Best looking OEM bike of the 1980's

Mungusman
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Mungusman 9/28/2016 12:30am
9/28/2016 12:30am
This was my first ever real Mx bike 1984 YZ 125. I had all little beater bikes before this. So this bike was truly special to me. Even knowing every magazine said it was a "POS" I didn't care I loved it. Here's also some pics of other I had.







downard254
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downard254 9/28/2016 1:47am
9/28/2016 1:47am
anniebertmojo wrote:
LOL... too many hours working Newman. That's a '79 RM 125 w/the Bultaco rear fender that broke on a regular basis when mud was applied to...
LOL... too many hours working Newman. That's a '79 RM 125 w/the Bultaco rear fender that broke on a regular basis when mud was applied to the underside.

the 1980 RM 125 had a few cosmetic changes and wasn't as peaky, a bit more torque I believe. Another break through was you could rebuild the rear shocks? by yourself if I can recall. Might be wrong on that, it was a long time ago.




But 1981 was the a total works bike experience. You could be like Barnett and look the part too




LOl anniebert, talk about working too many hours. Your Rm125 pic is an '82, '82 was a full Reed induction and the '81 had the case Reed induction. I'll forgive you though. God I loved the '80's.
nicko-31
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nicko-31 9/28/2016 2:19am
9/28/2016 2:19am
anniebertmojo wrote:
LOL... too many hours working Newman. That's a '79 RM 125 w/the Bultaco rear fender that broke on a regular basis when mud was applied to...
LOL... too many hours working Newman. That's a '79 RM 125 w/the Bultaco rear fender that broke on a regular basis when mud was applied to the underside.

the 1980 RM 125 had a few cosmetic changes and wasn't as peaky, a bit more torque I believe. Another break through was you could rebuild the rear shocks? by yourself if I can recall. Might be wrong on that, it was a long time ago.




But 1981 was the a total works bike experience. You could be like Barnett and look the part too




downard254 wrote:
LOl anniebert, talk about working too many hours. Your Rm125 pic is an '82, '82 was a full Reed induction and the '81 had the case...
LOl anniebert, talk about working too many hours. Your Rm125 pic is an '82, '82 was a full Reed induction and the '81 had the case Reed induction. I'll forgive you though. God I loved the '80's.
You guys are killing me !!! Grinning It sucks knowing this much knowledge when we get old instead of younger. Truly funny.

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nicko-31
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nicko-31 9/28/2016 6:41am
9/28/2016 6:41am
GIwasB4 wrote:
1980 YZ125. Admit it, it's sexy. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2015/12/03/113610/s1200_1980_white_yz.jpg[/img]
1980 YZ125. Admit it, it's sexy.


For sure. Beautiful machine. I am partial to the white gas tank. Until 85 we in The US had to travel to Canada to get this color combinations.
newmann
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newmann 9/28/2016 6:53am
9/28/2016 6:53am
anniebertmojo wrote:
LOL... too many hours working Newman. That's a '79 RM 125 w/the Bultaco rear fender that broke on a regular basis when mud was applied to...
LOL... too many hours working Newman. That's a '79 RM 125 w/the Bultaco rear fender that broke on a regular basis when mud was applied to the underside.

the 1980 RM 125 had a few cosmetic changes and wasn't as peaky, a bit more torque I believe. Another break through was you could rebuild the rear shocks? by yourself if I can recall. Might be wrong on that, it was a long time ago.




But 1981 was the a total works bike experience. You could be like Barnett and look the part too




I realized that about the time I hit submit and almost edited to say 79-80. I said fugg it...and got caught.Laughing
kaptkaos
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kaptkaos 9/28/2016 8:22am
9/28/2016 8:22am
philG wrote:
I have owned a few of those .. 81 RM125, 83 RM 250, 86 CR 500, 87 ,88 CR 250, & 89 RM250 But without a...
I have owned a few of those .. 81 RM125, 83 RM 250, 86 CR 500, 87 ,88 CR 250, & 89 RM250

But without a doubt , the most stellar change , from year to year was the 82 to 83 CR 125.

It looked factory, full length seat , removable subframe , cutouts in the tank , and the first time i saw one i was blown away.



This was the most revoltionary bike I ever rode as a kid. I thought the 81 was revoltionary when it was released and bought it, and although it was a step in the right direction, it was ugly as hell and had many flaws. Then I got this bike and my dad got the 250. Bothe were night and day better than the 81 models and I never ever had a single issue with the bike and it did everything well and could run with the RM that was killing it back then.

This is the most beautiful bike ever released IMHO and I am trying to retrofit my 450R to look just like it. I just dont want to go through the effort of doing the motor in black. Its also a PITA that Honda now has a black tank and there is no option to get a red OEM one. I hate having the black element on the bike when everything else is red/blue. I am torn about going with Gold Rims too.
PRM31
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PRM31 9/30/2016 9:18am
9/30/2016 9:18am
Those bikes still look great after all these years! I has the 81 RM-125, 82 RM-25, 83 CR-125 and 480. Each were good bikes, but the 81 RM125 was my all time favorite.
Forty
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Forty 9/30/2016 9:39am
9/30/2016 9:39am
Wetterstrand wrote:
Just finished this one [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2016/09/28/153684/s1200_IMG_0016.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2016/09/28/153685/s1200_IMG_0021.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2016/09/28/153686/s1200_IMG_0018.jpg[/img]
Just finished this one







Wow....nice work. How Much? I'm in the market.
mb60
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mb60 9/30/2016 10:03am
9/30/2016 10:03am
Mungusman wrote:
This was my first ever real Mx bike 1984 YZ 125. I had all little beater bikes before this. So this bike was truly special to...
This was my first ever real Mx bike 1984 YZ 125. I had all little beater bikes before this. So this bike was truly special to me. Even knowing every magazine said it was a "POS" I didn't care I loved it. Here's also some pics of other I had.







The 1984 yz 125 with a 1983 cylinder on it and a exhaust will run just fine. I have the 84 250 and I love it for some vintage racing.
Mouse153
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Mouse153 9/30/2016 10:21am
9/30/2016 10:21am
queen of spodes wrote:
I also liked the 86-88 RM's.... that blue motor was kick ass. [img]https://i.imgur.com/SvvCqg6.jpg[/img]
I also liked the 86-88 RM's.... that blue motor was kick ass.

I never owned one but I loved the blue engines! As soon as I finish my 80 RM125 I'm going to hunt one of these down and restore it.
PRM31
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PRM31 9/30/2016 10:30am
9/30/2016 10:30am
queen of spodes wrote:
I also liked the 86-88 RM's.... that blue motor was kick ass. [img]https://i.imgur.com/SvvCqg6.jpg[/img]
I also liked the 86-88 RM's.... that blue motor was kick ass.

Mouse153 wrote:
I never owned one but I loved the blue engines! As soon as I finish my 80 RM125 I'm going to hunt one of these down...
I never owned one but I loved the blue engines! As soon as I finish my 80 RM125 I'm going to hunt one of these down and restore it.
I wasn't a huge fan of the blue motor, but the rest of the bike looked just like the factory bikes of the time and I loved that!
Wetterstrand 9/30/2016 12:37pm
9/30/2016 12:37pm
Wetterstrand wrote:
Just finished this one [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2016/09/28/153684/s1200_IMG_0016.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2016/09/28/153685/s1200_IMG_0021.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2016/09/28/153686/s1200_IMG_0018.jpg[/img]
Just finished this one







Forty wrote:
Wow....nice work. How Much? I'm in the market.
Thanks! Built it together with a friend. And we decided to sell it around 3700$ if somebody is willing to pay that.
Jamal#440
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Jamal#440 2/25/2018 10:14am
2/25/2018 10:14am
queen of spodes wrote:
#3: 1988 Husqvarna CR430 [img]https://www.dcvmx.com/xcart/ProductPictures/hsq-pk-1987cr.jpg[/img] Loved the single downtube at the rear of the frame. This bike (and the 510 thumper) looked so clean to me...
#3: 1988 Husqvarna CR430

Loved the single downtube at the rear of the frame. This bike (and the 510 thumper) looked so clean to me. Loved going up to Cycle Specialty in Athens to look at their 510 on the showroom.

#2 1989 Suzuki RM125/250

Tough call between this and my #1 choice. The 89 RM's still look great to this day.

#1 1987 Honda CR125

I rode one of these quite a bit back in the late 80s and loved every second of it. I had just as much fun going to the Honda dealer and drooling over the same bike in the showroom. So sexy.



Honorable mention:
1983 Husqvarna CR125

For a dated, dual-shock and air cooled tiddler, the 83 CR125 is a work of art.
That frame is the trickest OEM part. Did those USD forks come stock?
captmoto
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captmoto 2/25/2018 10:26am
2/25/2018 10:26am Edited Date/Time 2/25/2018 10:27am
I go with the blood red 88 CR125/250. Never owned one but they were beauties.

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