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/1470676
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 24 JUNE 14, 2022 P137 XR lineup has morphed in to the CRF lineup, with Campbell hav- ing a foot in both eras, and now Mark Samuels' Slam Life Racing (SLR) racing continues with the CRF line. That's my memory of being a 13-year-old in 1973—what an amazing time to be into motor- cycles. I wonder what a 13-year- old today will be remembering in 2073. Take it from me, kids: it goes by in a blink of an eye, so soak it all in. On a closing thought, this 50-year thing is not the exclu- sive territory of Honda. In 1974, Yamaha introduced the YZ label for its top-of-the-line motocross motorcycles, and Kawasaki ad- opted the KX label for its moto- cross motorcycles. In 1975, Suzuki first used RM on its new 125 motocross mo- torcycle (by 1976, all Suzuki MX bikes were called RM. Before the RM, Suzuki dubbed the MX bikes TM). So, hopefully we'll see more gathering of neat MX motor- cycles and famous racers in our near future. CN I wonder what a 13-year-old today will be remembering in 2073. Take it from me, kids: it goes by in a blink of an eye, so soak it all in. invited to attend this event as an official "old guy" to help the company celebrate. Honda, of course, brought out the new CRF450R and CRF450RWE, and the surprise was the release of the CRF450R in 50th an- niversary livery of red-gold-blue inspired by the 1985-87 CRs. Honda also displayed many of their factory, aka works, mo- tocross bikes form the past, including Gary Jones' CR250 Elsinore (which was Honda's first national championship- winning motorcycle) the late Marty Smith's fire-engine-red RC125 championship bike, and Jett Lawrence's 2021 champion- ship CRF250R. In support of these motorcycles Honda also had many of their past racers in attendance and the entire 2022 Factory Team. The focus of Honda at this press event was, beginning in 1973, 50 years of motocross motorcycles and 50 years of motocross racing in the U.S. That is, of course, quite an ac- complishment. But 1973 was a watershed year for Honda motorcycles in general. Along with the 1973 CR250M Elsinore, the XR75 was introduced, and with the 2023 XR650L still being in Honda's lineup, that's 50 years of an XR motorcycle offered for sale in the U.S. market. Also, in 1973, Honda released the XL350, a four-stroke single-cyl- inder enduro/off-road capable motorcycle (better known now as dual-sport motorcycles). This was a big-deal motorcycle in the U.S. market. Yamaha had to counter this bike with the TT500 two years later. American Honda used the XL350 engine as the base for a factory Open-class MX bike ridden by Buck Murphy and Rex Staten. Honda wouldn't offer an open-class motocrosser to the public until the 1981 CR450R. Another anniversary for Honda in 2022 involves Johnny Camp- bell. The 11-time Baja champion has been associated with Ameri- can Honda for 30 years. When you think about it, the XR model name and the XL350 motorcycle type were combined into the first "big" XRs in 1979 with the intro- duction of the XR500 single-cyl- inder four-stroke dirt bike, which really launched many off- road and Baja race successes for Honda with the likes of Al Baker, Bruce Ogilvie, Chuck Miller and Campbell. And now, the mighty So, the circle is complete. Young fan, customer, dealership employee, Honda employee and now back to "old" fan.