Bought me a 1986 CR500. And so the madness begins...

[Widow Maker]

Picked her up this past Sunday. She's been pretty neglected by the previous owner. The bike has been sitting for the last two years in the condition it was in when it was last ridden. It was covered in dried mud. Got the bike home and immediately gave it a bath.

So far I have the seat, rear fender, side number plates, subframe and airbox off. Ditched the air filter and ordered a new one today. Reed valve looks good (aftermarket). Dumped the gear oil. Not so good news here. The stuff came out gray. Could be a water pump corrosion indicator? On a positive note, though, I pulled off a water pump hose and the spout looks to be in excellent condition. No corrosion at all. Couldn't get to the other hose as I haven't removed the expansion chamber yet.

Other issues that are obvious are the front caliper is sticking a bit. I'll order new pads and flush the brake fluid. The rear brakes need help. I'll know more once I get the rear wheel off. Also, the kick starter doesn't always grab. Maybe a tooth is missing? Maybe something more simple like the spring is shot?

Anyway, looks like I'll be bugging you guys for newbie info now.

[Widow Maker]

Front pads, air filter and FMF Powercore silencer ordered. I'll order up the FMF Gnarly expansion chamber next along with assorted suspension and steering head bearings next.

Managed to paint the subframe today after work. I went with a deeper red than the stock color. The stock red seems a little too "KTM-ish" to me.

Before paint...



After paint...

[Widow Maker]

Got the tank, radiator shrouds, radiators and expansion chamber off. Right side radiator core looks to be plugged. I gotta assume the left side is plugged, too. Got a guy in PA with a right side radiator I'm waiting to hear back from. Also waiting to hear back from a guy who has an ignition cover that's in good shape to replace the cracked one on the bike and a kickstarter gear assembly to cure the thing not catching on occasion.

The engine definately needs a top end. I took a peek in the cylinder after I got the pipe off and the piston is badly scored. So, I'm going to take the engine out, pull the head off and see what bore size the engine is on before I order a top end kit. While the engine is out I'm probably going to paint the rest of the frame.

[Roostius_Maximus]

I likely have a cylinder bored with a new vertex, probably have other things you need too

[Widow Maker]

PM sent.

[AlisoBob]

Grey tranny oil is usually from the aluminum drive plates in the clutch contaminating the oil.

Change it often to keep it clean, or swap in some steel drive plates.

Roosty is your man for any machinework.

[Widow Maker]

Once the engine is back in running order I plan on runing the engine and flushing the gear oil once or twice to make sure there is no nastiness left in the tranny.

Took the advice of a fellow CR owner and gave CLR cleaner a try on the radiators to see if that would clear the core passages. Well, it looks like the CLR did a pretty good job on the right side tank. Most of the core passages on the top on the tank were plugged. When filling the tank with water from the top, it would just over flow because the plugged passages weren't letting much if any water through. I cut open an old one gallon water container, filled it up half way with CLR and let the tank sit in it over night. Water now flows through very well and it doesn't over flow when filling, even with a garden hose. Looks like we may have a winner!

Just stuck the left side tank in the CLR. I'll flip it over in about 12 hours to soak the opposite side. After that, I'll clean them both up and paint them. I'll post before and after pics.

[AlisoBob]

I'd soak them for a month...

[Widow Maker]

Big brown truck came today...

[Widow Maker]

Went to my local dealer this weekend and ordered up the front and rear wheel bearings. Hope to pick them up next weekend. Also took the front brake caliper off to see why it was sticking. As with the rest of the bike thus far, it was a matter of neglect. Dried mud caked in and around the pistons froze the caliper up. Hit it with some PB Blast and let it soak for about 15 minutes. After that the pistons moved freely with a little help of a C clamp. Put it all back together and the front brake works fine. I have new brake pads for the front which will go on after I change the wheel bearings out hopefully next weekend.

[Widow Maker]

I'll be ordering top end parts next week so I decided to take the water pump cover off to check for corrosion and get a heads up on if I'll be needing to order more than just top end parts. There is some light pitting but no major corrosion. The spouts are in excellent shape. Doesn't appear to be pitted through the cover. Do you guys use any additives to help prevent corrosion in early model CRs?

[gregrobo]

nice progress love the old 500s our old 86 was a pig to start tho

[Nodge]

I run GM dexcool,

[AlisoBob]

X2

[Tharrell]

Cool rebuild.
Don't forget the approved vendors with discounts on this site.
I love new parts!

[Roostius_Maximus]

I dump the dexcool out of everything i own. I see so many aluminum heads come in corroded thru because of that shit.

[AlisoBob]

I run dexcool in the bike to get ride of my stock.... 1 quart at a time takes a while.

This is what I run in the D-Max, have any experience with this stuff Adam?

http://www.amazon.com/Zerex-ZXGO51-G-05 ... B0033QNZZ0

[Roostius_Maximus]

na, havent seen it before.

[AlisoBob]

Its a Hybrid OAT coolant.

[hoofarted]

I have some Texaco ELC left over from my last diesel coolant flush. Been debating on swapping that in the 500. Anybody have any experiences with it?

[Widow Maker]

Assuming the time comes when my right side case cover does need to ultimately be replaced, which newer cover is best to use?

[kelroy_leon]

i ran a 90' cover on mine. quick access to the clutch, i didn't have any problems with it. i have some postings on here with my 86'.

[Widow Maker]

THanks for the heads up! I checked your thread, lots of good info there!

UPDATE: Replaced the front wheel bearings yesterday. Going to see if I can get the rear wheel bearings done today as well as take a peek at the rear brake.

On a bad note the front caliper is giving me shit. It froze up again. So I took it apart to see WTF is going on with it. I got one piston free but the other is stuck pretty good. It looks like the seals came a part a bit and it may be whats making the one piston stick. It's stuck so bad it won't budge even with compressed air. Does anyone know what other year front calipers bolt on and work with an '86?

Anyway, I ordered a new chain last night, gasket kit from Service Honda as well as a manual. Will also be sending payment out on my freshly bored jug, new piston and machined head with decomp from Roosty.

[kelroy_leon]

chances are good that i have an extra 85-86 caliper. i would venture to say that up to 88 would be the same. ill look at my parts and see what ive got.

[Widow Maker]

Cool, let me know.

Well, got the rear wheel off and discovered that friggin locking ring that holds the left side bearing in is frozen. I don't have the right tool so getting it out is going to be impossible. Going to take it to the local dealer Tuesday and let them deal with it.

Quick question. The exploded parts diagram I found online has the axle bolt going in through the left (sprocket) side but on the bike it's going through the right (drum) side. How is it on your bikes?