Trying to Tame a Clapped Out 1985 Honda CR500 

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Hi. You might heard this already, if you are low on compression the enginge will run rich. So it might be a good idea to check the piston and ring... And also, a reed valve engine should never spit back the fuel thru the carb so i’m guessing it’s time to rebuild the reed valve... Keep up the good work, boys! 👍

I remember when 500s were sometimes cheaper than 250’s because how many people would pick them up and then ride it once, scare the s**t out of themselves and then immediately want to unload it cheap. It’s crazy what they sell for now. I also love how you guys went straight from a kx65 to a cr500.

You thought a CR500 was hard to handle? How about one that's been neglected, doesn't idle, has blown out suspension, etc😁 absolutely love this bike!

Charles remains the comedic relief of this channel. I love him.

The respect is large for not taking the motor out. As a die hard life long moto fan I thank you. those cr500s are more and more rare by the day.

The exhaust leak is still there and will effect how it’s running. The pipe gets a donut and the flange attached to the motor gets a metal gasket as well.

The Big CRs were always hard work, they always oiled up if you didn't have a big space to open them up, also if I remember correctly the transmission case oil also lubricates the wet clutch so they can get messy, oh yes you might want to replace the flywheel as the magnets weaken with age/heat .. and don't be surprised if it wants new rings/piston & a rebore every few hours of use ..... for all those negatives just a few moments hitting the power band are worth all the hassle. I did notice what looked like some ridging in the clutch basket, if it's not too deep sometimes a light file can help remove them and stop clutch stick/judder. One other thing you might want to check and or replace are the reed valves, they do get lazy and stick open making for hard starting and bad idle, they are also cheap and easy to replace .. just my 2c Enjoying this content very much!

Yeah that's the Reed valves they're holding slightly open causing fuel to spit out through carburetor during the piston downstroke

A restoration series would be super cool on this bike.

Honestly I like seeing John get more confident and riding larger bikes! Nothing wrong with small bikes but seeing someone's journey into two wheels is fun for me. 👍

Gotta say I am loving the longer video lengths since you guys went to one episode a week 💪💀 you can really get the details in there and Im here for it

Hey guys, check the reeds. They effect starting and performance! 85 CR500 aka the Widowmaker Always check the bottom of the frame rails for ware too!

Next on the list, getting a Banshee and trying to tame that beast!

the dampening in the exhaust is not only sound dampening, it also creates a delay and high pressure in the end of the exhaust, only this way the expansion part of the exhaust will function like it should, its like 20% more effective with clean dampening material, also means like 20% more horsepower :)

Big bore two strokes will always be my first love. Going all the way back to my 1979 KTM 420, there is nothing quite like that level of power in a lightweight chassis.

Watching Ike effortlessly fire the bike is like the reel going around where the guy hands the racer his beer and fires the racers bike up for him and spins it around

Order a Moose flywheel ! It makes all the difference if you're not on the power band the whole time you ride. It helps with starting too. AND ... put a tool bag on the front number plate with a cordless drill and a case of new spark plugs!!!😁But seriously, a hundred of we the CR500 owners club members must have laughed at you for not knowing about the kick-starting issue. It is endemic, all-inclusive and unavoidable. Get the cordless!

I'm 38 years old, starting when I was in 5th grade I rodeva 1991 CR500r that was bored over with a Wiseco piston, power reeds all sorts of tricked out. It was scary fast yeah, I added a 85g flywheel weigh to be able to ride it in the trails without flooding spark plugs. Even before the upgrades it was a pig to start. The easiest way is to cycle the Piston to top dead center using the kick-start until you hear a distinctive hollow "plunk". Once you hear that bring the kick-start all the way to the top and send it through the dirt! Almost guaranteed to fire every time! Great seeing yall have so much fun with this, making me want to bust out some tools and go find a project!

Wish I had my cr250r down here on base to work on, when I’m off work, love the old 2 strokes

2001 CR500. My favorite bike I ever owned! Have fun guys! They are more fun than anything else to ride. Remember the wise words of Dave Aldana. "You don't know how fast you can go until you fall off." I heard him say those words when I was 4 yrs old and have ridden that way my whole life. I am 56 now. I survived. HAHA! Great fun!

I absolutely LOVE the intro. "I'm John, I'm Isaac, and I'm Charles"

Get a set of Vforce3 Reed valves there not to expensive and they will give you massive gains in throttle response and better fuel distribution going into the crankcase by far one of the best upgrades when it comes to 2 strokes.

Would love to see a restoration of this bike. You guys got one hell of a ride there. It been a while since I've owned one, still kicking myself for ever selling the cr500 I had.

Great video. I restored an 85 CR500 a few years back on my channel. The Clutch cover was repaired with jb weld and an epoxy due to being made of magnesium which eventually rots. Replace the reeds. Put new jets, air screw and a new Honda choke assembly in the carb. Starting the CR500 takes technique if you want to keep your leg. Slowly kick it through the intake stroke to where you feel the piston coming back up and compressing. Stop, do not let it come to top dead center. Let the kicker come back up. Kick it slowly about 1 to 2 inches. You will feel a little relief in compression as you slightly pass top dead center. Stop. Let the kicker come back up. Now you will be able to kick it with ease because it is on its full intake stroke. By the time your leg gets to the compression stroke you will be be well into your kick. Do not get over confident with this technique. Follow this technique and anyone can kick over the Cr500. I start mine in running shoes. Good luck i am sure you will have it starting and running great very soon.

always hold the throttle wide open during a compression test, the number will be lower if you aren't

From karts to mini bikes to dirt bikes. I've gone through the same progression and just love riding the dirt bikes now and my mini bikes are collecting dust lol.

One of the few videos out there that made my adrenalin run just by watching it. I never had the opportunity to ride a 500, but was able to ride a similar year 250 back when they were still new and that terrified me. I hate to admit it, but this bike is way too much for me, even on my best day. Great video. I can't wait for the next one!

Turn the choke knob in or out to adjust the idle and check the Reeds for hard starting problems they need to be ceiling nice and tight replace with boyesen reeds

The Wheels and Wings cruise in has been moved to next weekend, October 30th! See ya there!

I used to have one of those! Man, that brought back memories... This bike separates the men from the boys. If you don't ride it hard, it will ride you hard. It's a monster. Of all the bikes I've owned in my life I miss this one the most.

So glad a pt2 came out, love what you guys do 🫡

I'll be right there! There's nothing like a two-stroke five hundred! You gotta be in good shape, and know what you're doing to ride those things on the pipe for any length of time. I wish they still made them.

Lovin' the CR500 videos guys. Isaac, don't be scared of it, John did great on it, but your the King of sending it, on everything 😅 😂 🇦🇺

So growing up we had a problem with our CR 450 R and it kept falling plugs. It was really hard to start and the problem is is the crank seal kept going bad and we found that the bearing had just a little bit of play in the bottom end and no matter what we did we could replace that crank seal over and over and over and it kept failing because the crank bearings were bad so maybe that something you could check in or even just a couple thousands of play is going to be rough on it so I congratulations guys I’m bringing that bike back to life is actually amazing.

I think you guys drained a bucket of liquid clutch plates out in that oil

When Charles said he's gonna put the muffler back together without the packing I was like "no no no no no", I could just feel my eats starting to bleed knowing how lound it will be... ya should know, remember the 670 skidoo snowmobile engine how stupid loud that was lol.... then a few minutes later the honda started and YEP its loud lol

John looks like a ten year old trying to start that bike 😂😂

I've been riding & racing 500's my whole life and still have a primo 93 500. Started with an 81 CR450 then to an 85 CR500 then the 93, bought them all brand new. It took me a bit to get the starting drill down on those Bad Boys but once you get it you'll never forget it. The first thing is to lean the bike over to make sure you get a little fuel out the overflow, then open the throttle wide open hit the kill button and kick it through 4 or 5 times with the choke on to prime it, then work the kick start through till you get it tight at the very top then kick as hard as you can all the way through with the throttle cracked open. Also they are notorious for the choke circuit plugging up which makes them nearly impossible to start. a quick way to see if the choke circuit is plugged just put a small amount of fuel in the spark plug hole, if it fires up it's probably plugged. I was usually able to light er up in 2 or 3 kicks as long as the motor is in good working order. I'm 66 now and don't ride the 500 as much since I got a KTM 300 with electric start, but still love to sling a leg over the 500, especially out in the desert where you can really let er sing, there is no feeling like it. The 85 was always the hardest to start. Its really important to get the jetting spot on that helps a lot. Loved the vid and am always happy to see the old 5 hunny's being revived & restored. Short shifting them is definitely the hot ticket. They make a great woods bike if you short shift and ride the torque curve and the motors last forever. Enjoy

You said left and right. I'm assuming you saw an L and R which could and probably stands for lean and rich.

'DIRT BIKE FAB' did an episode describing the Right way to start the CR500 while he was rebuilding Paul from 'Fab Rats' bike.Couple motor tips in that for you too viewers.Kevin did a series on the rebuilding,and most of the tips will work on 2-strokes of all sizes.

YOOO GUYS these bikes are meant to run with the stock air box, air filter, and packing in the exhaust putting these things on might make it run better. It may also need new piston rings and I noticed that the clutch basket had some pretty good grooves in it so y’all might want to replace it soon too. it’s awsome to see all the new parts you guys are throwing at this thing and so far y’all have been doing it justice for sure 👍

If you can't start it don't ride it 💪

a tip to help with kickstaring. squeeze the front brake. keeps the bike from rolling but also loads suspension to help kick

I had a 85 cr for years did a lot of desert riding and many memories ! Love that bike and miss it very much !

We had one of those when we were kids my brother was a big guy when he was 18 years old he had that exact 1985 CR500 but it was complete withe gold rims, it was a complete bike. It was hard to get it to start up but that thing was a monster it was really hard to crank up because it had so much compression but you put the boot on and crank and cranking once that thing came to life it was a monster 1985 CR500 was a total Beast

Really enjoyed this video, brings back some good memories. Still have my 90 model 250 but it’s been a lotta years since I owned a 500. Been right at 30 years since I worked for the local Honda dealer, I was always the guy who had to test ride these after we repaired em for a customer. The other mechanic from back then still works there and a good buddy of mine, he’s not as terrified of them as he used to be. He’s only 5’6” and hasn’t had another growing spurt yet, lol. The 125 was more his size in the R model 2 smokers. Most of the 2 stroke stuff I had been tasked with fixing had been usually looked as if a blind chimpanzee had been turning wrenches on it when they arrived which is commonly the case. Usually had the air boxes drilled and 8 out of 10 wouldn’t take the time to add screens to the holes afterwards or jet them up. Adding the air box back to your bike will undoubtedly help with your idling and midrange. While you’re into it this far run another compression test after replacing your crank seal to get a better idea of what you’re dealing with for cylinder and piston. I know that I’ve been into more than a few over the years that they’ve tried to do port work on themselves and ended up running the sleeves. After that they either had to buy another cylinder or we’d have to replace the sleeve in their cylinder, then you’re left with an inefficient port that puddles fuel. If you guys have a bore scope it wouldn’t hurt to look in the cylinder to see what you’re working with for wear and timing in your stroke as far as when your piston passes the intake and exhaust for the timing. I’m not positive that’s any of the problem you all are dealing with but I know for a fact that incorrect port timing makes them hard to start and really kills the power on the two strokes. Hopefully this’ll give you guys some ideas of where to start looking for solutions to what you’re dealing with. Good luck with the bike and hope it all works out for you.

Two smokers can last as long as any other bike, you just have to know how to take care of them (In response to the statement they only last x hours). Ride them enough to keep the seals wet, rings from sticking, carbs clean, de-coke the pipes and use only the best premix; my preferred blend Golden Spectro mixed with Blendzall/real castor oil. I have owned many two stroke street and dirt bikes (first street RD400, Dirt PE400), and love them above all other engine types...SMOKERS forever! Great jobs boys..and yes the CR500 can be a hand full.

Great job putting the CR500 together. I've been wrenching and riding two strokes for about 30 years now. Here's a few thoughts: 1.) The silver-milky oil is a combination of aluminum clutch material and a coolant-oil mixture. The reason it was so runny was because water was mixing with the oil. Someone mentioned the cases being eaten out, but I'd check the water pump seal first. If the seal fails, the higher pressure coolant will push past the seal into the clutch case and mix with the engine oil. Remember that the water pump is driven off the clutch side via a reduction gear. My KX500 did that once and I had to replace the seal. 2.) Mixture Leanness: Two strokes are intensely mixture sensitive especially to leanness (i.e. too much premix will thicken up the fuel and hose the A/F mix too lean; a crank seal will suck in air, lean the mixture and hole the piston or melt the piston at the exhaust port). Make sure your mixture is spot on. Check to make sure that the bike was up-jetted for the pipe (or lean mixture results will suck (see above)). If your spark plug is oil fouling and the mixture is spot on, suspect the clutch side crank seal. Make sure your choke, throttle access to the carb, and anywhere air can enter the carb is correctly sealed. I had my choke unscrew on my KX500, which lead to a runaway motor, new piston, rings, and cylinder replating (BTW, pulling the spark plug did not stop the run away). Chances are, if that happens, you won't be able to save the piston and cylinder in time: an ounce of prevention beats a ton (rather than pound) of cure. Check the intake boot for dry rot, cracking, or tearing; again, a lean condition will lead to a bad day and costly repairs. Check the exhaust port: look for smearing of the piston onto the rings, this will indicate the A/F mixture is off. 3.) Starting the CR500/KX500: get the piston to the top of compression stroke, slowly put pressure to get the bike just over the "hump" of the top of the piston stroke. Stop, and reset the kickstarter to the top. Jump up and give it a helluva whallup downward with the MX boot on. If you do it wrong, you're leg will crumble and the kickstarter won't move (just like your video today). If the bike is running well, it should start in 2-3 kicks max. (choke on cold and no choke warmed up). 4.) Plan on replacing your rings, it's a meager price to pay for 2 stroke performance and simplicity. 5.) Transmission sliders (what the shift forks move to engage transmission gears) or gear cogs are infamous for breaking. 2nd is the worst, because 1st is mostly useless on a 500, and most people would dump the clutch in 2nd. 6.) Get V-force reeds or Boysen reeds; it'll give you much better throttle response for little $$. 7.) There's better carbs than the stock carb for a CR500, but it can get pricey. 8.) 2 strokes are not intended to be lugged like a 4 stroke. Stay in the powerband, rev it, and hang on. If you lug the bike, you're going to just foul your plugs and not get the riding experience the manufacturers designed the bike to do. 9.)The bike looks thrashed, the swingarm bushings will most likely be trashed as well as the front tire bearings. 10.) Get fork protectors: it'll keep the forks protected from moisture, rusting, and pitting and keep the fork seals working better for a longer time. 11.) Purchase the latest "Motorcross and Off-road Performance Handbook" by Eric Gorr: it has a ton of tech tips and articles as well as what specific plague MX bikes from 80-500cc engines and most popular MX manufacturers (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, etc.). DM me or contact me, and I'll provide whatever assistance I can over the phone, via email, or in person (I'm not too far away from you on the Atlantic seaboard). Lastly, if you'd like, I can bring my KX500 by and we can do some riding (you're welcome to ride the KX500 which has a brutal punch in the balls and demands to be noticed when it gets on the powerband).

Hi cars and cameras I want to let you know that I am 13 years old you have have inspired me to be a mechanic and be confident Thankyou for everything you are a great teacher I have learned a lot of things I prefer cars and cameras than vice grip garage because you guys are funny ,Thank you guys so much ❤

3rd gear takeoffs were standard and no big deal in the 80;s & 90's on the CR500. I amongst probably thousands more just knew that whoever was pulling the higher gear was probably going to win the race to the next turn. I also remember using copper clutch plates to transfer the heat out of the clutch, too. Properly running 500 two strokes had the low-mid range grunt to roost out of the gate in 3rd gear. 1st & 2nd gears only slowed you down in an mx race. People are so afraid of those bikes now, but actually if you rode with a clear head, in your limits, they were very forgiving and could pull you out of a bind. It was all in the clutch. Need more drive, feed her more clutch. They were fun. My stock '86 with pro circuit pipe & jetting, started easy, ran smooth and pulled 3rd & 4th gear speed wheelies with no problem. Just make sure the bars are turned to the left a bit when you start em, or else they could put a gash in your knee when it decides to buck. Haha We started them barefoot though. No big deal. Just kick it all the way through. Fun times.

We had a dirt bike neighborhood when I grew up. In 85, I watched a 220lb guy take a new one off the truck, fire it up in shorts and waffle stompers. He hit fist gear and she came up so hard and fast when he planted his foot the bike came over on him and we saw his knee get almost 360 Degrees of rotation as the bike fell back on him with out the boot moving. He was in surgery for 6hrs. And took 2yrs until he walked again. Go easy boys. This is the the beast of all beasts. The guy who got the bike at discount broke his foot a month later w a kick back.

My buddy has an 87 Cr 500 that is really hard to start unless it's warmed up. One year, we put a top end on it with new jug and head. We hoped that it would be easier to start, but no. He threw another 200 in parts with no luck. He finally decided to give up on kick starting it, and he just bump starts it when its cold. He will get another person to drive his golf kart, and he will hold on with his left arm to get up enough speed, then he drops it into second. It always starts right up when we bump start it but I've never seen it kick start when its cold.

I had a 1987 CR250 that I supermoto'd with 17's, put a new reed cage in it, fmf pipe, new chain and re-geared sprockets etc. Took it for about 3 rides and sold it. I like being alive. That thing was terrifyingly fast, especially for me a 5'5" 130lb mini man.

I gotta say, these dirt bike videos excite the heck out of me, any 2 stroke dirt bike 80cc's and higher yknow its gonna be a good vid. I cant wait for them to fine 3 dirt bike or a 125cc.

The gray transmission oil is a direct indicator of a bad crank seal. It would be more of a white color if there was coolant in there. Also mix the oil and gas at 32-1 or 4 oz of quality oil to one gallon of gas. You usually increase or go up in jet size for a aftermarket pipe. If it had upgraded reeds those usually require smaller jets. So if you do them both together you’ll have to play with the jetting.

i had a 91 for 25 years it was like new . was all ways a little hard start cold . got to old to ride it so i put it on ebay .the guy that won the bid was Henry Wiles tt racing champ . he had soft shoes on and hop on it to start it and i said man dont get hurt starting that thing.he gave me a look and said did you forget who your talking to and 2 kicks and he was gone. he had just won the peoria tt a record 14 times very great guy.

love the old 500s ive still got my cr 500 but since ive owned it in last 8 years ive basically put my cr500 in Crf 450 frame and it looks awesome now love old 2 smokers and smell you cant beat it

@CarsandCameras all dirt bikes with a clutch that sit for a long time like that and the clutches get kinda sticky always have grey oil when you fire em up and ride em like that. It’s nothing to worry about it. Put some atf transmission fluid in it and chnshe the fluid every other ride until it’s not grey anymore. ATF is perfectly fine to run in them to. I run amsoil in my 2 strokes. Shifts like butter. I use cheap O’riellys ATF to get the grey to go away. Doesn’t take much oil like a quarter of a quart or something like that to fill it so one quart goes a long way.

The grey transmission oil is aluminum from the clutch. Honda CR has aluminum clutch plates for weight reduction ans better cooling but they wear rapidly.

one thing i suggest as i had this same issue. Check in the venturi of the carb just ahead of the slide. theirs two little ports in the bottom that allow the idle jet fuel to be drawn up into the carb. Had the same issue and thats all it was. blow through with some cleaner. If you look up a diagram of how the idle circuit works you'll see the holes im talking about.

Cr 500 starting tip. Slowly kick it over until you get it to catch at the tallest point possible. Then give it one good kick. Like ike did on the second kick earlier in the video. 🤙🤙🤙

I have a lot of experience with big bore two strokes and two strokes in general. First off. The milky oil out of the transmission isn’t milky. more than likely it had been a while since the last service and that is clutch friction material (very common). Secondly I would pull the reeds out and check to see if they are sealing off completely. You should not be able to see light when looking through the intake tube towards the reed petals. A 2 stroke should never spit fuel out if the carb. That can be a definitive cause of a rich jetting issue. As air goes into the carb it draws fuel then gets pushed back out because of bad reeds and draws more fuel. Then Gets sucked back in again drawing more fuel. Third I would highly recommend repacking the exhaust. 2 strokes rely on back pressure to have bottom end power. Also an air leak is the best thing you could have done for an old 2 stroke that has been sitting. air leaks are a very common cause of 2 stroke failure. You guys are on the right track to having a great bike.

Good to see the leg is bouncing back. i felt that pain just watching. Still have dents in my chin from trying to kick start quads with tennis shoes on... Don't miss those days lol

I've rode 2 strokes all my life. they always need the factory filter housing to run properly. love you guys. hope this helps.

Fuel leaving the carb means you need reeds for sure. Super important part of a 2 smoke

28:02, 'Did you say bigbore kit?', That made me laugh out loud for a second.😆

I went from a 125 4 stroke to a 380 2 smoke, and man what a game changer, been wanting a cr 500 in a nice new aluminum 450f frame, im just too poor and dumb to work on stuff.

"Do you want a glass of water?" - I think poor Isaac needed a pint (UK sized) of cold beer after that compression test... :P

I'm all for learning and checking things out on the engine but I've owned 3 CR500 and they are notoriously hard to start I've learned that each bike is different you will just have to learn what process works best for your bike

Kool Video ... Just happen to come across this on you tube...Myself i have a 89, CR500, Mint Shape. My Honda dealership where i live, has been trying to get me to sell him my CR500. And you never know i might do a trade for a VTX1300, not sure yet ! ... I'm almost 67 now and i don't ride it, Yes it was put away the right way. Most powerful bike i have ever owned was a Honda XR650R uncorked with a stage 2 HRC Kit . Just a little quicker than the CR500. The CR500 would be almost at my back rim on the XR650R all the way threw the gears. The 89 - 91 are the most sought after CR500'S on the market. Anyone interested drop me a note , comes with lots of plastic and mods i have done with this CR500. Might as well let some one have joy riding this icon motorcycle. Note: Never raced was my fun bike '' enduro '' .. Sure had fun with it...Mint Shape as all my bikes are. ( 1982 Yamaha IT465 - 1976 Honda MR250 100% restored all NOS - 1989 Honda CR500 - 1977 Yamaha XT500 - 2003 Honda VTX 1800C - 1983 Honda CB1000C )

Good, for some reason the zoom is stuck and your full frame right now, perfect. Love it

Awsome. I use to have a Honda 480 back in the days. It was a 1982 model.. Miss it some time. But nowadays i ride a 4 stroke enduro bike

as a young man i had one of these beasts in the late 80s and never could really control it i felt as if it controlled me

Beast to ride Beast to start. Welcome to the family

Good work.That bike's an animal and you guys will have fun with it.I'd replace the clutch/water pump housing though.

Man it’s running. And it’s a cr500. I couldn’t live with myself without checking the top end and the bottom end play and the reeds.

The inside of pillows the hollow fill. Works perfect for packing better than the original stuff.😮😊

I have a 1983 Honda V45 Magna, I ask it nicely to start every time, and to start running. So you aren't alone to asking an old Honda to start nicely for you.

I used to have a 1985 kx500. It was also a PITA to start. It was mostly clapped out as well. It had 2 states of running, either it wouldn't start, or it tried to kill you every moment it was running. I miss that bike 😥

Hey if you like vintage Honda motorcycles etc then you are going to love our sponsor, waterbed thermostat kings, for all your bedding needs. Love the video though and how thorough you are with explaining the parts as you are replacing them.

A lot of the early to mid 80’s CR’s had magnesium case covers and I know from experience that the coolant reacts to the water pump housing and will eat a hole in the water pump housing, which causes the coolant to contaminate the gear oil. Because you can’t weld magnesium, your options are epoxy or ordering a new clutch cover from Russels in Australia. I believe the idle is adjusted by spinning the choke knob .

Hey mate Liam from Australia, that’s starts completely normal. If u watch back through the video wen u kick it your not getting a full kick in it all the way down to the peg an also As many other people have said ur not starting it properly. U have to put it in 4th gear an rock it back and forth on the ground for about 10 seconds then 3 3 slow kicks get it at the hardest point of the kick start an absolute jump on it, an I mean wen ur left leg is on the bike start take all your wait off the stand an throw it all into The one leg that’s kicking u will start it first go every time

99.5 kiss rocks San Antonio, when I was there 35yrs ago .What a blast from the past.

Man that cr 500 cracks so nicely. I ride a yz125x 2 stroke and it sounds nice, but it ain’t got nothing on this sound. U can tell the power on this thing

i think ike raging at the bike while trying to start it is one of the most relatable things ive ever seen. Great video hope you guys make more bike vids

I used to have one of these... Either an 85 or an 86. All I remember is it was the year Honda stopped upping the compression. The next year they went down because of the starting issues. (And the broken legs) the guy I got it from said the kicker folded up and kicked back through, THROUGH the sole of his motocross boot! Regardless yours starts way better than mine did. I put some lights on it and rode it on the street. (Melted it down twice) the last time I rode it I passed two buddy's that thought I was an idiot for riding it and had left me behind. They were doing 110 and I came smoking (literally) past them! And fyi the aftermarket kicker was shorter to turn it over faster. You might want to look into something like that.

Absolutely love Issac's Advertising! Such a great sport with the comedy of sport shaving with Henson Razors!

If you can manage to find TDC it'll start first kick every time as long as you prime it first.....basically kick it a couple times while holding the kill switch...... or rock it back and forth with it in gear..... then blip the throttle and kick. All big bore bikes have a procedure, and once you get it down it's easy to start every time.

Hang on and go that way. Don't crash. Was the advice I got at 15 years old. Back in 1986. Just ride it

I learned the cheap is expensive lesson with my 05 crf450x as well with similer issues and have spent close to half of what i bought it for ,into it again and its still not runing 100%.Though im getting closer it is really frustrating making supposedly the right changes and it either still not wanting to run or just getting worse. Wish you guys luck on getting it to run correctly so you can enjoy it a lot since big dirtbikes are a lot of fun

I had an lt500r a handful of years ago, bored to a 560cc. I found it in my best interest to turn the ignition off while setting TDC. Turn on the ignition and kick. I was barely pressing it once and it fired, the kick start went down all the way and came back up so hard it literally took a small chunk out of my tennis shoe.

Wow, I remember when the 500 came out! It was untouchable by anything out there. I remember i tried to start one and almost broke my leg. Even trying to push starting it was a bitch. Thank you for the memory of the pain. Ray

Cold start, use the choke. You have to let it warm up. With the choke on. Blip the throttle. After about two minutes turn the choke off and keep blipping the throttle. The key is to warm it up. You will notice a huge difference in how powerband hits after its up to temp. Keep the rpm down till its warmed up. Andyou shouldn't need hardly any throttle to start with the choke on. . The more you ride it the easier it will be to start. Goodluck guys

I remember being scared of accidentally blipping the throttle in bumps, and having the thing try to rip the bars outta your hands. Good times.

I used to have a husqvarna 1986 motocross CR500 2 stroke (very rare now) if you think the Honda 500 was a hand full you ought to try the Husqvarna CR500 it has the kick starter on the left hand side of the engine just to make it even more of a challange to start..you could lift the front wheel in 1st,2nd,and 3rd with just the throttle no slipping the clutch this thing was an animal.

Man I feel for John. I've ALWAYS wanted a cr500, and at 5'9" 148 lbs, even with fairly decent leg muscle the couple I've ridden were a pain in the ass to start. Both were also clapped out heaps that you had to kick over and over.

from 84 to 89 honda 2 and 4 strokes was some of the most cold natured bikes i ever seen

If i ever get to meet Y'all, i have the Gr8est CR500 story EVER!! We call it "The Mummy" RIP brother Randy !!

That Leak/pressure test 😆 😂