I probably should delete this tread before my Yamaha compatriots tar and feather me (or worse)
No, we'll just make you suffer the indignity and the humiliation of thinking about owning a Honduh.
(Says the may who owns... let me see... four of the bluddy things [edit: None of them are CR500s though]).Let's see what the Nancy Boys have to add to this:
81 = 450 = pooh.
82 = 480 = much better.
83 = 480 = much refined (particularly suspension and 5-speed).
84 = 500 = better again, still air-cooled.
85, first of the water cooled. Bulk HP by most claims.
86, I believe just an update of the 85, power spread widened.
87, gets rear disc and (more importantly) cartridge forks.
88, just refinements.
89, crappy USD forks, and think the crappy delta-link rear end.