Honda CR500: Why Fans Say It's The Best Dirt Bike Ever Made
The Honda brand has dabbled in just about every automotive sphere you can think of. Honda's well-known for its reliable cars, of course, but it also has a well-established manufacturer in the motorcycle sphere — with everything from cruising bikes to dirt bikes. The motorsports division of the automaker was actually responsible for the creation of a particular dirt bike back in the 1980s, one that even 40 years on is still regularly highlighted by motocross fans as one of the best dirt bikes ever made.
The Honda CR500 was originally produced from 1984 to 2001. With a ferocious two-stroke air-cooled, then liquid-cooled engine and a striking red and yellow paint job, this bike was a beast waiting to pounce. Its performance may be outclassed by modern vehicles, but at the height of its time the CR500 was the bike to beat, with fans still singing its praises to this day.
The Ping King delivered a healthy 64 horsepower
From its very first iteration, the Honda CR500 was built to be a racing bike. The original version, nicknamed the "Ping King," released in 1984. This build featured an air-cooled, two-stroke 491cc engine — though in the following year, this was switched to a liquid-cooled design. From this moment forward, the CR500 became a track-ruling terror, winning official motocross races with no modifications necessary.
The only catch was that, if you wanted to ride a CR500, you needed to become a proverbial lion-tamer. The bike was so feisty that it couldn't even be sold to casual riders, who couldn't handle its 64 horsepower. Those who could, though — such as stuntman Robbie Knievel — saw unprecedented performance. In a 2017 statement to MCN, three-time World 500cc MX champion David Thorpe remembered the CR500 as a bike you needed complete concentration to ride.
"The CR500 has a reputation as being an animal," Thorpe said at the time. "But when you are thinking straight and everything is together, it's a lovely machine. But as soon as your mind wanders, you tire and become a passenger, that's when a 500cc two-stroke becomes a beast that will bite you."
The CR500 mellowed out over the following years
Fans generally regard the first generation of the CR500 as its best, with the bike being at its peak from 1985-1988. In 1989, the second generation was released, which featured a redesigned engine and exhaust, among other changes. It was still an excellent bike, but it didn't quite have the same punch that its fans enjoyed in years prior.
In 1993, Honda released the third generation of CR500 bikes, though by this time, motocross standards were starting to favor four-stroke engines over two-strokes. By 2001, there were no longer dedicated two-stroke races in the official motocross scene, so there was no real reason to keep making the CR500, prompting Honda to quietly retire the vehicle and move on.
The CR500 was only on top of the world for a few years, but during that time, it was the king of the jungle, and those who were present for it never forgot. This is probably why a first-generation CR500 in good condition can still go for thousands of dollars at auction.