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/127251
~ RIDIN IMPR~SSION G 1990HondaCRl25 ~ The CRI25's changes make it similiar 'to its big brothers. the CR250 and CR500. White hot for '90 By Nate Rauba hen H onda redesigned the 1990 ' CR I25, it wasn't because th e '89 model was a loser. Far from i t. Las t year's CRI25 was very nearly th e best in the class. It had the m ost powerful m otor in th e 125cc clas s, but harsh suspens io n kept it fro m being th e.favorite of ou r staff. The 1990 CRI25 features m any changes that go beyond the obvio us new co lor scheme. The white-painted frame features cha nges to m ake the li ttle CR handle better, while the mot or has been reworked for better power delivery. W wh ich o pe n th e ex haust valves to expose th e top one -third o f the ex ha ust (Abo ve left ) Wider footpegs were raised 3mm, and th e brake master cyli nder was moved behind the frame. (Above) The Honda Power Port (HPP) exhaust valve system was filled to the CR l25's motor and broadens the powerband. A 36mm Keihin carburetor has also been added to help improve power. (Left) Honda introduced th e low-boy exha ust configu ration on the-1988 CR250 and it finally found its way onto th e '90 CRI25. Although seat height ha s been raised sli gh tly. H onda st ill offe rs th e lower 1989 sea t as a n option. Taming the horses 48 Last year's en gine easily outgunned the co m peti tio n for ov erall s heer pow er performance. The CR co uld pull a higher gear th a n i ts Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha competitors in most si tu ations. The only problem was th at the powerb and was a lillie too narrow for the average ri der, making the CR more difficult to ride for belo w Expert-level rid ers. H onda successfull y corr ected th at prob le m by fin ally a d a p ti n g th e H onda Pow er Port (H P P) exhaust power-valve system to th e CRI 25's 124.8 cc p owerpl an t. Th e H onda Power Port op tim izes exhaust port timing a t a ll engi ne speeds, in creasin g lo w a nd midrange torque wi thout sacrifici ng top-end po wer. As engine rpm rises, cen trifugal force opens a spring-loaded rocker arm. That arm mov es a pair of rack and pinion sha fts, port. Previously this system was o nly used on th e bi gger CR250. Oth er e ngi ne cha nges incl u de resh aped cra n k webbing for rig idity and heav ier cra n k halv es for more ma ss, d ecr eased fl ywh eel m a ss to ma tch , a nd a la rger 36m m Keih in flatslide carburetor. The exha ust system . has also been ro uted lower to help centralize th e center o f gravity. As mentio ned, Honda 's cha nges to . th e mo tor made the po werb and more ma nagable a nd eas y to rid e th is year. Power begins to develop in the lo w end of th e rev ra nge. th en beco mes sig n ifica nt ly grea ter as th e revs climb into th e m idran ge. There is still a burst of power th ere. bu t it 's not nearly as e x p lo si ve as la s t year's p ipe y powerp lant. T he power doesn 't just end a t th e m idr a nge, thoug h. The en gi ne ca n be revved for wh at seems forever and still make good power. In fact , th e engin e works best when th e throttle is kep t p inned o pe n a nd th e motor revved out. Shifting too earl y will often lea ve the CR1 25 ยท fla t on its face, but it ca n q u ickly be brought back on th e p ipe wi th so me clu tch wo rk, wh ich is easi ly done du e to th e light pull o n the handleba r lever. T he six -spee d tra nsmission is basicall y un ch anged a nd . just as last year, works ex tremely well. Straight handling Honda has constantly ba ttled prob lem s wi th headsha ke in the past, b u t