cr500af?

[AJ Waggoner]

Psycho500-

A few things.

1. We will certainly get you the skid plate.
A few things could have happened..it may have been out of stock when we built your AF
and most guys dont want the bike delayed in shipping for a minor item.
Or it may simply have not got written on the "build sheet"..
in any case we will most diffenantly get you one..

so give us a chance to make it right?
In any case my apologies, we do build a LOT of bikes and have very few
things of this nature.

2. I am clueless on the addrees problem..your bike was a terminal shipment which means it would ship to the closest yellowfrieght terminal to your house?
or address we were given?
in any case it would have ended up at the same terminal where you picked it up..unless yellow was confused ?

3. We never send the title or certificate of origin with the bike,never,
and that should be made clear to any customer.
It would be a bad practice for many many different reasons.
The official paperwork is mailed out seperately, and needs to be done that way.
I apologize for any misunderstanding on that point and in any delay in you getting to enjoy your new ride.
Try to keep in mind the situation you are in, is because of your location and area you are chosing to ride.I realize you need to register it for some OHRV riding spots in your area.
The vast majority of AF customers wouldnt have this situation at all,and be able to ride immediatly,
but since it does exist for you we will certainly try to speed up the whole paperwork /title process.

4.We certainly get the jetting close ..lol ..
It is excatly like Honda jets a CR500..
"Safe"

5. You seem concerned on the billet piece or yoke area of the frame.It has been done that way on several hundred bikes over the last three year models and everyone has rave reviews including riders like Mike Larroco and Mcgrath.
"Best 500 Ive ever ridden" Larrocco says it is better than his factory KX 500 he won the last 500 national title on.
It has been reviewed by many mags and all feel it handles exteemly well.

I think once you actually ride it, everything will be all you expected !!

I did an AF demo day at Milpitas Honda in jan 99? Did you happen to be there?

at any rate you can call me at Service anytime, i would be happy to address any concerns or problems you are having.
If you'd call,ask for my ext. and leave your name..i can look into it tomorow?
If possible, we will next day the papers- if thty are not already in transet.

Sincerely,
AJ Waggoner
Operations Manager
Service Honda

Tom-gooch ..Im confident as a past CR500 rider that you will love this bike.
:)

 

[PsychoCR500]

Aj

I have left you a voice mail this morning. I look forward to talking with you about the problems I have.

 

[JMD]

From what I've read, the CR 500 can be extremely difficult to jet; reportedly has a tendency to ping or blubber, or both. Any truth to those rumors?

 

[thorman75]

no the stock jetting is ok for most people.the problems ive had were jetting the bike to idle for a extended period of time.but hey its a full blown race bike it wont sit there and idle away like say a kdx would.

 

[BunduBasher]

I just got my dirtrider mag in the mail, see something about service honda and the AF and find that they have nothing to say, will report on the bike later - what a lame story, go on about backyard engineers etc etc, and then have nothing really to say about service honda and the cr500af - a story about a story about nothing ! :(

 

[AJ Waggoner]

Bundu what issue is that?
..the AF test is supposed to be in the march issue of Dirt Rider.
maybe when i wadded myself at the test i threw off the schedule
LOL


JMD-
i had a guy accidentaly ride a CR500 with no main jet at all in it..and dint notice..on a trail ride. so they are not at all picky on jetting.

KX500's tend to be a little more picky and likely to blubber ..but since the KX is a exhaust power valved engine if you get the jetting dialed it is very sweet.

 

[PsychoCR500]

Thanks A.J.

For anyone who was following my post's I am glad to report that they have bent over backwards to fix everything for me! :) In fact A.J. has done the best customer service job I can remember in quite a while. He answered all of my questions and is taking action to resolve the problems I had so I would say don't hesitate to spend money with these guy's. I think this was just a case of Murphy's Law. Anyway, I will hopefully get to ride my bike for the first time this weekend and I can't hardly wait!! Thanks again A.J.:)

 

[thorman75]

thats cause i told him i was gonna break his leg.lol.im glad they got you straightened out.dont need anyone heading back to the midwest mad.

 

[crkid]

it's nice to see when a company makes a mistake, they admit to it and fix it no matter what. AJ really seems to care by what i've heard so far from psycho's post. you have succeeded in not only helping out a customer but a fellow rider and that's pretty cool (especially after reading some things in the flame board about other company's customer service, or lack thereof).

i think as soon as i pay off my bike i have now an AF could possibly be the next vehicle in my garage. :)

 

[huntmaster]

Hows the vibes?

I've been intrigued by the perimeter 500 concept since first seeing them. Question: how is the 500's vibration level in the aluminum frame?
The stock CR isn't too bad compared to most open classers, some of which are downright aweful! Not naming names!
Anyway, might have to try one some day....if Honda doesn't bring out a CRF600 that is!

Doug Hunter

 

[AJ Waggoner]

Psycho500-
Again apologies for the mistakes !!
..no excuses here we blew it and
just glad we could take care of things.

The last thing we would want is someone having the confidence to buy an AF from us ,sight unseen,
and then have a bad experience with the shipping/parts or whatever.
Customer confidence in getting the best quality product and service is a very very important part of the AF.

After all it would be kind of bad not to live up to our name? :)


Huntmaster- I never notice the vibes once riding..
I do run oversize bars and bar end weights to help reduce vibration a little but truthfully it never bothers me.

However i should let the AF owners here answer you as there are several AF guys here on DRN..
because when i ride i wouldnt notice vibration if i was riding a 74 bultaco with the crank bearings out of it.. :D

Talk to Kiwi, singletracker500 and others for vibe advice?

 

[singletracker500]

I've been riding 500's for quite sometime now. So I don't know if I'm the right person to ask either. I don't notice any vibration. I've had people tell me it vibrates, but they're either riding 250's or thumpers. So I guess the answer is, any 500 cc two stroke will vibrate more than a 250 or thumper, but it no time at all, you'll won't notice it.

 

[bigcr]

Hey AJ!

I have a 2000 AF that I bought used through Greg at Service Honda. While
I love the bike I have yet to get the Certificate of ownership. I've called Greg
a few times and each time he said that they were on it, but I have not got
it yet. I've had the bike since May.
Please help.

 

[BSWIFT]

Originally posted by AJ Waggoner
Psycho500-

A few things.

1. We will certainly get you the skid plate.
A few things could have happened..it may have been out of stock when we built your AF
and most guys dont want the bike delayed in shipping for a minor item.
Or it may simply have not got written on the "build sheet"..
in any case we will most diffenantly get you one..

so give us a chance to make it right?
In any case my apologies, we do build a LOT of bikes and have very few
things of this nature.

2. I am clueless on the addrees problem..your bike was a terminal shipment which means it would ship to the closest yellowfrieght terminal to your house?
or address we were given?
in any case it would have ended up at the same terminal where you picked it up..unless yellow was confused ?

3. We never send the title or certificate of origin with the bike,never,
and that should be made clear to any customer.
It would be a bad practice for many many different reasons.
The official paperwork is mailed out seperately, and needs to be done that way.
I apologize for any misunderstanding on that point and in any delay in you getting to enjoy your new ride.
Try to keep in mind the situation you are in, is because of your location and area you are chosing to ride.I realize you need to register it for some OHRV riding spots in your area.
The vast majority of AF customers wouldnt have this situation at all,and be able to ride immediatly,
but since it does exist for you we will certainly try to speed up the whole paperwork /title process.

4.We certainly get the jetting close ..lol ..
It is excatly like Honda jets a CR500..
"Safe"

5. You seem concerned on the billet piece or yoke area of the frame.It has been done that way on several hundred bikes over the last three year models and everyone has rave reviews including riders like Mike Larroco and Mcgrath.
"Best 500 Ive ever ridden" Larrocco says it is better than his factory KX 500 he won the last 500 national title on.
It has been reviewed by many mags and all feel it handles exteemly well.

I think once you actually ride it, everything will be all you expected !!

I did an AF demo day at Milpitas Honda in jan 99? Did you happen to be there?

at any rate you can call me at Service anytime, i would be happy to address any concerns or problems you are having.
If you'd call,ask for my ext. and leave your name..i can look into it tomorow?
If possible, we will next day the papers- if thty are not already in transet.

Sincerely,
AJ Waggoner
Operations Manager
Service Honda

Tom-gooch ..Im confident as a past CR500 rider that you will love this bike.
:)

Sounds like Customer Service to me.

 

[KiwiBird]

Some seem to vibe more than others, any vibes on mine don't bother me. I put ProTapers on (more for crashability) and they seem to help, Tech 8s cut some vibes too. Others have filled the frame with foam and put anti-vibe handlebar inserts like AJ but I didn't bother and I regularly do 2 tankfull rides without problem. Modifying the suspension will help your comfort more than anything.

This is probably the best bike I have ever owned and the only one where I actually just sit in the garage and look at it like a teenager with a naked girl in his bed. :eek:

 

[thorman75]

yeah they shake but it seems like the only time you notice it is sitting on the line.if wanna see something funny watch the rear fenders when the open class is on the line for the start.

 

[AJ Waggoner]

BigCR-
Sorry for the C of O problems..i have to say this has been an issue on several bikes now..and i'm not totally sure why.

Due to the problems listed above we have changed the way we handle C of O's. There was good reason for our old policy -
but now we will send them out at the exact day of purchase to try and alleaviate the paper shuffle hassel for customers.

Please give me a call monday , ask for my extension and leave me your name and phone number and i will nail down your C of O and ship it out as soon as possble if it hasnt been already, and I will call you to tell you status that day.

I'd like to thank you for your patience and understanding !
its much appreciated!

AJ

BSWIFT- dont give me to much credit for that particular post..I had not gotten a chance to look over psychos file and was guessing at possibilties..lol
Was just trying to assure him we would make it right.
After going over our fumbles today,I think we have made it right by him..and changed the we we do a few things that will make it a bit smoother for others as well.

did i mention that after today i have developed a hate for state licencing paperwork? lol :eek:

 

[bigcr]

Thanks AJ, I'll be calling you on Monday. As far as the original question
that started this, YES IT'S WORTH THE MONEY!!!

 

[mxraxer78]

dirt rider issue...

the cr500af is mentioned in the new feb 2002 issue of dirt rider...
in the end of the Stuck Throttle column
the article just is teasing us that they are holding off on reviewing it because they are having so much fun riding it...
:)

just my 2 cents

 

[nephron]

..but since the KX is a exhaust power valved engine if you get the jetting dialed it is very sweet.

AJ, could you explain? And I'm not being facetious, nor an ass. Just trying to learn more of the good stuff. Thanks.:D

 

[thorman75]

nephron,what is you need to know?hows your bike running is there a problem?

 

[AJ Waggoner]

nephrone-
To explain ..
I think the KX engine, since it has an exhaust power valve and the CR does not, overall has better more usuable and yes a bit more power.
Not that the CR500 lacks.
The CR engine is sweet,and stone reliable.

The KX engine has more potential stock though and if you jet it right it is awesome..it tends to come jetted a bit off and has more tendency to blubber around down low and midrange than the stock CR.

This is all just my opinion though and many people will feel the opposite?

 

[PsychoCR500]

Holy Cow!!

I finally got to ride my 2002 CR500AF yesterday and all I can say is WOW!!:scream: I have owned 3 other 500's, numerous 125's and I can tell you this bike is so good it's not even funny! The first thing you can't help but notice is how light these things are.....I mean it felt like I was on a 125!! The bike definetly vibrates less than any of my other 500's as well. I tried to take it easy and the motor (with Eric Gorr porting) feels pretty strong so far. The mods done to my bike other than porting and decking the cylinder are; Renthal Twin Wall Bar (Emig bend), Tag Bar Mounts (rubber), DID VM 520 chain, Renthal ultralite front sprocket, Dunlop 755 front & 773 rear tires. I have the suspension set the the factory settings and it is PLUSH!!! I had two good friends there who both ride standard CR500's and after they saw it and felt how light it was they are ready to sell their kids and buy one!! I am a believer!! Light is right!!:)

Oh yeh....the 14/47 gearing ROCKS!! I wish I had tried it before now.

 

[singletracker500]

Yep! All it takes is a ride on one!:)

 

[AJ Waggoner]

Singletracker500 quote:

Yep! All it takes is a ride on one!

LOL thats right John..

thats why i have no problems letting anyone ride my bike..
;)