Posts
100
Joined
2/18/2019
Location
SoCal, CA, USA
Edited Date/Time
12/19/2025 5:44am
Started a resto a while back for someone and figured I'd share the journey. He was able to get three 1980 CR80's and we decided to build two out of the fleet. I've never done two builds at the same time, and probably never will again LOL. As many of you know, it's a very time consuming "hobby" and doing two just doubled the frustration, but in the end it will be twice the satisfaction..I hope!
Anyways, here are the three prior to teardown a few months ago.
All three were pretty beat up, funny thing is one that looked the best ended up being the worst. Always amazed at what I find while tearing these down. People come up with some strange ideas to fix these, and I get stuck trying to figure out how to fix it, always a adventure!
All my past builds had plastic fuel tanks, with these being metal, I had to find someone that could fix dents and paint. I learned real quick that the expense was going to build fast with these two bikes..
Tank #1 was in pretty good shape with a few dents.
Tank #2 was a bit worse. The only good thing was both tanks were pretty rust free on the inside.
One of the tank mounts was cracked, but luckily the piece was loose and still floating in the mount. JB Weld to the rescue..
I'll post up more pics soon..hopefully this is entertainment to some 😁
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
I’m subscribed. I was 11 in 80 and would’ve killed for one!
Plastics are another problem with the 80-81 year model. Not much out there. DC makes some, but I wanted these as close to OEM as possible. With three bikes I chose what I could save. One of the bikes had DC on it so if needed was last resort.Alot of sanding to see if they were usable. Big gouges took a while to get out.
Front fender was pretty trashed
After
This was just to see if they were savable. Final finish in the future.
What does 2 stroke oil do after running rich for 45 years??
Several pieces of the plastics I was using had cracks and even a few holes where the last owner must have zip-tied together. I ended up using the junk OEM plastic and a soldering gun. I melted pieces and let them drip into the holes, and also melted together where the cracks were. I used a plastic epoxy to fill any voids and sanded them smooth.
Of course I didn't get a pic of the finished product, but you get a idea how I did it..
45 years, I'd have to say it's never been apart..
That's alot of exhaust juice!
One of the bikes somehow had a pretty current exhaust hooked up to it. Once apart I realized they used what looks like a gas line you would use for a gas dryer as the connection! Along with a homemade mount..
Started on the wheels first. Only one front and one rear were good enough to use again. Other's had bad rim dings and the spokes were pretty rough and the nipples lost their gold oem color. The front rim is still available thru Honda, but not the rear. I could not find anybody that knew if a rear XR75 rim would work or if the spoke pattern was different. Ordered one from back East and took a shot at it.
You can find cheap spokes that "should" work from other countries, but with Tariffs, the cost was outrageous. Contacted Buchanan and they hooked me up. Gave them the measurements and the spoke hole diameters and they had no problems making them. Of the two bikes, one got new hoops and spokes and the other is using the OEM wheels from 1980.
This is the new set
I don't think the airbox's were ever cleaned..
The right side (clutch) cases were all a bit banged up. Honda used a rubber piece to stop the brake pedal from hitting it. I'm sure these were ran without them and the brake pedal hit the case. One of the cases looked the best but once I got it off I realized that someone used JB Weld on the inside and noticed the crack on the outside. Luckily I had # 3 bike to grab another.
Here's a before of one that was used for the build..
Same one after a little work..
The other bike got the better of the two. At this point, I am making one of the bikes the best of the best, and the other as good as I can get.
The left side case (ignition cover) are all plastic on these. Very hard to find new so I resorted to using some plastic epoxy to fill any gouges and some sanding. Below is after some epoxy work and sanding.
This is one with the primer and the other with the finish coat. I actually sanded the finished one again and then repainted for the final coat.
A buddy had one of these by today's standards they are tiny. Thought some of the 82 engine parts might fit. It was basically that engine updated to fit into the new pro link chassis. Knew someone with one got to ride it a couple times. It was kinda a funky one off year like the 82 rm80.
It was amazing how fast the 80's changed from 80 to 83
Seems like during the 80's everything was changing quickly. It's what makes some models so hard to do, parts availability being the worst. Fun to see what the companies were coming up with year to year
The cylinders fins were good, until I took off the exhaust and found this. It was hidden behind the pipe. Of course this cylinder wasn't used for the two builds
The exhaust were fairly good shape. Alot of sanding and fixing. Primed and ready for final finish
Frames were prepped, primed and painted in my paint shop 🤭
Pit Row
You're absolutely correct. The pace of change, especially among the Big 4, was amazing. I have two '82 CRs for vintage racing. On the 250s, the 81s, 82s and 83s all had different clutch components/baskets, even though all three years shared a common engine design. Makes parts-chasing a nightmare sometimes.
Lots of cleaning, sanding and fixing. Black parts are complete.
Making sure all threads are cleaned up prior to assembly.
Even using the OEM ball bearings, glad I didn't lose any!
The front lower cable guide had a rubber coating on it and was a bit worn. This did the trick.
One of the cylinders ready to go..
Started building bike #2 first. The tank and plastics were not finished yet at this point.
Plastics and tanks all done.
One almost done, next one getting started.
Once all the plastics and tanks arrived I completed one, and started the other.
#2 build was a bit quicker as I knew where everything went and in what order, 😁
Both bikes completed. For the tanks and plastics I want to thank Mando at mcc_designs . He did excellent work and can't recommend him enough. Also for Vapor Blasting privateermxsupply , he's done the blasting for all my builds, great to order parts from and both guys are located in So.Cal.
A few differences between the builds, but not much. Building two at the same time, not much fun 🥵, but happy with the end results. PIcs of #1, this one has OEM wheels, spokes and nipples, still has the gold color. Also has a OEM Spark Arrestor.
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