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cr500

By crfdude86,
in Ladies Dirt Bike Discussion

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motobub

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Posted

Depends on the girl, If she can handle a 250, she'll do fine. The only hard part about them is you have to have a strong leg to start them. If you get a newer one(I think after 90) the kick start is redesigned and a little easier to kick, but I don't recomend ever trying to start it in sandles, as it can result in a very sore foot for a few months.

lars

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Grand Master

bbbom

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Hey, how'd you get my picture?

Like said earlier, depends on the girl and bike set up. My 500 is a 94 and we've set it up for lots of low end cause we do lot of tech riding. It's a bit heavy for the tight twisties but I prefer it over the KLX300 I used to ride or any other 4 stroke I've tried out (including the new CRF250R).

The 500 is about as close to 4stroke grunt as you can get without the weight and without the starting headaches. Stock, Honda lists them around 222 lbs dry but with all the woods armor & 3.5 gal tank full of gas plus the other fluids I'm sure mine is close to 255 lbs.

I am not quite as muscular as I appear in that photo ?, closer to 5'10 & 150lbs but I do lift weights pretty regularly and I am pretty good with throttle control.

As with any bike, you can do a lot to the 500 to make it fit the rider and the riding. We do a lot of woods riding with some pretty good tech hills. Mine is geared really low 12/53 and even though it can be a bit twitchy, it will pull me up whatever I point it to.

My boyfriend's CR500AF is geard much higher but it's still rideable in the woods, even with an 11 yo passenger to make the tight twisties even more interesting. (Kid's friend that wanted to go on the ride but didn't have a bike so I loaned mine to a less experienced rider that was going to kill himself on the AF or kill the AF and put the kid on with me for about 30 miles.)

The earlier models were pretty brutal but in the 90's they detuned them quite a bit. I've never had a problem starting mine, except when my boot gets wet and slips off my worn out kickstarter. That usually leaves a nice bruise from my ankle to my knee through the boot. Starting the bike cold takes a bit of technique but once it's warmed up usually 1 kick (unless it's a wimpy kick) is all it takes.

On the track, it's a bit much for a normal sized chick. Whoops will kick yer but because of the weight but it can be done. I think that if I learned to like air, my 500 would provide plenty of it for me.

Open desert is a good place for it too but the CR isn't as stable as the KX and has been known to lend itself to pretty severe headshake. The CR has a shorter rake compared to the KX so what you lose in high speed stability, you gain in tight turning.

Overall, I love my CR500. Next on my list would be an 02 or newer CR250R or a CR500AF but you can't go wrong with a pretty pink bike for a petite & dainty flower like me.

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Grand Master

bbbom

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My 12 yo (as of today!) can start and ride both of our 500's at least on open stuff and once they are warmed up.

He's much faster in the tight stuff on his 80 though. He can just barely touch with one foot tippy toe on the 500's

so with their weight he wouldn't do too well in the offcamber tech stuff - I'm picturing a squashed 12 year old!

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JohnnyAirtime

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Hmmm...

Good question. But does it matter that I like to see a pretty and petite woman driving a lifted truck?!?! Ooops. I mean....

I've seen two different women muscling around 500's out in Glamis. And ya know, I first noticed them since they looked like little kids. Then, the obvious ... hair! Down the back hair gave it away that they were women. (also the fact the had "the women posture" ~excuse me ladies, but women do sit atop a bike differently than men for some reason.) And they ripped! They were draggin most of the men up Oldsmobile Hill... losing them in the paddles roost! This was a couple years ago when I had just sold my 5hundy for the transition to thumpers. Man... what a site. A woman on a 5hundy. ?

I've got friends (men) who are scared of the 5's power!! :devil:

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Grand Master

kelstr

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i have had several cr500s i liked the 85 the best and i went fast on my 01 also------but all of my crf450s 02 03 04 and soon to be 05 are all faster smoother and way more controllable -----and even a stock one in the dunes with an 8 or 10 paddel will kill a cr500-----they are just good old tech that just to heavy to slow to turn and takes alot of work to make fast-----and the af cr500s that service honda makes i think look kool but they are worse than the steel frames-------go figure ?? !

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Experienced

spud

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I had two cr 500s ( 86, and a fully done up 90),IMO not a girls bike!!!!!!!!!! they are heavy, vibrate a bunch ( might be a plus ?), but fun to ride, they love to wear you out. Take one for a test, then hop on a 250, night and day diff. My yzf450 felt almost the same in power and was way lighter. IMO

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