Honda CR500AFX

Back from extinction

In the good old days, every family owned a big bore two-stroke. These were big, powerful, hairy beasts that vibrated like a well-used wacka-packa, and produce great big gobs of power that induced the fear of god in all that rode them. Bikes like the RM500, KTM540, IT465 and the infamous CR500, were ridden by "real men," and have since become the centre of riding folklore.

So what happened? To the mere mortal, the straight line speed is the big bore two-stroke's downfall. Getting the bike to pull up and corner after two hundred metres of full-song is something that needs a delicate blend of experience, skill, commonsense and a touch of insanity. Very few people that have all these and getting it wrong is all too-easy. Sales for the big-bangers dropped as people started to realise that they were posting faster times on a 250 four-stroke, and with this went the commercial reason for manufacturers to produce these bikes. Honda was the last to persist, with the CR500. After ten years of nothing more than a sticker change for each successive model, only the most loyal fans were prepared to put up the cash. It's a no-brainer - a ten year old design up against the latest sharp-edged factory weapon for the same moolah. Honda ceased production of the CR500 in 2004. The species was extinct.

HG WELLS MEETS CR500
Loyal CR500 fans lamented. Why did the 500 stand still while all other capacities got new frames, different swing-arms and better suspension? Surely jamming a 500 motor into a 250 frame would have been a much better option than doing nothing. Someone was listening. Service Honda thought exactly the same thing and produced both a CR500AF and CR500AFX. This is a CR500 motor shoe-horned into a CRF250R and CRF250X chassis, respectively, pairing old style, raw-horsepower into a modern, cutting-edge frame and suspension package. Brett Cristian, from Sydney, thought it was such a good idea that he forked out the cash to import a CR500AFX into "Gods own land."

This didn't come cheap. To bling the bike up, Brett got a whole host of goodies thrown on before it was shipped over. The most significant of these in terms of performance is the barrel porting. We'll talk more about this later. The total cost to Brett was A$14,000 landed at his door. See the list below.

Brett's bike also came with a Rekluse auto clutch fitted. This was not specified by him and not listed on the invoice so we've concluded that it is a standard feature of the package.

In theory the 500AFX should be registrable. It's in the CRF-X frame and has all the correct goodies for compliance. However - there's always a however - it does not come with an Australian compliance plate. A trip to a motor engineer should quickly yield an engineers' certificate and registration, but we all know that government employees exist only to make the public's life as difficult as possible and it won't be as straight forward as the rules suggest.

JURASSIC PARK
We took the opportunity to test the AFX at Pro enduro racer, Nathan Castles property which has a million different tracks, and gave us the chance to get a pro's perspective on the beast.

The AFX is a pretty bike, that's a funny term to use when describing such a tough bike but it's appropriate. The flowing lines and Service Honda graphics all meld nicely and the polished nickel finish on the FMF exhaust system add to the glossy finish.

Throw your leg over and the first thing you'll notice about the AFX is the height. It's a CRF-X frame on which Brett has set the suspension on the firm side. Anyone less than 180cm (6ft in the old scale) is going to find it difficult to get both feet on the ground without the aid of a rut,  and this leads into the other issue with the AFX - starting the bugger. This is a bike that needs a serious kick to get it firing. Wimpy little rabbit kicks just don't work. A full, strong kick is needed and the height works against making this an easy task. Jacko, at 6'5", didn't complain, but us normal sized folk were looking for a tree to lean against or a ditch to push it in come start up time. There's a knack to starting the AFX. If you don't go through all the pre-flight rituals it'll refuse to fire up - do it right or you don't ride.

FIRE TO LIFE
Once started the big 500 comes to life with a fierce, cackling howl. It's got that, "mess with me and you'll be hurting" attitude and it only takes 50 metres to realise you are on probably the most powerful bike you'll ever ride. Car enthusiasts just don't get the dirtbike thing. Why ride a 65hp bike when you can drive a 400hp car? Sure there's a 350 odd hp deficit in favour of the big-block V8 but talk about power to weight and the AFX is all over anything out there. At 65 hp and 100kg it's got the same power to weight ratio as a family sedan thumping out 1000hp. Sheer acceleration is what it's about.

The power starts just off idle and has a serious urgency about it. Wind the throttle on a bit more and the power comes on into a midrange that develops power the likes of which cannot be described by mere words. It has to be felt to be properly understood. It signs off early up-top but this doesn't matter, if you keep changing up gears it'll keep accelerating for as long as you dare. If you feel the need to roost your mates, twist the throttle and they'll scatter like cockroaches. If you want to inflict some pain then just wind it on a bit more. If putting them in hospital for a month is your aim, rip the throttle open to the stops. This sounds like the AFX is an uncontrollable brute. That's not entirely true. It can be, but only if you're stupid with the right hand. It has good throttle modulation and this makes it easy to dial the right amount of power. Yes, you have to treat it with respect but do so and it won't bite the hand that feeds it. Keeping the wheel lofted over a series of ruts is childsplay with this motor. The barrel porting has had a significant impact on the power delivery. It comes on earlier than the CRE and is stronger throughout the entire range.

The motor is supplied to Service Honda by Honda Motor Co. and is exactly the same as the when the CR500's were in full production. Right down to the cast bore with no hardened lining or power valve. This may sound archaic but it's actually a good thing. Servicing the top-end is simplicity itself and due to the low revs needed to keep the engine in the sweet spot, rebuilds are quite infrequent. Brett says 12-24 months pass before a top-end freshen up is required.

GET A GRIP
The handling was the biggest surprise that the AFX dished up. With the tall seat height and serious power we expected an "outta my way! I'm going there," approach to the handling. We were miles off the mark. The big girl tips into corners easily and responds well to body english. Its ability to hold a line in a rut was impressive and is better than the majority of bikes we've ridden in the last few years. In fact it felt much lighter than the 2008 CRF450R that we were also testing on the day. Overall it was a very precise package, a fact that was emphasised when compared to the CRE which felt decidedly vague over the same track.

Couple this to suspension that never put a foot wrong all day and you have the ingredients for a huge grin factor. Brett says the suspension is dead standard. It definitely is firm but without doesn't feel harsh. For our day on the thumper track and enduro loops it was perfect, even while casing out on the gully jump. We never touched the clickers because there was no reason to, it was equally composed over the whooped thumper track as it was on the log strewn enduro loop.

Little has to be said about the brakes. They are strong with plenty of feel and that's important on a bike with the capability for speed that CR500AFX has. The brakes were eminently up to the task, no doubt helped by the bikes light weight. The rear was especially good, with nice feel for when you had to get the rear to drift.

The Rekluse clutch is worth a mention itself. For those that don't know, a Rekluse clutch is a semi-automatic clutch that self-engages at a pre-determined engine speed. The principle is exactly the same as the posty bikes, but with a bit more engineering refinement. It had both high and low points. The recluse didn't feel at home on the thumper track, especially coming out of rutted turns were feeding the power on with the clutch gave the CRE an advantage. On the enduro loop however the tables were turned. The stone-age, and heavy, cable clutch on the CRE quickly induced left hand fatigue whilst the Rekluse made up for the tall first gear and gave the AFX an "un-stallability," that really is needed with a bike that takes a lot of effort to start.

OVERALL
The CR500AFX is a very powerful and well behaved package. We loved it! It's got everything that you could want in a bike, eye-watering power, great handling, superb suspension and powerful brakes. It's addictive; once you start you crave more. It's certainly more suited to open track blasting were the motor can be unleashed to its full potential. This is not to say it's bad in the tight stuff. Nathans thumper track was very tight and switched it's way though the trees and gullies with only two short straights. It's light, tips in well and has great suspension.

If the AFX was the bike that Honda were currently making, they would sell boatloads of them, literally. We are gob-smacked that it never made it to the production line. We'll be inviting Brett out again just so we can get our dirty little hands on the AFX, we liked it that much.