Honda CR250M

The Honda CR250M Elsinore is a two-stroke motorcycle first manufactured by Honda in March 1973; it had 29 horsepower and weighed 229 pounds.^[1][2] It was designed by Soichiro Miyakoshi, and prototype testing began in Japan in 1971 and on California motocross tracks in 1972.^[3] The CR250M was Honda's first two-stroke production race bike, the first competition dirt bike that Honda built from scratch instead of adapting a street bike,^[4] and the first production motocrosser.^[5] A chome-moly frame, aluminum bodywork and plastic fenders contributed to its light weight,^[2] even after restyling when initial tests showed the frame to be too fragile, potentially bending after less than an hour of riding.^[6]

The Elsinore was named after the offroad race in Lake Elsinore, California,^[7] the best-known off-road race of the late 1960s and early 1970s.^[2] The popularity of the CR250M and its derivatives soared after Gary Jones rode a stock machine to win the 1973 AMA 250 national motocross series.^[2]

In 1974 the CR250M was followed by its 'son', the Honda CR125M,^[4] and the first US Honda factory that opened in 1979 in Marysville, Ohio built CR250Ms.^[8]

Specifications

Bore and Stroke: 70x64.4mm

Engine: 247.8cc

Transmission: 5-speed

Wheelbase:56.5in

Ground Clearance: 7in

Capacity: 1.5gal

Weight: 213lb (dry)

Top Speed: 75mph^[9]

Model Codes

The 357 was released as a Honda CR250M in the years 1973 and 1974, and the 381 was released as a CR250M1 in 1975 and as a CR250M'76 in 1976.

References