turning it into the death machine it was designed to be.
I have been a racer and I’m 60 years old. I lost interest in racing when POLITICS forced 2 strokes out, especially when it comes to Road Racing. Racing is supposed to consist of the Most Radical Machine & Rider. Period. NOT electronic “rider aids” etc. With Fuel Injection Suter & Ronan both have built 2 stroke 500cc Bikes that don’t smoke and handle/stop just as well as any bike in MotoGP so WTF! Oh yeah, POLITICS and SoyBoys. Love the KX500 man, keep it going.
The 500 2 stroke has a way faster acceleration of course but in the long run the 450 4 stroke has a faster top speed so it would win, basically depends on the length of the race
@@lenny0347 450s have pretty similar gear ratios to the 500s but the 450s rev higher. Most of the 450s will rev out past 11,000rpm while the 500s will rev to about 8,500rpm. My stock geared KX450 will hit a little under 100mph where my friends CR500 tops out at a little over 80.
@@lenny0347 That's true to an extent, but first gear is already pretty fast on them in the first place in my experience . For my type of riding I'd rather not be going 20+mph in first gear at practically idle. I rode an 01 CR500 on tight and muddy trails and had a hard time going slow enough to feel in control. I suppose over time I would get used to it, but for me it felt like I was on the verge of going off the trail even while barely touching the throttle, and that's coming from someone who has been riding 450s since they came out.
The two stroke wins every time with the right rider. It’s the reality of the mechanics of the engine. Every 2 revolutions includes one detonation versus every 4 revolutions on the four stroke. Plus the 2 stroke it’s lighter without a valve train. 4 stroke is going to have more torque. So if dirt bikes pulled trailers with heavy weight? 4 stroke does better. Reliability? 4 stroke. Easy and cheap to work on? 2 stroke. Trade offs all around.
@@thefngoat2888 I owned a TE 510. I never said 4 strokes don’t run hard. I personally cannot stand 2 strokes. But with the right rider? On a motocross track? They are crazy.
I don't understand motors but growing up I had a YZ80..... the powerband was strong & right about the time you thought it was all done it had a whole other level of power that propelled her & she was small but fast as F#@K. I could go thru technical like a trail in the woods faster than bigger bikes just b/c of her small stature but the power was insane for a small bike! 2 Stroke
I agree my cousin had a YZ80 growing up and I used to ride it those things were very fast for being so small he would keep up with my 125 when we went through the woods
Out in the open I could hand from 0-40 w/ my cousins 250 but it's ability to go thru the woods fast amazed my cousin but at the time I didn't understand it, only later did I realize it's size allowed it to cut thru trees & tough trails easier than a big bike just b/c of it's small stature. All I can remember is when I thought she was ALL IN, she had another half the "band" of power waiting. I also think they made the bikes back then out of better materials but here I am at 62 looking for a bike to ride again = go figure? peace man
A ton of brands are still trying to improve power and efficiency though, like KTM, Husqvarna and many others relating to dirt bikes, chain saws, boat motors etc. The reality is that the four stroke has seen a massive performance optimization in the last 40 years with dirt bikes while the two stroke has pretty much already been perfected since at least the 80s. There's only so much you can do with a two stroke to make more power and they've already done it.
@@harrypeterson9287It has more to do with most of the biggest modern 2 stroke's being 250cc and not 500cc. A modern 4 stroke 250 is still slower and not as snappy as a 2 stroke 250. If modern 2 stroke's was 450cc or 500cc with technology these days they would be crazy fast. It sounds like you just like 4 stroke's more.
@@trevorpeck1877 Why not 1000cc engines? Maybe run it on methanol. No wait, nitromethane! I'm not saying 2 strokes suck, I'm saying there are physical limitations to the way they function which have been reached long ago. I own a CR500AF, a YZ490 and a CR250.
Hate to break it to all you 4t fan boys. As good as modern 4 strokes are.. they did take over cause they are easier to ride! Not because they make more power. Plain n simple. It's a physical impossibility that a equall caliber and displacement 4t motor... Will make the same hp much less torque than a equall caliber and displacement 2t... Even a 20 year superior 4t .. 250f can't Match a 20 year inferior 2t .. 250 torque numbers. Falls about 10 lb/ft short. In fact the 250 2t torque rivals a modern 450 at 30-35lb/ft Problem is 2t deliver peak numbers at the same time hp n torque. Making it harder to ride and get traction. The illusion of power you feel on a 4 stroke is simply traction. A product of its linear power delivery. Peak figures for the 2021 Kawasaki KX450 are 52.4 hp at 9,600 rpm and 32.6lb/ft Make ModelKawasaki KX500 Max Torque65,7 Nm 48.4 lb-ft / @ 6000 rpm Quote from dirtbike magazine (In stock trim the KX500 makes in the realm of 63 horsepower and has 40-plus foot-pounds of torque. It is a lighter bike than the new-aged 250Fs and more powerful than all of the 2017 450 four-strokes. Sounds good on paper, doesn’t it?) That an manufacture needed job security it was to cost efficient for average 2t riders to maintain thier bikes. 4 stroke motor grenades you might as well buy a new bike..$$$ for them
4 strokes took over because of EPA and similar European emission laws. Smokers are making a comeback with FI and other "clean" technology. There is no doubt displacement vs displacement the 2t kicks ass.....here's a decent article: www.revzilla.com/common-tread/where-did-all-the-2-strokes-go
2 stroke riders have to the biggest group of pissy elitists ever. 2 strokes put out more power sure. 4 strokes translate the power much more efficiently. When the modern 4 strokes came out they were destroying the 2 strokes. And with proper maintenance 4 strokes don't grenade. 300 to 400 hours on a 4 stroke isn't uncommon and even at 200 hours the maintenance on them really isn't all that expensive. Probably pretty close to the cost of mixing $20 containers of oil into your fuel for a 2 stroke for a season. Put this 4t on a track against that 500 and let's see who wins. Ride what you want. Not sure why every 2 stroke rider insists on turning every conversation about bikes into a my dick is bigger than yours argument. 2 strokes have their place and so do 4 strokes. In 5 years when electric bikes are hitting the market with any frequency they are going to destroy the 2 t and 4 t anyways.
Not sure why you think it's physically impossible that a 4t would make less hp than a 2t of equal displacement. A KTM 450sxf makes 63hp. So with 50cc less that argument doesn't pan. There's more to it than 2t vs 4t.
@@wonderbread2364 problem is with most riders whether its 2 stroke or 4 stroke is that they often push the limits on their machines just to ride. I restored an 08 yz450. The bike has well over 200 hours on the top and bottom end. Still runs like a dream. Where I live I have a winter season where I don't ride so the bike is torn down and cleaned. I crack the case every winter to make sure its in good shape. It's really not that hard to do. Most often than not it costs me a gasket kit. It's really not that expensive if you think about how long the engine can go with proper maintenance. Unless you have an absolutely catastrophic issue. Which machining and repairs in a catastrophic failure on a two stroke will run you just as much in machining and parts. Too many people ride and neglect their bikes only to bitch and complain later that they have issues.
@@wonderbread2364 you missed the point. Yes I do tear the bike down every year thats my choice. You don't have to tear the bike down every year. My cousin has the same bike i do and doesn't do nearly the maintenance i do and the bike has been super reliable. Im just super meticulous about a machine that I own. I've also invested over $4000 in parts to upgrade the bike. The point is that these bikes regardless of what you ride are more than just oil changes. Hence the majority of blown up 4 stroke bikes being sold for cheap, giving 4 stroke bikes a bad name because of human incompetence. You should be checking the bottom end of your two strokes every year. But that's up to the owner. You don't have the facility to do a tear down thats fine. Sure two strokes are cheaper to maintain in the top end. They are a more user friendly bike when it comes to maintenance. My problem is with every two stroke rider using that as a gage to turn every conversation between 2 stroke and 4 stroke into a passing match about how their bikes are superior. Without a doubt 2 stroke riders are the only ones out that apparently have something to prove. And maintenance cost on 2 strokes changes drastically when you start dealing with the European bikes. And thats if you can get parts. Especially during covid. Blow up a KTM or husky 2 stroke and let me know what your cost is. I'll tell you I also have 2016 ktm 300 xc and by far the maintenance has been more expensive the my yz450. I'm not sure where you go to get a crank and top end for the price you claim...but im in Canada and parts are much more expensive here. I got a full engine weisco rebuild kit for $1200. Divide that cost over the 2 years I've been riding the bike and you see the math. And I would place my money on the idea that I'll get a 3rd year easy. 2 stroke riders seem to be under the belief that 4 stroke bikes blow up every single year. I'm not an mx rider either. I ride events hare scrambles and sprints but as well as a trail rider.
To start Kx 500 cold=Choke it and Lean bike on its side until gas comes out of carb overflow. Then start it. To keep it cool especially at trail stops while it is running for the antifreeze coolant does NOT burp/leak out of the radiator overflow tube=Use a product called "water wetter" It really does work and keeps the antifreeze cooler. Also take off in second gear with a good tread rear tire and gas the throttle a few seconds before take off to clean the bike out,and have the rpms up a bit right at takeoff. I rode a KX 500 for a few years.The original kickstarts do break and they did sell an upgraded beefier kickstart. These 500's vibrates more,stops slower than a 250-2 stroke or a modern 450,does not handle as easily and takes an experienced rider to handle these 500 beasts-But the power is incredible.
2 strokes fire double the amount of times that a 4 stroke does at the same rpm. 2 strokes plus single cylinder engines are a good combination of lightweight, simple, with good power.
Ya I've only ridden a race moded kx 500 with a fully built engine. It was fast maybe the fastest dirt bike I've ridde. Next to a 82 yz 490 with 500 kit. I've owned some fast cr 500 but they have no power valve and Rev out at like 7000 rpm. The will eat a 450 off the line but get walked on the big end by the 450s every time. Do to lack of rpm. The kx has a power valve an can keep making power higher. Although it's chasis sucks
Peak figures for the 2021 Kawasaki KX450 are 52.4 hp at 9,600 rpm and 32.6 Make ModelKawasaki KX500 Max Torque65,7 Nm 48.4 lb-ft / @ 6000 rpm Quote from dirtbike magazine In stock trim the KX500 makes in the realm of 63 horsepower and has 40-plus foot-pounds of torque. It is a lighter bike than the new-aged 250Fs and more powerful than all of the 2017 450 four-strokes. Sounds good on paper, doesn’t it?
I had cr125r, and my buddy had a yz125, and his yz was faster than my cr. The reason is the gearing. My bike was better for trails, and that's where I would smoke him, but he would smoke me on the street. I saw a yz250f beat a yz450f, and it's all because the gearing and simple changes that you can do to the bike to make it faster with less torque, or slower but with alot of torque. That cr125r that I had would holeshot like a jet but once it got up to speed it wasn't going over 50mph and my buddy's yz125 would do 70-80 with no problem.
4 stroke is a more predictable and controllable power so ya easier to race a track faster but just drag race or raw power 2stroke wins cc to cc comparison.
Had a kx 500. At 250lbs it took everything I had to kick start it . Broke my uncles leg when it kicked back . That was an easy start on the 500 . Needs rebuilding?
You guys sounds like everything you say is a question, even when explaining or proving a point which is something real...the accent sounds like making questions in every sentence. Google says that the Kardashians started that accent 😄😄😄 it’s funny! Oh..and the bikes are cool?...I remember when I rode a kx 500?...the feeling is crazy?
@@dormantmenace the 4 t has a wider usable power range. And 2 strokes are geared shorter. Drag and track are completely separate. The 450 would eat the 500 on a track.
I saw a video of a cr500 vs a ktm 450 sxf tapped wide on the beach and the 450 was like a bike length ahead of the 500. I think the 450 was a factory edition or something tho didn't necessarily look stock the 500 looked stock for the most part but never really know.
That was a Paris-Dakar desert bike with taller gearing and a special wide-ratio gearbox. The 500 simply ran out of gear to pull. Tean Green's Baja 500 bikes were geared to do 118 all day long.
Hey mate im not saying this to be a hater or be nasty just would to say maybe do some footage without gopro coz its better to see the bike and u do ur thing. Just a suggestion but uo to you may get some more subscribers that way including myself. I saw all the vids on my pc then got on my phone to msg u as i dont know how to msg on pc any way take it easy mate a the best.
It's so simple put the hole on first when cold turn on the fuel next kick till it starts leave choke on for 30 seconds after that shut of choke and go you need the choke on first or it will be hard to start
Two stroke power, I have a DT200R, power valve pinned fully open, race exhaust , it's amazing how many road bikes I can beat up to about 65mph,only then will they overtake
Seems pointless to do these drag races in the dirt, so much power is lost in wheel spin, just once would like to see someone compare big bore 2 and 4 strokes on pavement where these bikes could actually get most of the power to the ground
The ama needs to let 500 2 strokes race in the 450 class that's what's fuckin fair not trying to compare 250s to 450s. And take the 500 motor and slap it into a 2023 Kx250f chassis and it would be a different story
and when did dirt bike riders forget how to powershift...on a 2 stroke bike when you shift you DO NOT let off the throttle...keep it in the high rpm powerband
@@loganhollingsworth7978 ....One less gear shift, while the guy next to you is looking for second, you're already there. The best way to see the difference is with a open stretch and a stop watch.... check it out.
@@loganhollingsworth7978 what old mate said plus the fact on open class bikes 1st gear is too powerful off the line and will be spinning the whole time
@@SSsacas No. Neither bike in the video is "intended" to be shifted without the clutch. Kawasaki does have clutch-free shifting technology for select road models but not for the kx450/250. They certainly didn't have it for the kx500 as this technology was predated by this bike by several decades. If you are careful you can get away with shifting without the clutch if you are just cruising around. If you are doing full throttle starts with the kx450 for example, shifting without the clutch would be foolish. Do pros do it? Yes on occasion, but they don't own the bikes they race and factory bikes receive constant maintenance with a factory trailer stocked with new parts. As an aside to Ben's original comment, the amount of clutch wear from shifting would be absolutely infinitesimal. A total nonissue.
@@jasonm3835 if careful?... I've been doing it since the 90's, I'm not a pro, never had a single gearbox problem with any of the bikes. I rode Hondas, Yamahas, Suzukis, Kawasakis, KTMs, ... You name it!
@@SSsacas By "careful" I meant being very aware of matching the rpm to bike speed so you can change gears with the transmission unloaded. If you do this, then yes it's essentially the same thing as using the clutch to mechanically disconnect drive power through the transmission. But why go to this trouble when you can guarantee the transmission is unloaded by using the clutch? There is virtually no benefit I can think of except for saving small amounts of time in a high intensity racing situation, but that will almost certainly result in damage to the gearbox. The most extreme example would be a motocross style start where full throttle is used. To get the time saving benefit, you will be sacrificing gearbox life, whereas if you are more careful about unloading the tranny in this case, you have lost any chance at saving time. Infact, going Clutchless would be slower on a start if you wished to avoid damage and unloaded the gearbox by chopping the throttle and pulling the shift lever when you sensed the trans was freewheeling. Someone using the clutch could shift faster by barely letting off at all, to even break even going clutchless, your timing would have to be impeccable. Clutchless shifting can be done but it works best for casual riders on equally casual rides. The only real benefit cannot be used on these rides because who cares about saving fractions of a second on a Saturday joyride? One final thought. The very term "clutchless shifting" is itself a tacit admission that the clutch is normally used for shifting, otherwise why is there a need to specify you are shifting "clutchless" to begin with? This is further evidence for why I said the bikes weren't "intended" to be shifted this way.
Umm. There was a reason why 2T's racing with 4T's on the track had a near 50% swept volume handicap. For the same reason that Turbo cars are half the capacity of normally aspirated. Think about it. The 2T has 500cc firing every revolution of the engine, whilst the 4T has it firing every other! That's equivalent to 1000cc vs 500.
Not true. Two strokes make less power on the power stroke. By design they have to run a lower compression ratio, typically about 9:1 with two strokes vs 12.5:1 with the modern fours. Then you have to factor in how the engine is fighting itself by having to compress the fuel/air charge on the downstroke along with poor fuel atomization and a slower flame front. This is why 2 strokes have poorer fuel efficiency potential as a rule. Designed and tuned just right in terms of bore vs stroke, porting, the right pipe, ignition timing etc etc you can get close to double HP over a narrow section of the RPM span, but no matter what you simply can't achieve double the power per power stroke.
