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/128104
Honda didn't forget about the CR250R. It got a complete makeover for 2 0 0 2 . Honda's quarter-liter motocrosser is new fro m th e ground up - a bit of an eyebrow- raiser considering what a strong performer its 2001 rendition is. However, it app ears that Honda's cha nges have been prudent ; tak e, for example, the t hird-generation tw in-spar aluminum frame, which now has a noticeable bow built in, as well as a .5m m- th inner wall materia l. Not o nl y is it a seven-pound weight-savings cla imed, but so are designed-in flex (the firs t- and second -qen era ti on frames are noted for being over- ly rigid ) and an opened -up airbox area (ailo wlng for an extra 65 c c in the air b oo t, a se ven - perc ent change). Speaking of which , Honda engineers foc used a lot of att ention on airfl ow management, something that can be more beneficial than volume. Of partic ular note is t he new mill, which is now a case-reed unit like the 125 , and which also features a works-like electronically controiled RC-typ e exhaust valve for a wider spread of stro ng power (Honda thick ened fourth gear and dr opped tooth-count on the rear sprocket by two to 4 8, supposedly because of the increase in power). There 's a longer, D-shaped exhaust manifold and a big ger reed valve w ith ca rbon- fiber reeds and metal stiffeners. A lot of effort was made to cut weight on the bike. hence changes like a redesigned rear- brake system (with the master e . d,er and fluid reservoir integrat ' o f many hub. OR600R, 1981·2001 • Does the moniker Honda's ne w four-stroke motocrosser seem familiar? It should , since the CRF450R is only one letter away from the CR450R, the company's first big -bore m otocrosser, which debuted back in 1981. Th e bike, a twostroke. has grown over the years to a full 500cc, but because of relatively mediocre sal es, i, hasn 't enjoyed significant t updates over the past several years. Hence. it should come as no surprise th at with news of the new thumper comes th e fact tha t the Hond a's CR500 R has been discontinu ed. In its 20 -y ear history, yo u might say that the CR500R has...well, a lot of history. A s menti oned, the CR500 R began li fe in 1981 as the CR450R. It featured a red-painted air cool ed motor, Honda's brand-new Pro-Link single-shock rear suspensio n syste m and the ugliest fro nt-number plat e ever seen on a production m otocross bike, but the bi ke looked pu re 'works' fro m the number-plate on back. Unfortunately, th e CR450R suffered m ore than its share of teething problems: T he left-side (sho uld 've been rig ht- sid e) kick-starter lever slammed int o the bik e's clu tch hou sing at the bottom of its stroke. resulti ng in cracks and oil seepage - the cl utch itself wasn 't strong enough to handle the 450's awesome horsepower, the new aluminum swlngarm had a tendency to crack, and the Pro- Link design at that time really wasn' t th at great. ma inly because of the poor shoc k absorber. (The fork wasn 't all that great, either.) So . you ultimatel y had a bike Whereas the 250 was already a strong package, the red tiddler was in mo re need of a makeover, having failed to make the podium in Cy cle News' 125cc shootout. First up was the motor, which Honda gave a new cylinder, valve and ports, as well as higher ratios for first, second and third gears. It got the same updates to its aluminum fram e, only the weight savings is cl aimed to be a full 11 pounds, as opposed to seven on the 25 0, and the air-boot vol ume was inc reased by 120cc. as opposed to 65. There's also a new-shape air filter and a new 36mm Mikuni TMX-x carb , which moves the fuel nozzle closer to the eng ine. The 125 also gets the HRC-style revised rear brake. which uses shorter, wide r brake pads with more surface area. Like the 250, the 125 has a new rider position that is sli ghtl y taller, and It also has the trick new hub and lighter wheels. O n the subject of suspension. the 125 's Inverted Kaya ba fork (th e 250's Is a Show a) now has 10mm less stroke for a tot al of 305. a move that Honda says will decrease ' p itchin g" and all ow a "flatter ride." Al so. the fork 's lugs are narrower to all ow fo r a shorter fron t axl e. The 125 will be the first Honda CR avail able this year, bitl;lng showroom floors in August. and Keta ili n,g for S4~99 . The CR125R received engine changes, right where It needed it. that produ ced incredible power but handled poorly and was Perhaps the m ost important evol ution of th e CR500R unreliable. But all those faults didn't really seem to ma tter at came in 1985 , when th e bike featured wat er-cool ing. Amazingly, from 1985 to the pr esent, the CR500R has the time, because the bike looked so coo l and had so much power. seen very little in th e way of major changes, tho ugh it did get As radica l as the CR450R was at that time, Honda still many sig nificant up dates and re finements througho ut it s remaining 16 years of service. But most of those changes m ade dramatic cha nges to it just one year later. Honda addressed all of the faults with the 450 occurred before and /or around the by fixing the k ick-starter problem , __- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -...... time when the AMA pulled the plug on the 500cc class on the Nation al beefing up the clutch, the fork and MX ci rcuit after the 1993 season. the swingarm, going back to a more trad itional -l ooking front number Sti ll , the 500 cc class continued plate, and painting the engine black. to hang on in the local motocross (and off-road) scene. prompting Honda even bumped up th e engine displa cement to 480cc, thus calling Honda to continue o f ferin g the it the CR480R. It was the firs t truly CR500R in its lineup , but featu ring very li ttl e in th e way of interest ing good · CR500." But it still had one m ajor pro blem - yo u still had to kick changes fro m yea r to ye ar. Bu t , start the beast from the left side! ever since Yamaha came out wit h Unl ike the transit ion from '81 to its YZ4 26F four years ago an d '82, the '83 CR4 80R saw mostly with the rumors of Honda eventurefinements - a new seat, slightly difally co ming out with its own big ferent styling, better suspens ion bore thum per, the wr iting was on compo nents, among other mi nor the wall - the CR500R's days were 198 5: Honda's first "true" CRSOOR." changes - and was still co nsidered numbered. Well , we can now sto p counting, b ec ause. with the intrathe bi ke of choi ce in the O pen class . Tec hnica lly s peak ing, the fi rst ho nest-to -good ness duction of -the CR45 0F, Hon da also announces the "death" of CR500 R made it s debut in 1984. Th e bike now featured a the CR500R. 500c c (well, almost) engine displa cem ent and , fi nall y, a But at least th e CR500R can go out proudly, having won right-side kick -starter (as well as a Ieft- , rather than right- , six 500cc outdoor National MX Championship since its 198 1 side drive system). It also debuted silly-looking air-scoops on productio n debut. Since then, no other manufacture r h as both sides of the bike that most owners threw in the trash can earned more 500cc MX titles than Honda. Congra tulations CR500R , and so long . as soon as they got the bi ke home from the dealer . The bike Kit Palmer. also featured a front disc brake. cue I e n eVIl's M AY 16. 2001 39