Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126474
o 00 0') One route to go in the quest for suspension perfection is Moto-X Fox 's 44mm Fox Factory forks, Fox Factory Shox and a Fox Factory swingarm - all for $949. . Mugen engine performance kits range from $450 to $850. The ultimate is Mugen's ME ·125 W1 kit to convert the CR 125 to a water-cooled rocketship. Turning a stock CR Honda into an R C works replica By Jim Gianatsis One of"the more popular lines of production MX bikes on the market today are CR 125R and CR 250R Hondas. In many ways CR Hondas are more closely related to their RC works bikes counterparts than Prod u c tio n b ikes o f o t her pop - 3D. u la r are Japanes~ to their manufacturers own factory rorebea~crs. It may seem th: la[(;' 1 pr od uction. C Rs . haw nothing. '" com mon with exotic new RC Pro -L in k factory Hondas and perh aps they don't , but they . are. still closer to th e previous year's works bikes when it comes down to simi larity of design a nd interchangea bility of pans than prod uct· ion exam ples of the other Big Three. The on ly place Honda tried to cut comers on production CRs in an attempt to keep prices down for th e . pu blic was in suspension . Un fort unately, it is suspensi on and related handling of a MX bi ke which are its most im portant aspects. If the Honda CR stock suspe nsion is less tha n perfec t with Showas that don 't sho ck, forks which flex and fade and swinga rms which kick sideways... well, t he re is hope. Two m anufacturer s/distributors ar e deeply com mi tt ed to the im proveme nt of CR Hon das, particularly when it .comes to suspension com pone n ts. On e of th ese is Mugen , a Japanese com pa ny owned by Hirot oshi Honda . son of Hunda Mot or Corporation founder Soichi ro Hond a , wirh very close ties to production and racing departments at, Honda' I is Mugen's aim to market limited production RC type parts which Honda feels sales volume is just too small for th em to market through the dealer network, or th e pa rts are j ust too exotic to be required by th e majority of CR Honda owners. Either way, Mugen offers what amounts to nothing less than works bike pa rts a t works bike prices. The other com pa ny is Moto·X Fox, ' the on ly Am erican company which manufactures complete suspension systems for dirt bikes. If you already own a 1980 model CR with air caps on the forks , there isn' t much you ca n do to improve the stock forks any further. If you want the front of the bike to handle better you' ll need new forks to replace the spindley 37 mm stock forks with their somewhat basic d amping performance and either 292mm of travel on the CR 125R·80 or 295mm of travel with the CR250R·80 . The least expe nsive solution for front forks is available from Mugen. They offer factory type Showa fork leg assemblies with 39mm tubes and sophisticated shock-like internal damping. Front wheel travel is increased to a full 300m m Some adjustability is available in the spring rates by alt ering internal air pressure at the air caps and changing oil volum e to modify progression . The new Showa leg assem blies retail for $250 a pair and it is required the stock Honda triple clam ps be retained and fork tube holes be bored out from 37 to 39mm to accept la rger tubes. Another solution for improving the front suspension of the CR Honda is a complete Fox Factory fork assembly from Moto-X Fox which is available with a choice of 280 , 300 or 320mm travel. Fox Factory Forx have the world's largest diameter fork tubes. 44mm, with forged eight bolt triple' clamps and forged slider legs to be strong and flex -free. They also have air/ coil springs for minor tuning , while a complete selection of firmer and softer internal springs and rebound and compression damping rates allow them to be dialed in for any bik9<' rider or track condition. The com plete Fox Factory Forx assembly goes for $469 Rear shocks are where the CR Hondas need the biggest improvement when it comes to stock suspension since stock Showas come nowhere close to keeping the rear end under control on a rough track. The Showas look nic e with their lightweight aluminum castings a nd piggyback resevoirs , but damping is nowhere close to right and they fad e badly. The mos t popular a nd best production shoc ks on th e market today are Ohlins which are a vailable from Mugen and Husqva rn a d ealers. They are well proven in Wo rld Championsh ip MX , a re fairly lightweight , a re re b uild a ble a nd offer adjustable d am pi ng. T hey a re somewha t d ifficu lt to work on and tu ne for the average rider, t hough. The price is approxima tely $300 per pa ir. T hey are available in 16.25 inch len gth for CR 125R -80 and 17 inch length for the CR 250 Rs. Mot o-X Fox hopes to offer a shock which will ou t·perform po pular Ohlins with th eir new Fox Factory Shox . Also working on th e deCarbon principle and available with either remote or piggyback reservoirs, Fox Factory Shox are much easier to service than the' Ohlins while offering more sophisticated damping that is tuneable for high and low-speed compression and rebound and guaranteed not to fade. Available in lengths to fit stock CRs or inc rease their rear wheel tra vel even further , there is also a complete range of straight ra te and progressive rate two -stage springs available. The price is $285 . Moro -X Fox also.offers