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There's not a whole lot new with Honda's CR500R this year. But, then again, the thing's already the great white shark
of the open class, so why change it? In reality, there are probably only a handful of riders in the country who can realize
its true potential, and Jeff Stanton was the last one who used it to pound the competition into the ground like a tent stake. So,
why's it still around? The same reason pit bulls are still around: because it's the most awesome thing to ever evolve in its
class, and something has to be the biggest and the best. When you've got some serious earth moving to do, it's either a
CR500R or a Cat D10. And trust us on this: the CR's a whole lot more fun.
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The new CR250R is the biggest technological innovation to hit the Supercross and motocross circuits since
the introduction of the two-stroke. At a glance, it instantly sends every other 250 slinking over to the vintage
class. And you know that in the next couple of years, everyone else is going to be making the switch, too. But how
many years are you willing to run around in last place, waiting for them to evolve?
The result of years of research and more than a decade of developing aluminum frames first on the road-race tracks of the world and then for the world's best sportbikes, the CR's chassis catapults it into the next millennium three years early. But the frame's only the most visible part of the story. The CR250R gets new suspension, new bodywork, new carburetion - even something as simple as the fuel tank is radically rethought because of this new design. It's like the move from slithering around in the primordial ooze to walking on two legs. Or maybe in your case, from running midpack to running up front. but let's cut to the chase: Jeremy McGrath is a realist. There's no shortage of teams waving contracts in his face, and there's no way he's going to ride a bike that doesn't give him every advantage in the book. So what's SuperMac riding in '97, and how are you going to argue with that? |
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Watch any nature show on television for more than five minutes, and you're going to see the young males fighing
for dominance. Now turn your TV set to the one-twenty-five National at Washougal or Budd's Creek or the Anaheim
SX and listen to the billion-bumblebee wail that roars out just before the gate drops. Notice any similarities?
The 125 class is the fiercest, most competitive class there is, a class where if you even think about backing off
the throttle, nine guys are going to pass you so fast into the first turn that you'll think your engine's seized.
And what's the only 125 that can get the job done? Simple: the CR. Sound like we're bragging? Look at the
results: For the last four years straight, the CR has beaten the competition like a rented mule. And in a class where
the difference between first and last is measured with a stopwatch, Honda's Steve Lamson sewed up the 1996 National
Championship an unheard of two races early. And this year the CR125R is even better than ever. The only bad
news? You've got to get in there and fight for it, because everyone on the start line wants it as badly as you do.
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| You don't need to know anything about natural selection to understand a pretty simple fact of parenthood: The habits and lessons your kids acquire now are the same habits and lessons that they're going to carry with them for the rest of their lives. So if you want your child to learn what it's like to work hard, give 110 percent, and emerge victorious, get that little MiniMac on a CR80R, or our bigger-wheeled CR80R Expert. He'll learn what it tastes like to win. He'll learn there's no substitute for the right tool for the job. And when it comes to competition, he'll learn second-best will never do, whether it's on the track, in school, or in the workplace. On a CR80R or CR80R Expert, there's no room for excuses, but maybe excuses aren't what you had in mind anyway. So which lessons are your kids going to learn? |
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| Specifications | CR500R | CR250R | CR125R | CR80R/Expert |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| engine | ||||
| bore and stroke | ||||
| compression ratio | ||||
| carburetion | ||||
| ignition | ||||
| transmission | ||||
| final drive | (#420 chain; 15T/55T Expert) |
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| front suspension | ||||
| rear suspension | ||||
| front brake | ||||
| rear brake | ||||
| groud clearance | ||||
| seat height | ||||
| wheelbase | ||||
| dry weight | ||||
| fuel capacity | ||||
| Specifications | CR500R | CR250R | CR125R | CR80R/Expert |
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