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Honda Dirt Bikes - History And Bike ReviewsHe picked up batch of unwanted two stroke electric generator motors and set about adapting them to fit into a bicycle frame. The result was quite successful and Honda started to develop a complete purpose built motorcycle. The Honda Motor Company was founded in 1948 and in 1949 the company produced the D-Type motorcycle. This was the first actual motorcycle produced by Honda, this machine was the realisation of Soichiro Honda's dream to build a complete motorcycle and so was dubbed 'The Dream'. In 1958 Honda released the C100 Super Cub which would go on to become the biggest selling motorcycle of all time. The bike had a centrifugal clutch making it easy for beginners to ride and also had a step through frame configuration which made it popular with females as well as males. The Super Cub also became the first Honda motorcycle to be sold in the U.S.A and in the same year Honda also launched the 250cc C72 Dream in Europe, the first Japanese manufacturer to release a bike there. In 1960, the company began motorcycle production at its factory in Suzuka, Japan. Honda has always been a company that is race inspired and the development of the Honda dirt bikes range led to the company taking the win in the first Baja 1000, held in 1967. The first serious Honda dirt bike was the 'Elsinore', released in 1970. The bike later became available in a trail version. The SL125 was the first genuine trail bike released by Honda and was soon re-released with a 250cc engine. The SL's went on to become the XL range in 1973. The development of Honda dirt bikes has gone from strength to strength since then, the CRF450 is arguably the most popular mid capacity four stroke motocrosser on the market today. '07 Honda Dirt BikesCRF450R Honda's award winning motocross flagship continues to go from strength to strength. Updates for '07 include changes to the cylinder head and intake valves. The carb diameter on the 450 has been increased to 41mm and there is also a new brake lever linkage and rear subframe. Showa components take care of suspension front and rear.
CRF250R The four stroke 250 for '07 has retooled cam profiles, a reworked brake lever linkage and a strengthened clutch. Carburetion is taken care of with a 40mm Keihin carby and like the 450, the 250 has Showa suspension front and rear. Weight is a super slim 204 pounds.
CR250/CR125 Updates for the bigger two strokes are limited this year, it seems all the R+D dollars go into the four strokes these days. The 250 is running a 38mm Mikuni carby, 5 speed transmission and 47mm USD Showa forks up front with a Showa fork out back. The 125 has a 38mm Mikuni carby, 46mm Kayaba USD forks and a Kayaba rear shock. Dry weight for the 125 is 197 pounds, gone are the days when four stroke race bikes were so much heavier than their two stroke counterparts.
CRF150R Expert The CRF150R Expert is the bike for junior riders looking to step up from the standard CRF150. The Expert has bigger wheels, a higher seat and slightly longer swingarm and is more suited for taller riders. There's a 5 speed transmission, 37mm Showa inverted cartridge forks and a fully adjustable Showa rear shock. They sound pretty sweet too!
Honda is the biggest of the 'big four' Japanese manufacturers and there's plenty of money being spent on developing the range of Honda dirt bikes. It's a company that is inspired by racing and it shows in the competitiveness of their bikes. (images courtesy of powersports.honda.com) Click here to check out the full range of '07 Honda dirt bikes. Click here to go back to our Home Page. Please note that to protect our younger visitors to Motocross 101, SafeSearch is turned on in these search results.
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