82/83 Husqvarna cr500 test/stats

"My first 500cr will be balanced"

What balance factor will you use? I have spent some effort typing about this in the past. You seem to ask/mention stuff multiple times.

A single cylinder (or single pin twin) can not really be balanced. There are two parts of the crank, the rotating mass and the reciprocating mass. On a 180 degree twin pin engine (or flat 6 or flat 12 etc) where there is an equal amount of reciprocating 180 degrees from each other, the reciprocating mass can be balanced. On a single or single pin twin the rotating mas can be easily balanced, but the reciprocating can not because no matter where in the 360 degrees of rotation it is at it will be in a state of imbalance. What you can do is tune the harmonics so that the primary operating rpm range has the lowest vibration, this is the balance factor Fran is talking about. You can see this in Harleys, sitting at a stop light they shake like an 8.0 earthquake, but at highway speed they are very smooth, the harmonics of the crank have been tuned to produce the lowest vibration where the engine is going to be operated at.

The balance factor I am speaking of, for a single cylinder, if you balance the up and down out completely you create a front to back imbalance. For a single the best you can do is divide up the way it shakes. Sure you can get both crank cheeks balanced the same but the big issue is as mentioned above. I think all the air cooled 500 (this thread title) used the same crank cheeks however for the 500 two cycle there were two other variants in the short time before production ended.

http://www.frannyk.addr.com/cafehusky/500.cranks.and.corresponding.pistons.JPG If you look at the thickness above the big balance holes you see a difference. Also a different frame design they went in. One is the air cooled, the one with less recesses in the piston. I suspect the woosner piston will weigh like the water cooled piston but you will be putting it in the earlier frame so I ask what balance factor (how the shaking is divided up) do you intend on using?

Yup.

As per fran k and karwheel68 i concur. Balancing blah blah BS.
127mph...beat it

On left is NOS wiseco which ran 127.
Middle is lc mahle.
Right is wossner.
They all work on any crank lobe and rod combination.
Sweet dreams.

I just purchased two wossner and one husky 500 pistons. We're getting ready to build a '82 500cr silver streak clone, a '83 500cr, a 83 500 XC. Then the 430's and 420/390's are next to bore, balance and replace rods if needed, machining done first.


Where the 500cr Honda, Yamaha 500 wr and 500cr kawasaki were more refined engine wise than the 500cr/wr huskys were?

Husky hp specs when given are at the crankshaft, not rear wheel. You get no popcorn.

All of the Japanese 500s and to a lesser degree the Maico 490 and KTM495 were more violent and abrupt than the Husky, the Husky was much smoother. I far prefer my '79 Maico 440 over the 490 for that reason, I am much faster on the 440 because its power delivery is very much like the 430, very smooth and easy to put every hp down to the ground.

I went from an 82 430XC to an 84 495MXC. I would not say the KTM was violent or even hard to control, but it had HUGE power. This is what "the others" had that made Husky come out with a 500. I rode that 84 KTM for 7 seasons cuz it worked so well.

At the same time, my main riding buddy got an 83 CR480. Now, THAT was violent. And scary twitchy. It had a 26.9 degree rake, if I remember, and we were aggressive desert play riders. Compared with my 30 degree husky and my 28.5 degree KTM, it was like a horror movie. But what a tight, refined package that Honda was. I'd love to get my hands on one today. I bet it would work with less offset in the triples (more trail).

What do you think? Not sure exactly what refined would mean. The kx500 kawasaki (cr???) used a powervalve at least the one I saw the insides of. I consider the through studs as opposed to cylinder attached to the case, head attached to the cylinder more primitive as it allows less port flexibility. The finish in the transfer ports of these era husky bikes is kind of crude, perhaps no finish.

Big Bill,
Our mutual friend Darrell has all three! A '92 CR500, a '92 WR500 and a '92 KX500!!! The Japanese engines with their powervales were refined monsters! It is interesting the differences between the three though. Personally, my '87 WR430 has both the low end chugability and impressive mid-upper hit that makes it very versatile. The CR500 is just pure monster. The KX500 makes a very good western off-road bike for sure.

The KTM 500 or so bikes probably should not be left out of the discussion. Only the kx500 has a longer stroke than the 488cc husky.

I have a few 500 engines a cr and wr huskys air cooled for now. I have the 430's in cr and wr too. I have the cr 390 and or 390 plus the cr250's. All basket cases. Something to sit and play with.

The 430 LQ husky is a nice bike the last of the swedes. I had a 400 LQ cross country I'm sorry I sold it.

The Honda 500 does not have a power valve, the KX does so it always had an advantage in power delivery over the Honda, but both are less smooth than a Husky.

I have several open bikes, a 93 Honda cr500 in a 2000 cr250 frame, a 94 ktm 440, and an 84 Husky xc500.

The husky is the smoothest. Lots of flywheel. It is also the fastest, only because it has a six speed. The suspension is the most plush. It is not the most powerful bike of the three. I have taken it to the dunes, It looses ground going up the bike dune hills compared to the other two. I like this bike for woods and open country. The brakes are horrible, it feels a bit portly compared to newer bikes. It is also the hardest bike to start. Vibes aren't too bad once riding.

The KTM 440 and CR500 are very close in overall power, but completely different in power delivery. The CR500 will pull your arms out off the bottom, pulls strong through the mid, not a lot of over rev. The KTM is soft on the bottom, decent mid, then SCREAMS. In a drag, the CR500 will get out front (if you can get it to hook up) but will run out of revs, then the KTM will usually go past it. I prefer riding the 440 in the dunes, but the cr500 is pretty fun as well. The 440 suspension is harsh for woods riding. I still have to work on the cr500's suspension, so I can't make a fair comparison. the KTM has about the same vibes as a 250. The CR500 has more vibration, in comparison.

I know already the bigger bore Husqvarna engines will get a compression release. I'm looking into having the cr500 rotating crank assembly dynamically balanced to get rid of some of the bottom end vibration. I do understand it can tend to move the vibration into another area in the rpm. But that's the chance I'll take it's the only way to learn. But at the same time port the cylinder too. I want my first cr500 to have all the tricks done to it.

Yea it's wise to change multiple things in a dramatic fashion all at once