Trail Rider Magazine

36 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com The rest of the engine internals were soaked in a thick mix of mung, hiding other horrors s ll wai ng to be discovered. It was clear: this wasn't going to be a typical resto- ra on. This was a full-blown resurrec on of a bike that didn't want to be ridden again. Because I had never even seen a CR500 in person, I had no idea of just how Frankenstein this bike truly was. I began selling off the parts that didn't fit my vision, were in too poor of condi on, or were from previous model years, and quickly spent all of the proceeds—and then some—on ordering enough new parts to make it feel like Christmas in July. It didn't take long to realize the front suspension wasn't even the correct setup for a 1991. Since I wanted to modernize the handling and make this into a true roost-throwing machine, I sourced a Honda CRF250 front end. With a set of conversion bearings and custom-machined spacers, I adapted it to the steel frame. A er frame repairs and a fresh white powder coat- ing, the bones of my dream were finally a reality. The case halves and other small components were vapor blasted and Cerakoted to clean up years of corrosion and protect them in the future. The cylin- der was bored to give a final displacement of 516cc. A trick MSV Racing exhaust manifold was installed and port-matched to ensure a leak-free seal and maximize torque with the raised exhaust por ng. The intake side was also matched to a Millar Race Engineering billet reed block, which ou lows the stock unit by a mile, and uses Moto Tassinari VForce carbon reed petals to efficiently transfer the charge air mixture from a modern Keihin PWK carburetor. The cylinder base and deck were machined to op mize port ming and compression ra o before finishing the motor off with OEM bearings, a Vintco cranksha , a custom-domed Wossner single-ring forged piston, and a billet TSR 62cc high-compres- sion head, which improves cooling as well as in- cludes a compression relief valve to aid star ng. The suspension was completely rebuilt, revalved, and sprung to handle the absurd power this engine would put out. A billet aluminum rear suspension knuckle saved the day when I accidentally mangled the OEM one during a late night in the shop. I ordered a mountain of new bearings, bushings, seals, clips, and other accessories to reassemble everything. At this point, I had officially passed the point of no return, especially a er scoring a CMT carbon airbox in a CR500 Facebook group that I absolutely couldn't say no to. I soon found myself diving deeper down the rabbit hole of trick, factory-level go-fast goodies such as a carbon fiber disc guard, rotor guard, frame protectors, and skid plate helped distribute the carbon "sexiness" while keeping weight low. The chassis was coming together—new plas cs, a cus- tom graphics kit, and a fresh seat cover. I laced up a set of gold Excel rims to Cerakoted hubs, finishing them off with tanium rim locks, new bearings, andHoosier res. The carbon fiber touches were slick on their own, but they really popped when paired with tanium pegs, engine mounts, axle nuts, swingarm hardware, and brake components to shed even more weight while keeping the bling factor up. With all these updates to the chassis, the braking system needed some serious a en on. The rear cal- iper was Cerakoted and built with a Ti-Nitride coated piston, tanium slide pins, and even a tanium bleeder screw. A modern Galfer wave rotor gave was installed for strong stopping power. A Core Moto braided brake line and high-temp fluid in the rebuilt master cylinder completed the rear brake system. Up front, the upgrades con nued with a billet "Works" caliper—the same model used by the HRC factory team and a 270mm Galfer floa ng rotor for serious stopping power that won't fade. Another Core Moto braided line ed it all together, delivering a firm lever feel from the rebuilt and Cerakoted modern CRF450R master cylinder. Now, the story of how I got my hands on that caliper could be an ar cle all by itself. It started with a beat-up 1989 Kawasaki KX125. That KX turned into a KX450, which then became a 2003 CR250—all because one night, while aimlessly scrolling Facebook Marketplace, I spo ed that billet caliper gleaming in the blurry lis ng photo. The seller had no idea that the front caliper on his bike was worth almost as much as the rest of the machine. I, on the other hand, had one mission: nab the caliper for this build and flip the rest. Fortunately, the plan worked out and I may have turned a li le profit in the process, too.

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