ISDE on a CR500
Challenges come in all shapes and sizes at the FIM International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE). Simply completing a race as long and as physically demanding as the FIM ISDE is a tough enough hurdle to overcome for many. But Frenchman Valerian Debaud has decided to challenge himself that little bit more, by racing on a 1992 Honda CR 500!
A now iconic and legendary motorcycle, this is not your average ‘Enduro-friendly’ machine. With fearsome power, in a vintage, thirty-year-old chassis, manhandling this bike through six tough days of racing will be an impressive feat in itself.
“With the FIM ISDE in my home country this year, I wanted to mark it in a special way,” says Valerian. “The CR500 is an iconic motorcycle of its time and it will be a challenge to guide it through a tough race like this.”
The fiery power of a Honda CR 500 is generally not ideally suited to Enduro competition. Likewise, chassis and suspension characteristics have come quite a long way in the last thirty years too. So how as Valerian modified his machine to make it FIM ISDE proof?
“Firstly, the bike is thirty years old, so I needed to restore it with my own hands and get it back to its original quality, or as close as possible. I received a lot of advice from people around me. We worked on softening the engine to make it more usable for Enduro and make it less aggressive. But it is still a 500cc two-stroke engine, so there are limitations on what we could do. After that I purchased Öhlins suspension to bring it up to date, along with changing the front axle. It is still a beast to ride, but pretty fun, too.”
A member of the Les 3 Solitaires team in the Club Team category, what do his teammates think about this adventure he is about to embark on next week?
“They like the project. But maybe they think I am a little crazy too! All three of us have different goals to achieve, so the team result will not matter to us too much. We just want to finish and have a lot of fun during this edition in France. My objectives are simple, to enjoy the race. It will be my first FIM ISDE, so I think it will be a big adventure on this mythical motorcycle. I’ll try to share my journey along the way, so people can follow my progress. I know that the French public will create an amazing atmosphere too. I’ve been waiting for this for months. I can’t wait for it to start!”
