How Outdated Is The CR85?

I'd convince him to get a used Austrian 85, otherwise you are just getting him a bigger version of the rm65 he's been riding..

My son started on an rm65 also. I figured at the time that it was cheap and we weren't going to race so it would be fine..Well we ended up racing and as soon as I put him on a Husky 65 it was night and day. The riding position on those old bikes is so dated. All the things I was trying to teach him about proper technique that he was struggling with  came naturally on the new bike. The rm actually ran great but the ergos and suspension was terrible. I actually put race tech emulators in the fork and it was still garbage. He will be way more comfortable which will in turn make him more confident and safer and might make him want to race. 

As far as the kx goes the people we bought his husky 65 from moved up to a newer kx. The kid was racing beginner and was a decent rider but wasn't jumping allot of the jumps. Last time I saw them he was on a gasgas and was ripping. We will be for sure sticking with a Husky when my son goes to 85's. The only downside is the air forks but we did a Bud racing spring conversion and it's dialed now..

A lot of people swap out tires,sprockets, pipes and bars before ever riding.   When I got my new 01 CR 250 I tore it down and greased everything, changed the bars , tires, needle jet, pip silencer, reeds, plastic , chain and sprockets, grips, revalved and resprung suspension  and other things. 

But back then minimum was chain sprockets and tires.  I rode 1 45 minute trailride on my first CRF450, in 02. The first year for them , and the chain stretched so badly I had to stop riding . That was the only time I ran a stock chain on a new bike.  So I do not doubt that it has 10 hours on it. The wheels look like 10 hours, and plastic look like a easy 10 hours. Easy as in not ridden hard for that 10 hours. Hard to see much detail in the pics , but the only thing I would worry about is if the shop is good at building motors. I think the CR85 engine is pretty basic. But as long as you trust the engine builder I would say its a solid bike. 

I got a rolling chassis with everything except the engine,cdi and carb  for a 2002 CRF 450 back then. It was bought to use the engine for a race quad and only rode enough to round the knobs a little on the rear tire on the street. I think they said they broke the engine in and then took it out. I ended up swapping my engine into the new chassis in 03 to have a fresh bike and then kept my old parts as spare parts. Funny that people do the same thing with cr85's.      

Still winter here no one is buying bikes. Try to get it for 2,200 . You,ll need a air filter for sure. Maybe order a top end , clutch, front brake lever, Honda grip glue.  Dealers seem to like it when you order stuff they seem to drop the bike price then. Too bad there’s no 85 riders on here. I hv 2 04,s & a 05 cr125 there built really good. Honda pistons r cheap too. If it doesn’t hv the oem crank I wouldn’t buy it.  A 10 hr bike is rare. I bought a 5 hr 04 like new I still can’t believe it. 

Funny, I never changed any of that stuff off a new bike back then. I know for a fact when I got my KX80 brand new in '99 my old man had me run the stock stuff until the chain looked like spaghetti.

It obviously could have been changed. Even still, that rear tire looks whooped for 10 hours on a small bore. 

Get the 06 and Up RM85

the cr85 is fragile the hubs suck... and the ergonomics suck

The RM85 is the only bike i would even consider from that time frame....

The Honda is a solid bike parts will be hard to get. Easily modded to be a serious screamer! As stated the front hub is weak its a 28 spoke ! Beware my son shattered one barely coming up short on big jump brain bleed broken jaw sold our 3 85s after that and put 32 spoke talon hubs on the supermini when he started riding a year later! Talk him into something else

yea that and the no powervalve thing is good.... but bad at the same time..... get a powervalve bike... that no powervalve stuff is for the birds....those bikes are SLOW.. werent at the time but they are now for sure!

I would get the KX.  He will wind up being a green bike rider and he'll love it!

has a governor that has balls that will eventually fall out and destroy the right side of engine.....  Like i said RM85 if moving to the 85 and looking for comfort.... as your rider gets faster your gonna want to lengthen the swingarm.. or buy the RM85L swingarm if you can find one.... and then re install small wheels on it.... The RM85 Is solid except for shift forks... and dogs on 2nd through 3rd gears....

The kx 85 is good but the carb sucks ass on those bikes and so does the frame... the forks on the KX85 suck ass

the honda sucks cause hubs are weak. the engine is slow.. the parts are hard to find. and the bike is like riding a banana seat bicycle with really tall bars and the shock sucks too. the front fender could be used as a sleigh for winter time.

 the YZ85 before 2019 sucks ass same traits as honda....

The ktm is really good. even the older models 2013 and up are great....

my son is currently on a gas gas 85cc and we moved to that from rm85.....

the RM85 down fall is the clutch sucks! and finding the hinson for it is hard... finding the big wheel swingarm is REALLY hard.... the forks are not preloaded enough stock and the shock only has low speed and rebound adjustment no hish speed compression adjustment....

Putting a higher quality chain on a new bike will extend the life of the sprockets. Stock chains might be better now, but  bikes still come  dry and with minimal grease and tires for different types of soil exist for a reason.   The rest of the bike looks low hour to me.   On my 450 the stock chain was wasted in 45 minutes. I was never small enough to ride an 85 so I never owned one. It would be strange to do those things to it , if the original owner bought it intending on doing the quad build from the start. But who knows. Back then Honda was giving  Honda Bucks to use at the dealer when you got a new bike on some bikes. It could have come from the Honda dealer with the tire and sprocket.

 I'm not arguing that You did not do any of those things I said that I did.  Just saying that it was common and still is with the people I rode with, and customers I have now.  I have a customer that has a bike with 9 legit hours on it. He is a Pro level rider and the bike looks like it has 100 hours on it. I was just pointing out how those items being replaced did not always point to them having been worn out. The only wear I see is on the clutch cover.  But if the pieced the engine together that cover could have not been original.  For how little wear the rest has, that cover looks like a lot of wear.  But the bike looks really clean otherwise. Replacing items before they wear out would be a good sign to me. Showing that they were not running stuff  into the ground. Changing gearing is another reason the sprocket could have been swapped.  Again, not saying that you are wrong, just adding to the info the OP can use to decide if the bike will work for him or not. The wheels like like they are low hour.  Honda wheels back then on the big bikes used to have nipples seize with not a ton of time on them if they were not taken apart and anti seize applied. But those wheels look like a clean low hour set of wheels. If possible I would pull the frame guards and see if the paint is worn. If not , then it might be a sign the original owner did that stuff when new.  Who knows, the dealer might have put the pipe, and other stuff onto it to get ti to sell back then. 

Been said already a few times and depends on his skill level and type of riding but after going through it with my kids having a power valve should be top priority even over suspension. Way faster progression and building their confidence with a powervalve while learning.  

That wheelbase is not long enough at all..... Bike probably handled like a damn car with only one rear wheel ....

The RM 85 has an amazing motor and handling but the frame is made of pot metal it will crack within a month I've seen them split in half worse than the KTMs I owned four of them multiple cracks on everyone

not really a good older 85 out there

https://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-Related,20/Alessi-03-Claimed-Super-…

Bbrraaapppp!!!

I'm coming from a background of always being slow.... so 

If he doesn't want to ride fast, why don't you look at something in his size range like a KLX140 or TTR125 or L models? They are slow as piss but that will teach him to actually learn how to be fast if he really wants to be. 

We got my wife a KLX140L and it's currently the only bike we have so I ride it a lot and it's slow and the suspension is far too soft for me but it turns like crazy because the wheel base is so short under me. 

Braaap

Edit, I've always paid more for steel chain wheels because they last a hell of a lot longer than anything in aluminum 

So much idiotic advice in here 🤦🏼‍♂️

to be honest thanks soggy i think the cr85 is hard to find parts for right now.....

That's probably what it cost new, that being said we had at least a dozen of them (see picture). Our Super Mini would out run any CRF 150 (that is an out of date motorcycle!). You will have no problem finding "wear" parts, pistons, clutches etc. If that's what he wants, get it! Have a happy kid, save yourself a ton of money! Run a good quality gas and oil, change the clutch oil often. I guarantee you will be able to find any parts you need before he out grows it. A 5th & 8th at Loretta's, a Branson National Championship and 2 3rds, several race wins and local championships (the first bike we raced at Loretta's was Broc Tickles). You don't see many of them, because they haven't made them since '07, that doesn't mean it's not a great bike.

How many CR85 have you owned and when was the last time you tried a source parts as far as crank cases and transmission?

I hope it gives him hours of enjoyment. Glad to see you "Ride Red" young ripper!

Congrats~!   Is it just me, or is that chain ridonculously tight???

Clean bike! Check that chain slack though! 

 Thats awesome, I was a "buy the CR85" vote as soon as I saw your post. Classic Honda good looks & reliability and yes you will be able to find any wear item parts you'll need for that bike. Well done hope.... the kid has the time of his life on it.

10 hours on the bike or on the motor? That rear number has seen a lot of boot and pant wear.

But if it's anything like my Honda generator, it'll last forever. 

Katoom is my vote