crf or yzf front forks for cr500

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thestuz
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crf or yzf front forks for cr500

Post by thestuz »

what forks bolt on to cr500 01. wanted to get 08 triple clamps with 08 crf fromt end so i can have the steering dampener. any suggestions? money is no object. :wink:
do it!... cos if you dont, youll spend the rest of your life thinking about it anyway!

01 CR500
98XR600
94 FIREBLADE
ESTABLISHED 1977.
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CR500R7
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Post by CR500R7 »

If money is no object, just bolt the CR500 engine in the 08 CRF!
Sounds like a plan to me. :wink:
Other wise you have a new front end on an old bike.
The other way you have a GREAT engine in a newer bike.
Sorry, just my way of thinking.
Anyway it is your bike, if that is the way you want to go, GO FOR IT!
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thestuz
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Post by thestuz »

yeah was thinkin of doin a af conversion but my cr frame has been completely restored inc refreshed rear shock and all new linkages. took it out to murray bridge motocross track today and it failed massively in the front end. the rear seemed great so was thinkin of just a new front end. wondered if someone has done this and get some advice.af is still an option if this doesnt work out.
do it!... cos if you dont, youll spend the rest of your life thinking about it anyway!

01 CR500
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94 FIREBLADE
ESTABLISHED 1977.
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CR500R7
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Post by CR500R7 »

I don't see why it couldn't be done, just not sure what would be different if anything at all.
I think you should be able to put new clamps and fork legs and go, but there is always that small thing you don't even think of. :roll:
I am sure one of these dudes has done it / knows what it will involve to do it.
There is no shortage of knowledge here. :wink:
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thestuz
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Post by thestuz »

well there seems to be a shortage of knowledge here atm lol. but yeah, my front suspension is absolute crap.i found some brand new 08 crf forks im thinkin of buying. the triple clamps come with a steering dampener too. was speaking to a guy at the ttrack the other day and he swapped his old 05 forks for some newer kyb yz forks and i took his bike for a ride and omg. those forks are really something. i like the way my rear end handles. an my cr came with so many spares(spare wheels,sprockets etc) that i dont really wanna do a af conversion. i think if i get the front forks of a crf that ill be happy with that.
Last edited by thestuz on July 27th, 2009, 3:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
do it!... cos if you dont, youll spend the rest of your life thinking about it anyway!

01 CR500
98XR600
94 FIREBLADE
ESTABLISHED 1977.
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CR500R7
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Post by CR500R7 »

You just need to wait for the right GURU to be online to answer your question.
I have no doubt that you will be able to fit them to your bike, at this point in time I don't know what would be needed.
If the steering neck on your 01 is the same length as the neck on a CRF450 and they both use the same bearings, it should fit with out any trouble.
I am no expert though, so if there is no hurry you will get an answer and then you can buy the 08 forks. :wink:
Remember these blokes have just had Sunday and would of been out riding or spent time with the family.
Right now they are all in bed sleeping, because its their night at the moment or early hours of the mourning.
DesertCR
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Post by DesertCR »

I can tell you that I tried to use 03 cr250 forks and triple clamps on my 95 cr250 and it wouldnt work. First off, the newer forks are larger in diameter and therefore your clamps wont work but the catch is, the newer clamps are a different offset and really screwed with the angle/offset on my 95 cr250. I think the way to do it is to have your cr500 clamps machined so they accept the newer forks and keep the same offset.
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thestuz
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Post by thestuz »

yeah i heard somewhere that any frontend off a crf 04 and later fits. but wanna be sure first. how much wider were the forks on the 03?
do it!... cos if you dont, youll spend the rest of your life thinking about it anyway!

01 CR500
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94 FIREBLADE
ESTABLISHED 1977.
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Post by 100hp honda »

whats wrong with '01 500 forks ? im no professional but they seem to work fine, if yours aint fine then have a shop rework them. i think your trying to polish a turd by swapping forks :lol:. save that money and buy a AF with blown motor.
KE 336
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Post by KE 336 »

This may or may not be of any help at all but, my conversion is a 03 crf450 using 05 crf450 triple clamps. The clamps are the same size fork hole. Only thing different is the mount hole for front number plate.
I had the bike all done except waiting on my forks to get back from the suspension guy. So I get the idea to try the forks from the 97 donor bike so I could atleast ride the bike around. No go! The 97 forks are just a little too big to fit in the crf triple clamps. I have no idea if the 97cr500 and the 01 cr500 use the same forks or not but I agree with 100hp, fix the forks you got and save the money for AF conversion. For me, the AF is waaaaay better ride and feel than the steel.
KE 336
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Post by KE 336 »

I did a search on Race Techs web site. 97 cr500 and 01 cr500 share the same KYB forks.
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thestuz
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Post by thestuz »

thanks guys, yeah ive had both front and rear ends of the bikes suspension serviced. the rear is fine but the front is way out of order for me. it has too much preload(which comes with no adjustment) so im gonna need new springs and probably a revalve (cos im only 82 kgs). i found a brand new set of 98crf forks(zero hours) for that are twin cartridge units and i can get them for 2 hundred dollars more than getting the old ones fixed. ive found out that 04-05 and above crf forks fit straight into cr500 07-00 tripple clamps(crf clamps have a bad offset).even the axle fits,just needs a different spacer and think a caliper. the only trouble is the crf forks are 20mm shorter which will affect the rake/trail (this might be able to be corrected by using a cr500 rear shock of an 91 model i have which is shorter in length by about 9mm and bolts right in)... ive just pulled my forks apart and found a way to add 5mm with shims to lessen the preload, its not a proffessional way to do it but by putting washers ontop of the damper rod before screwing on the fork cap,you increase the distance for the spring which decreases the preload. so ive given that a go, set the suspension to standard settings, and hopefully gonna be hitting the motocross track this weekend... if i cant get the front end to work for me, ill be considering the crf jobies.
do it!... cos if you dont, youll spend the rest of your life thinking about it anyway!

01 CR500
98XR600
94 FIREBLADE
ESTABLISHED 1977.
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Post by iggys-amsoil »

What needs to be done is spring it for your weight, well 82kg is about 170 US? so those maybe good. However you need to find someone who can redo the shim stack to make them work right and knows how much oil to put in.

I just had mine serviced too, and I told him about the harshness I was getting on landing short on some tables. He had some newer specs for the shims than the ones he originally used and ya it did make a big difference and the forks are way more plush too. I can't say for sure but it seems like it really helps with taking the inside rut instead of taking an outer one. However in this case, that section of the track had this little step up into a single roller, roller cause the next corner was right there. It was one of those things that looked like the pros could clear in one jump but even they were having trouble with that, and mostly for me the inside just smoothed out that section instead of going wide. But anyway you got the above. :wink:
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Post by CR500R7 »

:shock: :shock: ( cos Im only 82kg ) :shock: :shock:
Shit I must be a STICK, I only weigh 70kg. :?
Ive been that for the last 23 years. :roll:
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Post by gregrobo »

i dont know but i would be changing fork oil playing with oil levels and weight and fork spings and maybe fitting some gold valves first before going to that sort of expense
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seanmx57
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Post by seanmx57 »

I have a gen 2 service honda. Factory Connection does my work. I just redid my stuff. I can hit anything I want doing MX which is what I'm set up for and be quite happy. I rode a bike a couple weeks ago with a $10000 set of suspension on it, 08 CRF 450 at southwick. It was set up for the same weight. Did it feel better? Not really, I didn't really notice a difference, they are both that good. When I set up my stuff stock forks and shock NO expense was spared other than the fancy coatings. they have plenty of little goddies that increase permormance other than a just regular revalve.
If I were in your shoes I'd get your stuff set up professionally. FC gaurantees their work, if I am not happy they will do it again, no charge.

Your rear end will likely change in feel when the forks are right.

You never mentioned what terain you are riding on or what the forks are doing that you don't like. :roll:

If you can't get a scotts damper a GPR4 is about $475
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thestuz
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Post by thestuz »

well i am using it primarily for moto cross, few trail rides inbetween. the forks have too mush preload, when i back off the compression to soften the bumps it goes like a pogo stick. when i stiffen the preload, its too harsh and wont handle the small bumps at all.
do it!... cos if you dont, youll spend the rest of your life thinking about it anyway!

01 CR500
98XR600
94 FIREBLADE
ESTABLISHED 1977.
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thestuz
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Post by thestuz »

well i took out the valves and had my suspension tuner check them out. he said there was no slow speed damping(hence the harshness) we put in some slow speed shims and that helped. ive ran my rear shock on softer settings th help absorb some of the harshness from the front too. ive currently got the front forks on the softest settings running 5wht oil. tyre pressures 10 psi to 15 psi pending on terrain.im pretty happy now but gonna go for a 3-4 wht oil if poss to give a little more plushness and tunability.
do it!... cos if you dont, youll spend the rest of your life thinking about it anyway!

01 CR500
98XR600
94 FIREBLADE
ESTABLISHED 1977.
MAVERICK66
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Re: crf or yzf front forks for cr500

Post by MAVERICK66 »

I found this post during a search for CR500 to KYB SSS conversion. I'm looking for some help if anyone knows how to do this?
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