BannedCR500Riders.com

Without this site I would have never thought about doing a conversion myself. Lots of great info! Anyway, I'm going for a budget build initially to see how much I like it before spending an extra on making it look good or on novelty items. I ride mostly desert trails and sand dunes.

I decided on a Gen 1 conversion as budget and availability were the priority. I waited a few months and acquired a '98 CR250 rolling chassis with blown motor for $300. Shortly after that a running '86 CR500 popped up. Ran strong and not much was wrong with it, if anything, so I scored that for $700. Hopefully I can sell the 500 roller or at least part it to recover some of the build cost.

Anyway, here are the two donors as when I got them:





I'll keep you all posted on progress and I might have a few questions along the way as well.

Gabe

Have torn down the bikes and started the process:







I've ordered a few replacement parts as I'm inspecting things. New water pump seals/gaskets, clutch and cable, sprockets and chain and fork seals.

My grandfather used to work at a machine shop for many years and he got pretty excited to get back in there and bs with the fellas again. They are going to fab up some mounts, head stay, spacers and weld the stuff for a case of beer. It might not be as professional or nice looking as the awesome hardware available from some of the members but budget is a priority.

Small update. Dropped off the frame and engine with my gramps. He is going to bore out the case and install the bushing from the CR250 for the rear mount and see how they might either reuse the existing front mounts or make new ones. Some progress.

Parts haven't gotten here yet so no rush. It looks like the next hurdle is the exhaust pipe. From the write up on the newer motor, it looked like the old CR500 pipe could be easily modified to fit but I guess the '86 pipe can't be modified as easily. I'm sure I could cut and refab it to work but is there a better option?

Also, anyone know where I can find a new or good condition intake boot? Mine is cracked up pretty good.

Just buy a new style pipe, they almost fit like factory.
You'll just need 1 new mount put on.
You will also need a newer style intake boot, the old one wont work in a gen1.
Trying to put an old style pipe on will likely look like garbage, and run about the same after it's hacked up, changed its shape, and glued back together.

Thanks for that info, Nodge. I'll try to offload the '86 fmf pipe and source a newer replacement. The info about the newer boot is also good as that one seems to be more readily available.