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

kelroy_leon · Post by **kelroy_leon** » December 12th, 2010, 11:12 pm

so it looks as if my 85's and 86's all have the nut on the non drive side.

http://www.youtube.com/user/500bigbore · December 13th, 2010, 4:56 am

the calpers look different on the 84 front end i have, also the 87+88 are their own casting, the '88 being the lightest. same with the rear setup, i have pictures of that somewhere on here

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » December 13th, 2010, 4:19 pm

Adam, any chance of an 87-88 caliper bolting on and working on my 86 or are they that different?

http://www.youtube.com/user/500bigbore · December 13th, 2010, 4:26 pm

i'm pretty sure they'll bolt up and work

addski72 · Post by **addski72** » December 26th, 2010, 7:51 am

Seems like a good project!! nice bike. i recently restored a 1997 cr500 check my post.
But for a bike that old, i find it hard to belive your not spliting the cases and replacing the main bearings and seals? i mean tho's seals will be pretty shot by now, and if there leaking your never gonna get your bike to run right!! i also would replace the 4 gearbox bearing as for peace of mind. and for the crank play it by ear.

Just seems the smart thing to do. "you'll kick yourself if the bottom went just after your top-end rebuild".

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » December 26th, 2010, 10:38 am

I'm doing what I can. I now have two projects going (I also have a '97 I'm freshening up), so I'm trying divide my time and money between them. Everything will get done in time. Taking a breather from it all until after the new year, then it's back to building.

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » December 28th, 2010, 2:16 pm

Does anyone have the threaded retainer ring that holds the wheel bearing in the rear wheel? Mine had to be removed in pieces. Tried to buy it through Service Honda but they said it was discontinued.

redrocket190 · Post by **redrocket190** » December 28th, 2010, 4:30 pm

I looked in all the usual places for this, but without success. I did find out that the retainer is common to 125, 250, 480, and 500s from 1983 to 1986. You are probably going to need a new rear hub or wheel.

You might have luck in the swap meet of forum here: http://honda-elsinore.com/

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » December 28th, 2010, 5:36 pm

Thanks for the heads up. Looks like I'm going to have to put my feelers out on a couple different sites in hopes of finding one.

Just scored a remanufactured factory front caliper for my '86 on fleabay. Parts in good condition really are getting scares for these things. Gotta snatch them up when ya get the chance it would seem!

redrocket190 · Post by **redrocket190** » December 28th, 2010, 8:52 pm

I think I may have a box of '86 CR250R spares and I definitely have a spare set of forks and triple clamps. Let me know if interested...

kelroy_leon · Post by **kelroy_leon** » December 28th, 2010, 10:46 pm

i have the bearing ring if you still need one

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » December 29th, 2010, 2:53 pm

redrocket190 wrote:I think I may have a box of '86 CR250R spares and I definitely have a spare set of forks and triple clamps. Let me know if interested...

I'll definately keep you in mind.

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » December 29th, 2010, 2:56 pm

kelroy_leon wrote:i have the bearing ring if you still need one

PM sent.

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » December 29th, 2010, 4:58 pm

Managed to get the radiators painted today. Nothing fancy, just wanted them to look new-ish again. A few coats of satin black did the trick...

Post by **AlisoBob** » December 29th, 2010, 5:12 pm

I'd re-strip them.

The steelie rads are marginal at best, they need all the efficency they can get, and any paint will interfere with that.

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » December 29th, 2010, 5:20 pm

Thought about it but decided to go with the original look. Painting air to air intercoolers in my experience doesn't interfere with their efficiency so I don't think 1 or 1.5mils of non-catalyzed paint will hurt these rads much especially considering they make a much better heatsinks than do air to air heat exchangers. The factory paint seemed to have more build than what I put back on (I stripped and metal prepped them before painting).

I may end up putting a fan or two on the bike anyway since I will be doing a good deal of single track with it.

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » January 14th, 2011, 6:18 pm

Managed to install my remanufactured front caliper tonight and bleed the brakes. The new caliper works beautifully. I also popped the right side cover off to take a peek at the kick starter assembly. Everything looked fine. No broken or overly worn teeth. So, I tweaked the spring a bit and put everything back together. Kick starter seems to be working now. Cycled it 20 or 30 times and she grabbed every time.

She's getting there slowly but surely...

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » January 31st, 2011, 2:50 pm

Decals for the radiator shrouds and swingarm came today. Expecting the new plastics to arrive tomorrow. The bike is almost ready to start going back together!

beekums · Post by **beekums** » February 1st, 2011, 5:09 pm

Widow Maker wrote: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?

A grinder on qaurter inch plate steel sandwiched between washers and double nutted, takes awhile but works

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » February 2nd, 2011, 2:52 pm

Rear wheel bearings are now squared away. New locking ring and bearings installed.

Another box-o-goodies arrived for the '86. New fenders, radiator shrouds and side covers from Maier Plastics.

kelroy_leon · Post by **kelroy_leon** » February 2nd, 2011, 6:27 pm

let me know how those shrouds fit. any bits that you still need ? i might be ditching my 85' 500.

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » February 2nd, 2011, 6:36 pm

I matched them up to the factory shrouds and the mounting points look pretty close. We'll see...

Can't think of anything I really need at the moment. If I think of something I'll give you a shout.

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » February 6th, 2011, 12:04 pm

Pretty much all painted and going back together. Still need to paint some odds and ends, but the major items are done. This is about as far as I can go until more parts arrive. Can't install the airbox and subframe until my new reed cage gets here. Gotta get the correct blue fork covers, etc. It's getting there though...

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » February 8th, 2011, 5:38 pm

Got the swingarm cleaned up and ready for the new PRO-LINK decals, some hardware looking better as well as the airbox, new air filter and subframe installed. It's getting there...

Widow Maker · Post by **Widow Maker** » February 9th, 2011, 5:08 pm

Nothing says BAD-ASS like the '85, '86 and '87 expansion chamber! The FMF exhaust fit better than expected. No clearance issues anywhere. Sorry for the crappy indoors pics lately but it's dark by the time I'm done working on the bike. Better outdoor pics hopefully this weekend.

BannedCR500Riders.com

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