R
iders living in a day when
television sets had three
channels (and two colors)
can remember when motor
-
cycling wasn't meant for kids.
There were mopeds, pull-start
minibikes and eventually the
Honda Mini-Trail, but none of
these machines bore much re-
semblance to real motorcycles.
All of that changed in the 1970s
with the Yamaha Mini Enduro,
the Honda SL70 and the Su-
zuki TS50. Now, little dudes and
dudettes could ride on bikes that
looked and operated like their
big brothers' cycles.
In 1973, Honda introduced
their first-ever two-stroke moto
-
cross racer, the CR250 Elsinore,
the machine that would turn the
motocross world upside down
and even win a national cham-
pionship in its first season. That
same year, the company unveiled
another new race bike, the XR75,
meaning young racers could
now make believe that they were
champions, too. The road to an
Elsinore began on the XR75, and
before long, the little thumpers
CNIIARCHIVES
P142
BY KENT TAYLOR
The dirt-specific
XR75 was every
kid's dream machine
at the time.
EVERY
MOTO KID'S
DREAM
MACHINE
The Honda XR75 debuted in 1973,
the same year as the first CR250
Elsinore. Stretch your imagination
and you can see the resemblance.
THE 1973
HONDA XR75
