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/127679
74Honda CR250 Elsinore PROJECT·BIKE· Vintage Iron 19 he editorial meeting came to order like it did every week. But unlike the other meetings, puzzlement replaced ..... th e cheerful, "Hey-l-Ieeldam n-Iucky-to-be-steering-this-ship" look that normally adorns the face of editor Carru thers. "Alrigh t you guys, it's time to come up with some material for our Vintage issue. Any ideas?" Groans, sighs and moans filled the room. "C'mon, we gotta do something special. This vintage stuff has gotten pretty popular. I figure we can do a couple of interviews on some of those old fellers, or maybe a Steamboat preview or something. But we need something cool in there." . Wailing and gnashing of teeth super- seded the moaning . Obviously, the words "cool" and "vintage" were not two words the high-tech associate editors at Cycle News could link together in their thought pattern. It was then that I, the dumb Assistant Editor, piped up. "Hey Paul, why don't we do a vintag e project bike?" "No way, that would be completely lame," muttered Associate Editor Donn Maeda. "New bikes rule, who cares about that old junk?" (Above) Project Rustoratlon lives I Our Vintage Ironmodified '74 Honda CR250 Elsinore not on ly featu res .updated horsepower, but the bike handles far bette r than stock, thanks to Vintage Iron's Ground Control suspension package. (Below) Diamond In the rough: Project Rustoratlon was surpris ingly complete but had seen better days . I don't really think he saw the pencil coming from Associ ate Editor Chris Jonnum 's d irection, but it s macked h im upside the head just the same, a truly great shot from across the table. "I think that's a fantastic idea, Scooter. You're really the only editor around here that has an y kind of a appreciation for that stuff anyway." I suddenly realized that Chris' enthusias m was for me to handle the project. Something I'd not yet tackled d uring my stint at Cycle News . "But I didn't mean..." "And since you volunteered for it, I fig ure we should let you run with it. Guys? Back me up here." The decision was final before I ev en had the chance to think of an argument against the assignment. Actually, it wouldn't be that mu ch of a chore. After all, I d o actu ally ha ve an appreciation for old bikes. I'd even ridden Cycle New s ad guy Mark Thome's sto ne-stock '73 Ho nda CR250 Elsinore in an AHRMA National Motocross at Glen Helen Racew ay wh ere I finish ed fourth in my class. No t bad for something that had the power of a 250, and the suspensio n an d handlin g cha rac teristics of an XR75. Sti ll, I didn' t look upon vintage ra cing as cool. But I fig u re d th is deal wasn' t goi ng to go away, so I immediately went on the attack. As soon as the meet in g w as over, I walked d own the hall to ha ve a word wit h Thome. "Mark, I want to bu ild up that Elsinore for ou r Vintage issu e. Wh addaya say big gu y?" "Gee, I d on 't kn ow. That bab y is pretty original. But I just happen to have ano the r one that needs a little work. In fact, it's in just as good a shape as my runner. " As it turned out, Tho me wasn't lying. His seco nd CR - a machine acquired in lieu of paym ent for a bac kgam mon debt - was a lmost as original as th e fi rs t. Aside from so me rust, a few dents and the general dullness and drabness that befalls a 20- ye ar-o ld motorcycl e, the bike appeared restorable. Oka y, I had a bike. Now all I needed was someone to put it together. Fortunately, that too was jus t a phone ca ll away. Rick Dou ghty'S Vintage Iron in Fresn o, California, specializes in jus t this so rt of thing. Wheth er you want bits and pieces, mods, or a full-o n resto ra tion for your old machine, rega rd less of the make or ty pe, Vin tage Iro n can han dl e it. Doughty is a vintage fana tic, attending as many AHRMA Nationals he can and spreading the vin tage gospe l whenever possible. Heck, he even sponsors the AHRMA National MX series, ma king the firm a natu ral choice for th e rebuild . After a few p hone calls with Doughty, I d eliver ed the bike, dubbed "Project Rustoration ", to Vintage Iron's Fresno headquarters with the basic idea that he would make the bike run and ma ybe massage the sus pens ion a little. " W he n do yo u a n e ed it b ack? " Doughty as ke d as I was preparing to lea ve the s hop, a ve ri tab le s h ri ne o f re stored a n d orig ina l vin ta ge motocrossers and road racers . Well, let 's see, I thought to m yself. The Vin tage issue goes to press in little more than a month. 111 want to ride the bike before that, but there really isn't