As I discovered at the beginning of this project that the Basket Case parts belonged to XR500 bikes of various model years, it was clear that this would not be a high-fidelity-restoration-back-to-concours-quality project. As I already have a Yamaha YZ250 to take to motocross tracks, Hare Scramble events, Enduros and to ride the wonderful mining roads of Colorado, I’ve decided to make the XR500 a fun road bike: a Super Motard edition.
A Super Motard (or Supermoto) is a modified off-road or motocross motorcycle intended for use in a cross between motocross and road racing. They are very light and thus incredibly fun to ride on the road. The main modifications include wider rims and performance road tires, larger front disk and (sometimes) lowered, and slightly stiffened suspensions.
Supermoto in action at the track. Slides, drifts, the agile bike is so much fun to ride and play with! (photo courtesy of Wikipedia).
How much fun? Play this video of David Checa and Dani Ribalta chasing each other on their Supermoto bikes to get an idea (and nop, I have nowhere the talent of either of these two riders, but I might compete in the “having the most fun” race):
Now the XR500 is no modern 450 dirt bike as seen in the picture and movie above (power or handling) but it can be transformed into a fun toy nonetheless, and this is what I intend to do with this project. The main modifications will include:
- Inverted larger/modern front fork.
- Wider 17” rim at the front with performance tire.
- Wider 17” rim at the back with performance tire.
- Disk brake at the front instead of the original drum.
I’ll elaborate further on each element of this “XR500 Super Motard” transformation as the project progresses.
Mike's Basket Case 
XR500R for sale in Greece right now. See the large pics for all the details http://www.car.gr/classifieds/bikes/view/1112793/?lang=en
Nice work!
Very nice restoration work Alexandros – seems like show level quality. Did you take pictures while doing the project?
Salut PM, great idea to turn the bike into a Super Motard. This wil be fun and you should have enough power to slide that beast. This is a great combination of road racing and flat track. ( no more dirt?)
Years ago, I went to Carlsbad9 So Cal) to watch them and dirt was part of the course.
I can’t wait to try your bike and see if I can slide my elbow on the ground. For sure, I will slid my butt when I will crash.
Keep up the good work, this is such a cool project.
Hello to all
Roland
perfect !
Mike, you’ve done a great job on your XR. I want to replicate the fork swap & wheels on my ’82 XL500R “scrambler” build. The dual-purpose tires I want to use only come in 160mm rear. I know you have a 150 on yours, Do you think a 160-60-17 will clear?
Thanks,
Tracey
The problem won’t be the rear swing arm – enough room there – but you likely will have the chain grind against the tire on the left side. You could lace the rear wheel with a bit of an offset to the right to clear the 2-3mm you’ll need. Good luck!