Take into consideration that the 500 is using at best 2001 tech vs 2021 tech! Imagine a modern day 2021 cr500 thing would be a monster

2 stroke = fun

Cr 500 is way cheaper to maintain and way cheaper to get more power. Bring back the 2 strokes

Where's Ronnie when we need him

I have a KX500AF and tbh a 450 has the same power. A 450 is just more tame and manageable. The 500 isn't faster, it isn't quicker, better or anything. It's just different, and fun.

The one guy rides the 500 like he's scared of it

We need an underground 2 stroke factory in the US

I rode cr500’s for twenty years. I would gladly trade my new yz450fx for a cr500 in good shape. Honda, build a new cr500 and i will buy one.

So we don't upgrade 2strokes for decades and they are still in the game?

I’ve owned numerous 500s including a new service Honda and many 450s also. The stock 500 af with a pipe struggles to beat a 450 but for the dunes here in Utah at elevation when I ported my 500 af with a RK tech head with bumped up compression and 100 octane fuel it was night and day and pulled the 450 hard up sand mtn. 500 is old tech but just needs a bump in compression and good fuel and it’s amazing.

Now that was an awesome video for sure keep them coming 👍👍

I grew up on a 2-stroke (I have a 450 now) but it sure sounds to me like you guys ride that 2-stroke like a 4-stroke. It should be high in the RPMs before you shift....not like a 4-stroke necessarily. Let that 500 sing and I bet it would be a very different result in this application. On a track, the 450 would clean up but on paddles the 500 should shine. As another commenter mentioned, this is the first time I've heard of a 500 with a narrow powerband. Drive a YZ 80 and you'll know what a narrow powerband feels like. 500's have lots of power so it's spread out unlike some of the smaller 2-strokes.

Keep up the good work, great content!

I bought a new CRF 450. After a couple months, I learned how expensive they are to rebuild. And not nearly as exciting to ride.

Neither of y'all rode the 500 up in it's power band. Both y'all were lugging that thing and it still kept up with the 450. 😃

Great work on the video guys. Thank you for sharing your work

Both are great bikes. I'd take the 500 for ease of maintenance and much cheaper rebuild cost

A 450 thumper is legitimately fast. I'd guess 99% of riders will be faster everywhere on a 450 verses the 500. While having a slightly higher peak horsepower number, the 500 has a lower redline and a peakier powerband. Most people can't launch a 500 well in a sand drag. I couldn't without a ton of clutch slip and a ton of bad launches first. My service Honda AF had an even peakier mid/top port job. The flat torque curve of the 450 makes them super easy to launch. That flat powerband makes them easier to ride fast on a track also. 20 years of refinement makes the 500 obsolete. Still a blast to ride but nostalgia will only get you so far in a race.

Killer content, love this!

100% comes down to rider ability and knowing how to ride the 500. I have had a kx500 since new from 2004 and they do not have a narrow power band. They produce plenty of power and torque all through the revs. If you can't beat a 450 in a straight line there is something very wrong. I have never had a 450 get in front of my 500.

Tried my brother in laws kx 500 and it was one hell on an experience ! you just can't describe the feeling it's out of this world !

Gearing can change things around. Wicked test Madman 🇦🇺🤠🦘

That is a great comparison boys. Thanx a bunch.

You guys did a fantastic job on this video, while being educational, IT WAS PURE ENTERTAINMENT👍👍👍 Again, Great Job. Thanks🎩🎩🎩

The guy in the black shifts without letting of the gas and that makes a deference.

500 wins by a huge margin based solely on exhaust note.

Respect for an actual fair comparison! Great vid!

Good video! Both bikes are beautiful and I agree, their is something about a 2 stroke no matter the size, they are awesomely fun to ride!!! 👌

What a great shootout with surprising results. Two Strokes forever!

To be fair you would need a old school CR500 rider/owner to go against the 450 cuz neither one had enough experience to ride the snot out of the 500.

Cool video guys 👍🏻👍🏻

Four strokes overheat in deep sand,mud and high altitude. I used to be able to buy a whole used two stroke for the cost of a thumper top end overhaul. I'm light so prefer 250. I honestly couldn't kick a 500 when it's cold after camping or hot when you crash. Speaking of crashing, before electric start flooded thumpers could go from first to last. Two strokes are like Lighting the fuse on a skyrocket then it turns into a magic carpet that grants your every wish. Four strokes are like a very good race car that got cut in half lengthwise.

They should have taken them to the track and let the timer do the recording 😆

That's the first CR 500 I have seen with a narrow Powerband. They will pull skat-trak viper 10 paddle easily. Fastest in 3 counties

Awsome vid

Great video. Had a 1991 and 1995 KX500 the the motor is a monster! Like the wt of the 2 stroke but like the usable power on the 4 stroke. Smile factor, 2 stroke for sure.

Anybody can go fast on a 450 . The big bore 2 stroke separates the men from the boys only a certain type of person able to push its limits .

You guys could also put them on a dyno to measure horsepower since it's a "Horsepower Showdown".

Looks like a great day at work and hell of a time

Some internal massaging, updated electronics, update carb. or EFI and the 500 would in a league of it's own. Modern 450's however do rock and roll, no questions about it.

The 500 needs a rider mod😂

The new 450s are pretty crazy fast. The cr500 engine is 30 years old. Technology has grown a lot in 30 years. Good comparison video. I would have thought the 500 in sand would be way faster just because it has more horsepower.

It all depends on the total weight and other variables when riding on sand.the bike has to plain on the surface of the sand,in the 80's I don't think there was a 4 stroke that was light enough or powerful enough to ride on very soft sand, with the exception of maybe the xr honda, but now all the 4 strokes are light enough and powerful enough to match a good 2 stroke. there were very few water cooled 4 strokes in the 80's they were all air cooled and really couldn't handle the demands of being on sand. this is a good experiment I'm sure lots of people would be curious,thanx for producing this for us, I'm sure u enjoyed it I know I would.

This makes me miss my 87 yz250. It loved that side of sand mountain and the fingers. My wr450 is super fun too. But that built 250 at little Sahara was a riot.

Cant really compare when one dude is twice the weight of the other and doesn't know how to ride . I kid guys👍💪🤙✌️

Awesome video. Now we need to do the same test between a YZF450 vs YZ250.

also..cool video,thanks for doing it!

It comes down to what makes you happier, being on the more optimized, efficient machine or the more reckless rip-your-arms-off machine

2 stroke does sound really really good xD

Love the 500 AF

Awesome 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

You hit the nail on the head. The 450 is easier to ride due to the wider torque band. It pains me to say that because I rode a CR500 during the glory days before they dropped the class in the Nationals and thought my bike (modified) was the most powerful thing I ever rode. Riding some 30 years later I will have to admit that at the end of the day I am less fatigued on a 450.

On a track the new 450 would smoke it. I love em both tho.

I am a 4 stroke guy but man I love 2 strokes and my dream 2 stroke is a mint 87cr250 and 2007 cr250

fastest dirt bike i ever rode was total trick 2012 450r...i never rode in sand tho...MAN!!!! FRIGHTENING ACCELERATION !! VETTES DONT STAND A CHANCE...i got no self control when i ride that beast and never dreamed id hit top speed on it !!! great video yall

Can't beat the sound of the two banners

2 stroke

Ask McGrath the 500 eats a 450 all day.

I love my yz 250 :D 2 stroke forever. Would love to try 500 once.

So im not trying to make any assumptions, but I'm very much assuming that the 500 guy doesn't have too much seat time on a 2 stroke🤣 I would love to see some elite riders go head to head on these! Great vid

Great comparison! Ask J McGrath to help out next time:).

So the 500 2stroke is basically a 450 4stroke. This makes it very apparent that the AMA rule is unfair about making you race in the 450 class if you want to ride a 250 2stroke

cant wait to see a 2022 crf450r impression and see if they have fixed some of the bogging issues in the mapping!

Whew...my 500s power band starts at idle and grunts hard to 6500ish, had to relearn clutching the turns when I switched to the 450. Just tractor out of them on the 500 w/ the front tire hanging. Totally diff experience than these guys had. Maybe that FMF does more than I thought!!

cr all day long lighter no valves to bend .ive ridden a mates 450 i had it pined in 5th when i gave it back it wouldn't start.

Hard to call... the 450 is probably going to be faster time was for 99% of the riders... way more forgiving, more even power spread across the band, especially low down means slightly less than perfect gear changes wont be as devastating on lap times. I'd probably still want to ride the 500 though as its 2 stroke and has that sound and smell you just don't get from a 4 stroke. Probably a handful of very skilled 2 stroke riders on a suitable circuit would be able to take full advantage of the extra grunt of the 500 and beat the 450 but as much as i dont want to write if I were doing anything serious i'd ride the 450.

Very well controlled experiment. The results were a little surprising. Thanks guys. I learned something today.

That dual exhaust on the 500 looks so good 😩

One also has traction and launch control. And the other is old technology. But 2 stroke forever.

CR 500 are just fun to ride.

That's awesome

Love both

Long live the 2stroke

The 500 wins in every category except ease of use. The 500 is easier and cheaper to own and maintain and 10-20 years from now will still be worth more than the 450. Oh, and if that 450 drops a valve you better have a deep bank account cause 4 strokes are $$ to fix. How often to you see rollers for sale because of the repair costs on the 4 strokes? The 4 strokes are cool if you like them though but I'd take a 2T every time for off road stuff.

Great video.. great comparison. Enjoyed it.

Bikes look pretty even and rider is more important than anything. What I take from this.....its taken them 20 some yrs to catch up in 4 stroke tech with the old king of the hill 500. As a crf450x owner I love my bike but.....I'd kick it to the curb any day if I had a 500 to ride. The 80s and 90s 2 strokes are what I grew up with.

Let's look at it this way, the CR500 engine had its horsepower peak in 86 and afterwards they built em more tame. I always think people have to look at the four strokes from that time to actually see how much of a dinosaur we are looking at here, agewise.... so still a more than respectable result.

I know which one would be far more painful when it came time to pay for a rebuild!

I'd like to see a comparison with a new ktm 300Tpi just to see how it hangs with the 450 using reasonably up to date tech. I'd really like to see honda bring us the tech they used on the now ancient CRM 450 dakar bike, with injection and electronic power valve.

That's so cool, let's do another. Me on a 450 vs Travis Pastrana on his 110 at a motocross track to see what bike is better 🤦

Now you guys have to do kx 500 vs kx 450

I remember the last air-cooled open class two-stroke Rotax built. It had a strange powerband with a lot off the bottom and not so much on top. It looked strange with more fins on top of head. It was right around the time they brought out a four-stroke. A modern 250 2t would make more power now.

AYE!!! love sand mountain abt a 2 hr drive from me!

Un saludo desde república Dominicana

Should see a comparison on a track

Put 30+ years of research and design into that cr500 motor, transmission , and carborator and see what happens. My understanding from guys who used to ride cr500 is after 1986 they reduced the power on it for some reason. I've heard cause it was just too powerful and the power made it hard to ride/controll. I have ridden a 1989 cr500 and it was not in great shape. The bike was scary fast and with the old bike tech, suspension, and design it really was only good at climbing big hills and drag racing. I ride a 1998 cr250 now and it's plenty fast/has enough power. The 4 strokes have come along way since 2000s and have a broad useable power band but, you just can't beat the way 2strokrs powerband and power delivery feels when riding. 2strokes will always have you with a grin after taking a ride. Keep the 4strokes and revive the 2strokes with current technology and it's a win for every type/ style rider.

It’s so bloody hard to pick because they both have there good points and bad. I love 2’s for the grit and fun and the 4 just for there toughness and having long days out plus too emd power. 50/50 for me

Awesome 500cr ... very nice 450crf

I'm surprised how close it was. I figured a 450 would win on a track but get whipped on the dunes. Honestly, the fact that the 500 is even competitive is impressive since it's basically 80's technology. Well, the engine anyway.

They fact they are close just shows how hard the factories duped the AMA with the displacement advantage. I think if they evened the playing field with CC's either lowering the 450 to a 350 we might see a higher desire for 2 strokes again. The 125 should also be bumped to a 150 from all manufacturers to keep up with 250s. But the factories wanna sell you that expensive 4 stroke with the expensive maintenance since they cannot exist on pure volume anymore.

Just picked up my first CR500, it is a 2006 CR500AF and man what an incredible bike!! I like it better then my brand new built KX450! I don’t see myself ever getting rid of the 500 now that I have it because my KX feels like riding a Sherman tank compared to the AF… can’t beat the torque of the big bore 2 stroke!

Next please do the same with 250s

There is nothing like riding a 500!

There should be a tally on a top end rebuild if one goes south. I'd take the Cr 500 all day long.

I desert race CR 500 for 12 years. My bike was modified by me and made 96 horsepower at the wheel. Top speed of a 138 miles per hour. And set up for drag racing it ran quarter mile in 9.08 sec. at 145 mph on alcohol.

Yall need to do a showdown between the honda 450 and the kx500 I think the results would be way different don't get me wrong I'm a huge honda fan but those kawasakis were a way different machine power wise

500af on the mototrack all day

You guys need to to a KTM 450 vs a BRC500. All modern tech. Closest comparison.

Ride that 500 like ya mean it bossman!!

Need to redo this with my new 2022 YZM500X