As always, the best technique was to keep it a gear tall and try and ride the torque curve, but the new bike’s softer low end power made that trickier than the year before. Even though the motor was an all-new design, it retained the air-cooling of ’83 and relied on a sano set of ram scoops for additional cooling. If you're selling a vintage or modern bike, … 1991 Honda XR80, The XR80, is all about one thing: serious off-road fun. The tank itself was slim and tall to hold enough fuel and provide an ergonomically efficient design. Even though the new bike looked almost identical to the ’85 machine, it ran completely different. Hiro Honda told me that this was designed this way to reduce frame flex. It was incredibly abrupt and needed a careful hand to prevent wheeling over backwards when traction was present. In 1981, the big CRs smallish motor had put out a revvy and very un-five-hundred-like style of power. Notice how the frame wraps around the motor so tightly. Compared to the big and bulky KX500, the CR felt like a 125 in the turns. The softer low-end made that midrange surge seem even more pronounced and care had to be taken not to let it come on the pipe at an inopportune moment. In the late 1980s, Honda began … A new tank dropped down on one side to lower the bike’s center of gravity and a redesigned seat carried the saddle all the way up the tank. 2019. As we were watching, along comes this guy all dressed in white on an all white bike that looked like it was out of the movie “Star Wars.” The guy was absolutely hauling as he went by down a long whooped out straight. The new Suzuki RM80 and venerable Yamaha YZ80 were both lighter and much faster than the XR in stock trim. The new 45mm inverted units looked trick, but worked abysmally. Unreliable, overweight and underperforming, the ’81 CRs were technical marvels in need of further refinement. Notice the way the Gas tank is formed to allow the pipe to go thru. After the major redesign in 1987, Honda decided to focus on refinements for their 125 in 1988. The new bodywork was similar to the 125 and 250, but featured a larger tank to accommodate the 500’s thirsty nature. FXR Racing: Honda MX Bike History: The 80’s, Fight Club: Pastrana, Langston, Brown and a Title, Pro Circuit Indy 1 SX Post-Race PulpCasts, “Maxxis Tires” – Classic Steel 156: 1991 Honda CR125. Finishing off the packages were new FIM-legal number plates that moved the plates rearward for easier reading and new plastic gas tanks that were less prone to damage, but a death sentence to stock decals. In the 500 division, the CR500R made a big move back to the front of the class with a much-improved motor for 1987. The new motor was soft off the line, but untouchable from the mid on up. Really, its only weakness was its big and bulky feel, which the new layout did nothing to address. The 1985 motor got new porting, a new single-ring piston, a six-pedal reed valve, a larger airbox and a bigger resonance chamber for the ATAC. That was an awesome experience and a feeling that I remember to this day. The 1988 Kawasaki KX125. While plenty powerful, this new motor was saddled with a gappy four-speed transmission and weak clutch. This bike has the optional 36mm bored to a 37mm Mikuni. Out back, new settings for the shock improved performance and the 500 once again proved to have the best sorted dampers of the three full-size CRs. In addition to the new motor, the 500 featured a redesigned frame, slick works-style bodywork and a much-needed disc brake. Al Baker and Tom Halverson were working on it while Johnny was sitting on a lawn chair and then there was this other Japanese guy that was part of the entourage. The suspension continued to offer decent performance and most ranked it as second-best behind the RM125. It was on par or better than any factory works 125 in 1980. Mx Bikes Motocross Bikes Vintage Motocross Honda Dirt Bike Motorcycle Dirt Bike Dirt Biking Motos Honda Honda Motorcycles Vintage Bikes More information ... People also love these ideas On January 6th 1980 at Saddleback Park in round 1 of the CMC “Golden State Series,” Johnny O’Mara with a broken foot, got the holeshot up the long start hill and finished second overall to factory Kawasaki rider Jeff Ward. In order to accommodate the new frames, both motors adopted center-port exhausts and revised porting. All three machines suffered from weak clutches, fragile gearboxes and an overabundance of tonnage. 1983 Honda CR60R: Jimmy Button’s mini missile. After 1985, Honda would continue developing their Open class program, but the days of the mega-motored 500s were coming to an end. These are the original shocks that came with the bike. As you rode, this got progressively worse and by the ten-minute mark, the big five honey would turn itself into a 60+ horsepower pogo stick. Find 1970 to 1980 Dirt Bikes for Sale on Oodle Classifieds. 1981 Honda CR450R Elsinore: Honda’s first Open class entry. In the 250 class, the reliability woes of 1984 left Honda with a bit of a black eye and they went all-out to improve durability in 1985. Front numberplate, Radiator shrouds, Gas tank and side panels are all made from hand laid fiberglass. The front end was about six inches to a foot off the ground all the way to the first turn. Choose your Honda motorcycles to get the suggested retail or trade-in value The frame itself was constructed from chrome moly and careful engineering was used in the frame tube sizes and wall thickness. Much more like an overly powerful 250 than a trench-digging 500, the CR450R was completely out of step with the Open class taste of the times. The new seat was taller in the middle and mated to a new subframe that lowered the rear by 12mm to further flatten the rider compartment. A steep 20% increase in price over the 1988 models shocked buyers ($4000 for a 250, stop the insanity! The bike looked as if it was from twenty years into the future. The addition of the CR80R in 1980 and the CR450R in 1981 filled out Honda’s lineup nicely and gave them a presence in four of the major racing classes. The YZ that was fresh and in great shape felt like an out dated worn out bike after riding the Mugen. In 1989, three of the Big Four manufacturers switched to inverted forks on their 250 class machines. Once out on the track the difference between the Mugen and the Yamaha was incredible. It was completely hand made with a beautiful space-age looking fiberglass gas tank, hand welded white frame, a tiny all red water-cooled engine and works Showa suspension just like on the works Honda’s. After some experimentation, many tuners found that the 125 actually ran better without the ATAC and designed expansion chambers to eliminate it altogether. . The CR60R, CR80R and CR125R were beautiful, but no match for their Kawasaki rivals and the 250, while blazing fast, proved terribly unreliable (buy your pistons in six-packs). While wider than the ones found on the smaller bikes, the new tank was still 300% less intrusive than anything seen on a Honda 500 since the move to liquid cooling. Ready Made Dirt Bike Graphics Kits - from $59.95 and YOU get to pick ALL your COLORS! It‘s sexy looks, sano detailing and Honda pedigree fooled many into taking the plunge on a bike that was only half-baked. It was like riding an F-1 car compared to anything else. Johnny O'Mara's race worn jersey from the 1980 USGP at Mid-Ohio. The new motor kept the bore and stroke of the outgoing 500 mill, but added water cooling and a new 38mm  “flat-slide” Keihin carburetor to the mix. I won the Mid-Ohio grand prix and I won against the best in the world. O'Mara at the 1980 Mid-Ohio USGP. The Gas tank is contoured in the front to keep the air flowing thru the one piece radiator. While the original XR75 had served admirably for a time as a mini racer, its intended mission was never to be a motocross superstar. The swingarm is another masterpiece and is constructed of large box section aluminum and has the same quality of construction as the frame. In 1982, Yamaha had been the first manufacturer to offer a variable exhaust port device on their production machines. 1980 Honda CR250R Elsinore: Last of the air-cooled CR deuce-and-halves. Now we are knee deep and loving every minute of it. To their credit, they succeeded on all counts. 1982 Honda CR250R: DeCoster’s influence yields a much-improved machine. It’s commonly believed that the … In designing the frame, reduced flex was a major goal and to achieve this, the frame tubes that make up the engine cradle were purposely wrapped very close around the engine to minimize frame flex. It came alive in the middle and carried that crescendo of power into an eye-watering top end hook. The bike featured in this feature is the bike I ordered that day. 1989 Honda CR125R: Faster stock than the other brand’s works bikes. As with the 125, the rest of the bike proved a winner and riders loved its excellent ergonomics, light feel, and blazing fast motor. Unfortunately, the missteps on the new CR250 did not end with the suspension. Steering was much improved, but the 480 still liked to shake its head like a wet dog at speed. Yet another of the sensational looking old dirt bikes spotted at the recent Telford Classic Dirt Bike Show. At that point, Honda had been racing Open bikes for half a decade in the Grand Prix and US Nationals, but had neglected to offer a 500 for sale to the public. The Ohlins cured that problem. Open bikes had morphed from manageable to masochistic and the buying public had begun to leave them behind. It had reliability problems and the new Pro-Link rear suspension didn’t work well. Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda all threw their hats into the ring with major revamps that promised much better performance. All combined to produce an astonishing 27 HP at 11,000 RPM. The advantages of the inverted design were less flex, a more precise feel and less rut-catching overhang below the axle. It was not as easy to ride as the torquey ’83, but much faster. Mugen was no stranger to works bikes, throughout the years they were contracted by the Honda factory to build many parts for the Honda RC works bikes. The suspension components are works Showa units just like on the works Honda’s with the forks using the latest cartridge design and exacting tolerances. In motocross, styling has absolutely nothing to do with performance, but boy if it did, nothing could have kept the ’88 CR250R in sight. While the insane amount of power looked great on dyno charts, it was nearly useless in the real world. The entire model line was revamped with revised power curves, lighter weights and improved performance. The new bodywork was sano and the bike offered the best set of handles in the class. The optional mikuni really let the bike rev on top end. While the ATAC enjoyed mixed results on the 125 and 250, it was deemed completely unnecessary on the all-new CR500R. Throughout the seventies, Honda’s complete motocross lineup consisted of only two models, the CR125 and CR250 (and technically only one in 1977). This radical motocrosser from 1980 was the result of the Honda factory’s open chequebook—and a desperate desire to see off its rivals. The idea was to help privateers compete with the factory squads, and perhaps also to stifle Team Honda’s dominance on works bikes. It was incredibly snappy out of the hole and quicker to rev than a typical Swedish or German Open class machine. As a package, the CR was still best, but the competition was getting ever closer. The motor had no trouble dusting off its mini competitors in a straight line, but the bike’s truly gruesome stock suspension made keeping that lead a chore. For 1981, both the CR125R and CR250R adopted liquid cooling and this was a pretty big deal at the time. Found the article through a link from an 88 CR500 for sale in upstate New York. Almost all of the hardware on the rear was handmade (wheel spacers, axle adjusters, misc. Overall, it was a solid first effort, but unable to make any dent in the armor of the bike that would come to dominate 60 class racing for the next two decades. 1988: KX125…YZ250. Motocross: 1980s Motocross Works Bikes Honda racing motorcycles; RC211V; RC212V; RC213V; RCV1000R; NR500; NSR500; All Terrain Vehicles. This newfound displacement beefed up the torque and filled in the gaps in the old motor’s powerband. The new Pro-Link suspension was innovative, but its leverage ratio was off and the single shock proved no better at absorbing bumps than the dual shocks it replaced. Unnecessary or not, Honda decided to bring this technology to the 250 class for ’81. They are beautiful to look at, impossible to obtain and ungodly expensive to build. Honda crf250 2019 motocross bike, standard bike, clean (atmotocross) Weston Super Mare, North Somerset. The aluminum case screws are from a works OW25 motor that I had back then. By covering and uncovering the top of the exhaust port, the HPP could alter the port timing to best suit engine demand. With the CR125R, a new motor maintained the ATAC of ’84, but rejiggered the bore and stroke to offer a more snappy feel and better top end pull. Both the 125 and 250 received major redesigns with improved ergonomics, broader powerbands and upgraded handling. Anyway, keep up these awesome articles. The new bike lacked hit and offered a smooth and listless style of power that looked good on the dyno, but felt slow on the track. Its only real faults were its lackluster Kayaba shock and propensity to seize at inopportune moments. In addition to the new bodywork, a major revamp of the Pro-Link rear suspension did away with the odd piggyback Showa shock of ’87. I still have all the original steel bolts that came with it. Producing a staggering 35 horespower at 13,000 rpm from a reed-valved and watercooled, 124.99cc motor… In February of 1979 the first complete Mugen racers, the air-cooled ME125RZ and the ME250RZ went into production. Air leaks at the intake and rod bearing failures were the most common culprits and much like 1984, the CR’s incredible power output was somewhat overshadowed by its spotty reliability. Overall, the new CR250R was voted to have the worst suspension package of ’88. Works Performance. It is the first Mugen out of a total of five sold in the US. Shortly after that, I was involved in a car accident and missed a few nationals but I got better in time for the USGP at Mid-Ohio. The new stronger frame aided handling, but with its grim forks and shocks, the bike could be a handful. With the new 500, Honda decided it was best to start fresh in 1985. Another went to Texas and the others went back east. This site features an indepth photograhic history of various motocross bikes used and raced during the 1960's thru the 1990's. I usually kept my bikes for two racing seasons. 1980 Honda Motorcycle - Browse a list of the available 1980 models. 1985: KX125…CR250. Short shifting was the name of the game and many fast guys lamented its relative lack of revs. The funky jetting also made starting the bike nearly impossible and even if you got it started, the vibration and constant pinging were liable to make you wish you hadn’t. Trail riding, enduro racing, off-roading, you name it, it was happening.Motorcycles had evolved into more than a simple mode of transport and were fast becoming recreational vehicles only – and thanks to movies like On Any Sunday, everyone wanted in on the action. We can also revalve Works Performance Shocks with Gold Valves for a custom ride - guaranteed! With this in mind, Honda unleashed HRC’s full might on the 250 class in 1986. On the track, the ’87 CR125R mimicked most of the power characteristics of the year before, but beefed up the pony count at every point. The chassis featured excellent frame geometry and suspension components that were state of the art. Powering the CR450R was a 431cc air-cooled power plant based loosely on the one found on the older CR250R. These were the same forks found on the Works Hondas in 1980. New side panels and some fresh graphics finished off the visual changes for ’87. drilling and titanium bolts were added by me in 1980. So, Honda calls it a 10 speed. - Johnny O'Mara. On the CR250, the ATAC seemed to register much better results and the new motor turned out to be the master blaster of the ’84 250 class. Styled like a 5/8 size CR250R, the littlest Elsie eschewed the four-stroke motor of the XR and went instead with a powerful reed-valve two-stroke single. In the rear, the 500 got the same Delta-Link treatment as the 250 and 125, with a revised curve, stronger linkage and stiffer swingarm. Honda is the first Japanese automobile company to release a luxury brand (Acura) and has built a reputation of high quality and customer satisfaction. Thankfully for Honda fans, a much better bike was on the horizon for 1985. From the time Team Honda took a chance of this Michigan big-bike rider in 1989 through his retirement five years later, Stanton rode red to six AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross titles. 19-ott-2013 - 1980- Honda HRC450 Works Bike- The bike we all wished would be the production CR450 in 1981... it wasn't!. The porky layout remained, but in an odd move, Kawasaki abandoned its svelte bodywork for a new rubenesque figure that actually made the CR feel less objectionable. These are the bikes that made it all possible; they are the five most beautiful motorcycles of the 1980s. It seems they were playing a little bit of catch up especially in the handling department. It was not as punchy as the midrange-only YZ or as rev-happy as the scream-it-to-the-stops RM, but it offered the most overall power and widest useable spread in the class. The KX still had it on top, but its new ’86 “Works Replica” powerband was peaky and much harder to keep on the pipe. The front forks absorbed everything without a whimper. While all of this was going on, plans for an all new water-cooled 125 Mugen were underway. Rear shocks are works Showas made just for this bike. £4,995 . Dubbed the ATAC (Automatic Torque Amplification Chamber), this design differed from the YPVS in that it did nothing to alter the port timing of the cylinder. Up front, Honda stayed with their 43mm conventional Showa forks, but installed a new dual-stage valving stack they coined the “Delta Valve” (What was it with Honda and all the Deltas in ’88? After three races on the Mugen I was involved in a car accident that put me out of riding for over a year and the Mugen got an early retirement. For the first time, the quality of what was available for sale to the public would have a direct effect on their star riders. I never saw anything like that before. Low-end was improved and the overall powerband was wider, but it lacked snap and felt slow. This second tier status translated to the motor as well, where the CR played second fiddle to the blazing-fast KX. With a set of aftermarket shocks and a Terry damper kit for the forks, the CR was a potent weapon, but in stock condition, it was a mini missile, just waiting for its opportunity to launch junior into a snow fence. ONLY at DeCal Works. A 34mm Kehin was stock. The following years bikes always seemed to win the magazine shootouts and I was on the wrong two year cycle apparently. In terms of performance, the new CR was very much like its bigger siblings; blazing fast, but poorly suspended. Coated head to toe in blood red paint and dressed in the sexiest bodywork this side of an Italian supercar, the new Honda 250 absolutely screamed performance. The 1985 season would once again see Honda revamp their entire motocross lineup. The CR’s slow motor and barely adequate suspension relegated it to last in the ’85 standings and with the production rule looming for 1986 that was just not going to be good enough. Salvato da Vince Fuess. It came on strong out of the hole, pulled into a blistering midrange and then sung the high note on top. This one is a shootout from Motocross Action comparing the 1980 Suzuki RM80, Yamaha YZ80, Honda CR80R Elsinore and Kawasaki KX80. Johnny looks like his historic victory hasn't sunk in yet. Works bikes had been running water-pumper motors on and off for a few years, but no one in 1980 had them in production. Mostly it was me, Al Baker, my mechanic Tom Halverson, Diamond Don and Hiro Honda when he came in from Japan to see how his team was doing. The all-new CR480R ditched the spooky handling and peaky power of ’81 in favor of expert manners and a thundering blast of torque. The bike has shaft drive 5 speed, and a high/low selector. The revised power plant was less torquey than the year before, but far more potent throughout the rest of the powerband. Both the 250 and 450 were fast, but pipey and hard to ride, while the 125 ran like it had a family of chipmunks living in the airbox. The new 500 thundered out of the hole with an arm-jerking mountain of torque that shredded knobs and sent legs flailing. Ah the eighties, things were just different then. For 1982, Honda got with the program and finally gave the buying public what they thought they were getting the year before; a truly great Open class racer. I ended up getting the holeshot and just pulled away after that. Yet another of the sensational looking old dirt bikes spotted at the recent Telford Classic Dirt Bike Show. Cartridge forks would not be on production bikes for another year and even then, the quality control on production parts vs. works parts wasn’t even close and neither was the performance. Knowing this was their Achilles heel, Honda did their best to coax some additional ponies out of the 124cc mill for 1986. Join millions of people using Oodle to find unique used motorcycles, used roadbikes, used dirt bikes, scooters, and mopeds for sale. As bad as the CR450R had been in 1981, the new CR480R was that good in 1982. I was selected to be the Mugen factory rider by Al Baker. My wife and I went there as spectators and we got there during practice. We were a factory team in a way but we were sort of off to the side of the Honda team. 1981 Honda CR125R Elsinore: Buck Roger’s personal tiddler. The bikes were so trick and so advanced it was ridiculous. Mine was the only one sold in Southern California. 1988 Honda CR250R:  The two-wheeled Testarossa. The 1985 season would be the last in America for the works bikes. New from the ground up, the 500 shared not a single major component with the much-loved ’83 480R. A new “milk bottle” Showa damper moved the reservoir to the side of the shock where it could be cooled better and an all new “Delta-Link” linkage shaved weight and increased rigidity. Any major leap was greeted with a resounding thud, as both ends hammered to the stops. In the suspension department, new forks offered air-adjustability and new Showa shocks included remote reservoirs to aid cooling for the first time. Trail riding, enduro racing, off-roading, you name it, it was happening.Motorcycles had evolved into more than a simple mode of transport and were fast becoming recreational vehicles only – and thanks to movies like On Any Sunday, everyone wanted in on the action. The first time I saw the Mugen ME125 was at Indian Dunes on the International track early in 1980. Finishing it off was a whopping six pound weight loss over ’88 and a sweet set of Bold New Graphics. The bike was so fast that even pro riders found it too much to handle and many tuners started looking for ways to de-tune the monster motor. Bold Brush Cruiser Graffiti Impact Inmate Loud Machine Script Shred Style Super Tech Typhoon Viper 12 23 34 45 56 67 78 89 1011 1213. The bike’s erratic jetting made its massive hit even more difficult to manage and the big red brute could be a handful for even experts to control. The front number plate and shrouds were designed to draw air into the radiators and then exit through the contours in the gas tank that acted as an air-duct. This was an amazing feat as Johnny had broken his foot just a week before in a practice session. ... 1980 - 2021 . In the second moto I got a bad jump off the line but all the way up the start hill the bike was just pulling like a freight train, I just kept up shifting. ... Honda CR80 1980 Model EXEPTIONAL CONDITION-MUST … With Suzuki moving to Kayaba’s version of the cartridge system in ’87, they were no longer the only game in town, but they were still some of the best units available. First and foremost, they were race machines designed to take their riders to … This aluminum pipe runs up the front downtube. While certainly worlds better than 1984, the new CR500R was not the bike to stem the flow of riders abandoning the 500 class. The brake rod came pre-bent to create a progressive feel. It was both slower and harder to ride than the brawny YZ465 and tractor-like Maico 490. The KX125 was tied with the YZ125 for the most 125 Bike of the Year awards from 1980 to … Even better technology to the front of the motor was saddled with a and. 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