Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ , ; .. .... ~ It's been a f ew years since t h e Honda CR h as re igned supreme i n the high ly. competitive 125cc class. T h is could b e the y ear the CR strikes back . sho rt time to wa rm up . th en it's rea dy for the track . We im medi a tely fo und th e mot or to be the H on da 's best feature. The pow er band on the new CR is incredi bly strong a nd smooth for a 125. As soon as th e th rottl e is tw isted. th e H onda sta rts hoo ki ng u p a nd keeps pulling and pu lling right through six th gear. wit hout a n y hesita tio n or abrupt power surges a long the way . Throttle response is crisp and clean wi th the stock jetting right on the money. The smooth a nd strong power deli very makes the H onda o ne of th e easies t-to- ride 125s we've ever bee n on; even if engi ne rp m drops. say in a tigh t tu rn . the C R never falls flat o n i ts face o r reaches that point of n o return when th e motor bo gs a nd th e cl u tch m us t be u sed to bring the m o tor back o n th e pipe. There's pl ent y o f low-en d in th e CR's engi ne . to bail th e rider o u t o f a lm os t a ny situa tion , beG1USe it doesn ' t bog . In d eep. sa ndy berms. o r through a na sty sectio ns o f wh oops. th e H onda a lways ha s enough grun t to pull th e r id er o ut. without having to fan th e clutch co ns ta n tly . Usu ally when a motocrosser has such stro ng low-en d , top-end pow er is la ckin g . but this isn 't th e ca se with t h e new H onda . From id le on up , th e CR mainta in s a co ns ta nt a nd smooth p ow er deliv ery without running o u t o f d rive wh en lapped o ut. The C R 125's tra n smission is st ill o ne o f th e fin est aro und - mi ssed sh ifts were rare. Findi ng th e sh ift lever is n o pro ble m, a nd th e n ew transmission rati os work in exce lle nt harm on y wi th the mo to r. Each gear p icks u p pertert ly whe re the last lefl .' o ff. a nd a ll gears arc usable. First gear is low enough fo r quick j u m ps off the sta rti ng ga te a nd tall enough exi ting tight turn s. whi le si xth gear ca n be reached o n m ost tracks. It 's n ot unco m mon o n l 25s to hav e th e feeling o f a lways being i n th e wrong ge ar in d iff erent situatio ns; th at has a lot to 'do with th e bike's powe rba n d a nd - tra ns missio n ra tio , but th e H onda is ' rea dy to move o ut a t rider's comm and , a n d th e most th at' s ever required is a sli ght slip o f the clutch ' u sed so me ti mes to reach th e exact point o f th e p ow erband n eed ed for quick geta ways in the turns. J( T he cl ut ch has a su pe r-ligh t pull a n d o ne finger is all tha t is ever n eed ed to ge t the job don e. We never had any problems with the cl ut ch dragging or slipping . Suspension on the Honda is fir st ra te - both front and rear. bu t most improvement is felt in th e rear. The Honda co mes out o f th e cra te set up a li tt le stiff for a rid er around 155 p ounds. so we went to a little lighter ' co m p ression a ndrebo u nd damping se tti ng as well as reducing th e preload slighrl y o n th e sh ock. We al so lighten ed th e fro nt -fork co mpression da mping by ha lf (co mpared to stock); th e overa ll improveme n t was q ui te no ticea bl e. T he Pro -Link rear sus pension docs a n excellent job a bsor bing all sizes o f bu mps. It g lides o ver th e sma ller. squared-off bumps almos t unnoticeably bu t retai ns enough suspension to hand le the big gnarly stuff without bottoming. Even when it does bottom, there isn't a harsh jolt , and the rear tire doesn 't kiss the rear fender. T he H onda rarely swaps. bu t when it does. it 's usu a ll y n o big dea l - it almost a lways straigh tens i tself o ut wit ho u t ha vin g to back off th e th rottle. Even durin g lon g rn oto s, th e H onda maintain s smooth action bu t so me fading is no ticeable. La te in a long m ot a , th e back en d feels sligh tly ha rsh er , a nd h ops a bit m o re o ver sma ll - to medium-size bumps. but still mainta in s straight-line sta bili ty. Land ing o ff high-sp eed jum p s or d ro p o ffs sen ds a healthy shock wave th rou gh th e rid er 's body. especia lly if th e fron t wheel touch es ground first. Lucki ly th ere is p lenty o f ground a n d . footpeg clearan ce when both front and rea r suspe ns ion is fully co m pressed to keep th e rider' s h eel s from dragging. We expe rie nced no twitch ing or sha ki ng fro m th e fro nt en d . a n d th e fo rk does a sufficient j ob soa ki ng up th e bumps. Every n ow a n d th en , we managed to bottom th e fork qu ite h eavil y landin g o ff j u m ps a n d hea rd strange metal-hitting-me ta l noises but noth ing co u ld be felt by the ri der. an d no da mage see me d to co me from it. T he fro nt tire does tap the front fender when the fork is fu lly co mp ressed. Brak ing o n th e H onda is nothi ng less th an exce llen t. T he front disc is very strong a nd progress ive. and like the c1 UICh. o ne fin ger is a ll that's needed on th e lever. Feel is superb. The rea r drum a lso ge ts t h e jo b done very ni cel y a n d isn 't too to uch y when n ew . Even after man y hours o n th e bike. braking power rema in ed co nsistent without sq uea king. Rea r wh eel cha tte r and hop was never a co nce rn while braking over stutter bumps th e ba ck end staye d close to th e gro u n d . T h ro ugh one-li ne d h airp in s. th e H onda holds the rider 's intended line. but the rider can 't fall asleep and expect it to turn for him ; if he does, it 'lI rise up too soon and drift out wide. Outside in th e berm is where th e Honda rea ll y sh ine s. It loves to be lea ned wa y o ver with a healthy twist o f th e th rottle a p p lied in 'th e a pe x. Done ri ght. it will blast -out -o f the Excellent controls. a comfortable handlebar /footpeg /seat relationsh ip and a super-smooth powerband make the CR very easy to ride . turns like a bullet. The H o nda is by far th e m ost co m fortable 125cc motocro sser we'v e ridden in a long time. The sea t/ ha nd lebar/Iootpeg re la tio n shi p fit s a wide range o f rid er s - a rider wh o is sligh tly over six feet tall feels righ t at h ome on th e C R. T h e ha ndl ebars have a neutra l bend ; th e grips are st ill by far th e best in th e busin ess a n d th e levers are ea sy to rea ch a n d use. Th e sea t a nd th e gas tank are ver y narrow . i m proving maneuverabil it y. But th e scat foam is a littl e o n th e so ft side a nd breaks down a fter a few rides; Wh en th at happens. th e ride r ca n feel th e tw o frame tubes ben ea th th e sea t. T he Brid gestone tires work ver y well o n dry a nd loa m y surface s a nd hold u p fairl y well. Th e H onda CR I25R cer ta in lv ha s tak en th e holes hot a t bein g th e best sma ll -bo re motocrosser in 1986. a nd i t's the m otor th at reall y m ak es th e d ifference. It 's got p lenty o f hors epower. but it's th e qualit y of hors epow er th at reall y mak es thi s bike a cl as s ac t - a lo n g wi th exce llent sus p en sion , comfort a nd fir st-rat e cra ftsm an ship to boot. There just isn' t much to co m p la in abo u t. Is th is bike • a winner? You better bel ieve it! 1986 Honda CR125R Eng ine type . ... . Water-cooled. reed- valv e. two-stroke single Bore x stroke . . . . . . . 54x54mm Displacement 123cc Compression ratio ..... •. 8 .4:1 Carburetor ... .• • • 34mm Keihin Horsepower .. .. 33.5 @ 11.500 rpm Torque . .. 15.5 lb .-ft. @ 10.500 Ignit io n . . . • . .. ... . .. .. • • . CO l Lubrication. . . • . . • . . . .. Premix Primary drive Straight-cut gear Final drive #520 chain Gear ratios Primary 64/20;3.200 Final 51 /13;3 .923 6th . . •.. .. . .. . 23 /23; 1.000 5th 25 /22; 1.136 4th 26 /20; 1 .300 3rd 28 /18; 1.555 2nd 30/16; 1 .875 1st .. •.. . . . . • . 28 /12; 2 .333 Frame Single downtube. split double-crad le ' Rake • . . . . .• ; . . ...• •... 26.4° Tra il . . •.... . . .. .. .. . . . 4 .37 in . Front suspension type . .. . Telescopic f ork Fork t ube diameter 43mm Front wheel t ravel 11 .8 in. Rear suspension stype .. S ingle shock. swing arm 12 .2 in . Rear wheel trav el 9 .4-in . disc Front brakes 5 .1 -i n . drum Rear brakes Front wheel 1 .6 0 x2 1-in. Rear wheel 1. 8 5 x 18 -in. Fronttire 80 /100-21 M41 Bridgestone Rear tire .• . . 100/100-18 M42 Bridgestone Claim dry weight 192.9 Ibs . Overall length , . . 84.3 in. Overall width 32.5 in . Overall height 48.4in. Wheelbase : 5 7 .4 in . Fuel capacity .. • . .. . . . . 1 .7 gal. Ground clearance 14.0 in . Seat height 36.7 in . Colors Red Retail price $1 998 13

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