Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

; e a: w ~ ...J ri: ~ ~ ;;< > CD rJl 0 0 I- l.!':I J: 00 c, O'l ...... ~ 0 > c-r .... (l) £-t .D. 8 Th is could be the best production 125cc motor ever built. (l) > 0 Z (Above) From the outsid e, the 1 986 CR 125R Honda looks identical to last year's CR, but inside it ' s bas ically an all-new motorcycle . (Below) Maneuvering the new CR is a breeze. Test: 1986 Honda CRI25R It's ~hat y on can't s ee that c onnts! By Kit Palmer A t first glance, one m ig h t no t th i n k much of the 1986 H o n d a CR125 R motocrosser; it looks like the 1985 C R125, except with goldcolored rims and new graphics. The 1985 CR was a very p otent wea p o n .n the l25cc cl ass'and pro bablv 12 I, . co u ld ve -rnade It • through a n- j other yea r with o n ly minor c1,lan.ges. But th e people a t H o nda didn t want to Ju st g et by, so H o nda engi neers-went to work a n d came up with a 1986 model that might look the same on th e outside as 1985's model, but is actually quite changed on the inside. The single cylinder, water-cooled two-stroke engine took on many ch a nges for '86 with more lo w-end , and a stronger a nd broader powerband as Honda 's mai n goals. To hel p reach those goals, the ATAC powerva lve system is less restrictive and the exhaust pipe - which mates to the cylin der through a center p ort - has new dimensions to match th e new ATAC. The pipe is still routed along the right side of th e motorcycle and has an aluminum silen cer attached to th e rear; the silencer is now mounted to th e frame in two p laces, instead of o ne. The piston has one ring (i ns tead of two) to boost horsepower by reducing friction , while port timing remains exactly the same as last year's specs. Both the cylinde r and cy lin de r h ead a re slig h tly sma ll er in overall size to sa ve weight; however , the act ua l I23cc di splacement. 8.0: I co m pression ratio a n d 54x54mm bore a n d stroke are unchanged . Feeding th e n ew cylinder with fuel a nd air is the sa me 34m m Keihin car bu reto r, but th e a ir bo x and air filter are much larger for improved breath ing. To reduce vibration (which wasn't a major problem last year) , the crankcase as sem bly was reworked for better balance and a headsta y has been added. Th e CR still uses tw o radi ators m ounted in front o f a nd below th e gas tank, but the radia tor units are new ; in stead of having three water co res, th er e a re now tw o, for weigh tsaving p urposes . The wet, multi -pl at e cl u tch is beefed up wit h th e add itio n o f one m ore friction plate. To make the clutch lever p u ll li ghter, th e lifter rod now rid es 011 needl e ro lle r bea ri ngs a nd is slig htly lo nger; th e cl u tch sp ri ngs also have less p reload.' ' "<' . ,". ' Ignition timing is advanced for '86, from 1985's 27° BTDC @ 7000 rpm to 28° BTDC @5000rpm. There's a lso a fo ur-pole stator and a heavier flyw heel. The red-painted, chrome-moly-steel frame ha s th e same dimensions as the '85 CR but is stronger thanks to a sq uare-section single downtube (like the '85 XR enduro models). and thicker tubing at the steering head . The downtube splits into a round -tube double cradle where the exhaust pipe exits the cylinder. The 1986 frame retains the removable rear sub-frame section: The single-shock Pro-Link rear suspension is slightly refined by shonening th e torque (bottom) link from 157 to 140m m , making the sus pension action more progressive and making th e rear suspension more sensitive over the smaller bumps while retaining enough stiffness to avoid excessive bottoming over the larger bumps. The Kayaba shock received minor internal compression damping changes and has two more " clicks" on th e external adjustment kn ob; there are now 16detent settings instead of 14. Rebou n d damping settings remain the same at30, and rear wheel travelis unchanged at 12.2 inches. The chain slider, mounted on th e top of the swingarm at th e pivot, is new . It now ca n be removed without having to tak e o ff the swingarm, and the lower a nd upper cha in guides look like th e guides on th e works racebikes. The air-adjustable, 43mm Kayaba forks a re now equipped with the Kayaba Travel Control Valve (KT CV); the system ch a n ges compression damping as fork trav el increases, m aking it progres sivel y stiffer throughout the 11.8 inches of wheel travel. There are sti ll 16 external compression damping adjustments located at th e bottorn of the fork rubes. Blue fork boots still come stock, but there are no for k leg protectors. The drilled from disc bra ke has a n ew hole pattern to reduce weight. whi le the rear drum has 3mm wider shoes. Rims are now gold anodized and lighter. Bridgestone M-41 and M-42 tires are used. Riding Kickstarring the C R is still a problem. U n fo rt u na tely, th e kickstarter lever is o ne pan that sh ould have been cha nged but wasn 't . At th e bottom of the stroke, th ere isn't enough room for th e rider 's foot between the lever and th e fool p eg; the ride r's foot hits th e peg and th e stroke of the ki ck starrer is h alf what it co u ld h ave been . It takes a co u p le of painful Sla bs a t th e kickstarter to fir e up th e CR, wh en o ne good kick on a well designed lever co u ld get th e job with o u t the pain. o t : O nce' started : the. H onda . takes .a

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