1988 Honda CR500 Build

“Build a CR500…”

The most requested bike build over the past couple of years finally became a reality. After a long hunt for the right bike, I found a 1988 model CR500 down in Arizona listed for $4,500. My parents live in Arizona, so my dad went to look at it for me. He ended up leaving with the CR500 for $2,100 – thanks for the bargaining skills dad!

I drove down to Arizona for Christmas in 2024 and brought the CR500 back home to Montana with me. It was certainly a rough starting point after who knows how many years this bike was neglected in the Arizona sun. I began the teardown and got to work.

This bike challenged me in ways I could have only imagined. The patience, attention to detail, and problem solving required to see this project through to the end literally brought a tear to my eye at one point as an incredible since of pride and achievement overwhelmed me.

While I documented this entire build with a detailed build series, I summarized it into a 49-minute video:

There are some notable changes to this bike, as it is a resto-mod build. It includes a new front end with 47mm Showa forks from a 2006 CRF450R and triple clamps to match. This required custom steering races and bearings offered by All Balls as well as new steering stops welded to the frame. Along with that, a new billet clutch cover from Two Strokes Only saved the day, as the original 1988 cover was damaged beyond repair and difficult to replace with an OEM part.

Every single component of this bike was rebuilt from the ground up with nothing left untouched. The build totalled a little over $16,000 all said and done, and I couldn’t have done it without some incredible support from each of the following companies: