Craigslist add of the day (mint 1981 cr450r)

Pete The Fisherman
Edited Date/Time 4/28/2018 12:13am
Probably the last 81 you'll see in this condition.
https://nh.craigslist.org/mcy/d/mint-original-1981-cr450r/6558016500.ht…
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Wandell
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Wandell 4/25/2018 7:43pm
4/25/2018 7:43pm
Looks like a great deal on one of the worst bikes ever. I guess that gives it a certain amount of collector interest.
magoo1982
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magoo1982 4/25/2018 8:16pm
4/25/2018 8:16pm
Wandell wrote:
Looks like a great deal on one of the worst bikes ever. I guess that gives it a certain amount of collector interest.
yes, they couldn't give them away when new....
Forty
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Forty 4/25/2018 8:23pm
4/25/2018 8:23pm
the first time I saw one at the track it looked like a weapon. I wanted so bad for it to perform. Too bad it was a confused mess.
Bruneval
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Bruneval 4/25/2018 10:54pm
4/25/2018 10:54pm
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned a 1984 CR500 that was terrifying. What was so bad about the CR450 in comparison to the air cooled big bores that followed it?

The Shop

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bigmaico
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bigmaico 4/26/2018 2:15pm
4/26/2018 2:15pm
Bruneval wrote:
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned...
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned a 1984 CR500 that was terrifying. What was so bad about the CR450 in comparison to the air cooled big bores that followed it?
Yes the 81 450 Honda was that bad!

81 Honda 450 think TM 400.

82 Honda 480 think Maico 490 with a reed.
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mattyhamz2
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mattyhamz2 4/26/2018 2:17pm
4/26/2018 2:17pm
Bruneval wrote:
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned...
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned a 1984 CR500 that was terrifying. What was so bad about the CR450 in comparison to the air cooled big bores that followed it?
bigmaico wrote:
Yes the 81 450 Honda was that bad!

81 Honda 450 think TM 400.

82 Honda 480 think Maico 490 with a reed.
Honda actually produced something as bad as a TM400? Blink
queen of spodes 4/26/2018 2:24pm
4/26/2018 2:24pm
Since the pics will disappear soon:




Text:

"Pretty much all original 1981 cr450r including the original tires that came with it from the show room. Only thing I can see that is not original is the grips. Pictures speak for them selves. Original factory check paint is still on the drain bolt. Runs and drives perfect "
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Forty
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Forty 4/26/2018 2:30pm
4/26/2018 2:30pm
Bruneval wrote:
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned...
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned a 1984 CR500 that was terrifying. What was so bad about the CR450 in comparison to the air cooled big bores that followed it?
bigmaico wrote:
Yes the 81 450 Honda was that bad!

81 Honda 450 think TM 400.

82 Honda 480 think Maico 490 with a reed.
I never did get to ride one, just heard bad things....maybe part of it was the expectations were so high...

bigmaico
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bigmaico 4/26/2018 5:24pm
4/26/2018 5:24pm Edited Date/Time 4/26/2018 5:25pm
Bruneval wrote:
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned...
Were they really that bad? Pretty rare bike. I have ridden a couple of 1982-83 CR480 that my friends owned and enjoyed then. I briefly owned a 1984 CR500 that was terrifying. What was so bad about the CR450 in comparison to the air cooled big bores that followed it?
bigmaico wrote:
Yes the 81 450 Honda was that bad!

81 Honda 450 think TM 400.

82 Honda 480 think Maico 490 with a reed.
mattyhamz2 wrote:
Honda actually produced something as bad as a TM400? Blink
I only took a lap on my friends & gave it right back to him!

I ask him what he thought of it, He said that the crank was to light & that it hit too hard!

That coupled with an overly touchy rear brake made very hard to ride! he kept killing the motor & he was a CMC pro class racer!

He was much faster on my 490 Maico that he was riding/racing while I was healing up from a trip over the bars!

Now the 480 is a completely different story, I've never riding one. But I've has a few of the guy's I race with call them a Japanese Maico 490 with a reed!
Bigfoot
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Bigfoot 4/26/2018 6:20pm
4/26/2018 6:20pm
http://pulpmx.com/2015/08/06/gps-classic-steel-106-1981-cr450r-elsinore/

FROM CLASSIC STEEL
http://pulpmx.com/2015/08/06/gps-classic-steel-106-1981-cr450r-elsinore/



"With its razor thin powerband, weak clutch (pilfered from the CR250R), oddly-spaced gearbox, and stall-prone motor, making time on the 450R proved to be a tricky proposition. Nearly every gear was wrong for its power spread and you were forced to either short shift it and fry the clutch (something the plates were not prepared to withstand) or rev it out and wait for it to stop pulling like you had sucked a gopher into the carburetor."


"When designing the new CR450R, Honda chose to eschew the traditional Open class route of a long stroke and major cubic inches. Instead, they settled on boring and stroking their current 250 design. This resulted in a mid-size machine that ran more like an overpowered 250 than a burly Open classer."


"Unlike most Open bikes, the 1981 CR450R required a go-for-broke attacking style on the track. Instead of sticking it in third and flowing around the track, it was necessary to hammer the throttle like a big 125 and row the gearbox to keep the big girl percolating. If you could make it work, it was capable of competitive speed, but you would be doing twice the work of a rider on a Maico or Yamaha."
FeetUp
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FeetUp 4/26/2018 7:24pm
4/26/2018 7:24pm
I had one.... Put a Fox shock out back which helped on small bumps leading into a corner. I sold it and never raced the open class again LOL

Bought a 1982 RM 250 and LOVED IT


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burn1986
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burn1986 4/26/2018 7:33pm
4/26/2018 7:33pm Edited Date/Time 4/26/2018 7:34pm
It sounds impossible to ride. I never understood why they put the kickstarter on the left side.

I wanted an 84 cr500. I did have an RM465 that was a sweet running bike.
Travis707
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Travis707 4/26/2018 9:36pm
4/26/2018 9:36pm Edited Date/Time 4/26/2018 9:38pm
I raced the '81 CR 125, 250 and 450 in the NESC series the first half of the year in the Amateur (now B ) class and the second half in the Expert (A) class. Focused mostly on the 250.

The 450 was a toilet with handlebars, foot pegs and 2 wheels. And the toilet was full to the brim with poo.

The 250 was a toilet with handlebars, foot pegs and 2 wheels. And the toilet was half-full to the brim with poo. Or half-empty depending on how you look at it.

The 125 was a toilet with handlebars, foot pegs and 2 wheels. But it was fun to play ride on. The best of the '81 CR's in my opinion.

At the end of the '81 season I picked up a used '81 RM 250 and was in moto heaven. My results improved quite a bit.

It was a crappy year to be a Red Rider.


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sandman768
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sandman768 4/27/2018 5:29am
4/27/2018 5:29am
I"m impressed when someone selling a bike on Craigslist actually knows the correct year of the bike....
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magoo1982
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magoo1982 4/27/2018 6:05am
4/27/2018 6:05am Edited Date/Time 4/27/2018 6:06am
Had a couple 83 480s loved em , local Honda dealer had new 81 450 he could nt sell . After sat around shop for a couple yrs. put motor in flat track chassis , it sucked for that also, and blew up once or twice then was done ...
Wandell
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Wandell 4/27/2018 6:42am
4/27/2018 6:42am
Yes, the 450 had a terrible reputation and is on just about everyone's list of worst motocross bikes ever. But the following years bikes were great. Honda started making huge improvements in 82. Maybe it was trickle down technology from those awesome works Hondas!

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LoudLove
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LoudLove 4/27/2018 7:14am
4/27/2018 7:14am
Honda does not fail often, but 1981 was a dismal year. I was so excited to own a water-cooled 125, even if the radiator doubled as a chest protector. Alas, to keep the thing moving forward required nearly continuous application of the clutch lever, which was connected to plates made of paper mache. The water pump miraculously never failed, but that did not prevent rather frequent overheating in the Georgia heat & humidity. You could literally feel the power evaporating lap after lap.

Craziest part of this story? I traded it and about $300 for an '82 RM125 with less than 10 hours! Oh, yes, sweet nirvana had arrived.
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gt80rider
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gt80rider 4/27/2018 7:41am
4/27/2018 7:41am
Wandell wrote:
Looks like a great deal on one of the worst bikes ever. I guess that gives it a certain amount of collector interest.
This is the correct answer.

When it came out, I wanted one soooo bad. It was just so red, so bad-ass, and that funky front plate, I liked it! LOL

But ya, one of the, if not the, worst bikes that ever came out of the Honda factory.
sgthubbard#60
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sgthubbard#60 4/27/2018 2:37pm
4/27/2018 2:37pm
I’m sure all of you bashing them have ridden/raced one recently right? Stock shock fades fast but other than that there isn’t anything wrong with them. Magazines crucified them in 81 because after 10 years of waiting Honda delivered a bike that wasn’t perfect. Dragged this original one back to Massachusetts from Diamond Don’s in Texas last year. Ride and race it regularly, bike is awesome. All I did to it was fresh tires, Fox shock and a work’s pipe.
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Flip109
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Flip109 4/27/2018 3:05pm
4/27/2018 3:05pm
Who smoked their breakfast the day they came up with front number plate??Laughing
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omalley
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omalley 4/28/2018 12:12am
4/28/2018 12:12am Edited Date/Time 4/28/2018 12:13am
Flip109 wrote:
Who smoked their breakfast the day they came up with front number plate??Laughing
Haha, exactly...looks perfectly positioned to serve as a ramp to funnel roost right into your face, lol...
541
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541 9/19/2023 5:45pm
9/19/2023 5:45pm
Flip109 wrote:
Who smoked their breakfast the day they came up with front number plate??Laughing

Old thread I know, but I was just searching, for no particular reason, no, none at all, for info on the 1981 CR450R.

Anyhow, I always thought those number were about the best looking things ever. The only thing I liked better was the number scoop in the '81 YZ125. Way back when I was going back and forth between the '82 YZ125 and '82 CR125. My plan was to swap the plates on either to one off the '81 models.

Some people think I'm weird.

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KurtJ99
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KurtJ99 9/19/2023 8:36pm
9/19/2023 8:36pm
Travis707 wrote:
I raced the '81 CR 125, 250 and 450 in the NESC series the first half of the year in the Amateur (now B ) class...
I raced the '81 CR 125, 250 and 450 in the NESC series the first half of the year in the Amateur (now B ) class and the second half in the Expert (A) class. Focused mostly on the 250.

The 450 was a toilet with handlebars, foot pegs and 2 wheels. And the toilet was full to the brim with poo.

The 250 was a toilet with handlebars, foot pegs and 2 wheels. And the toilet was half-full to the brim with poo. Or half-empty depending on how you look at it.

The 125 was a toilet with handlebars, foot pegs and 2 wheels. But it was fun to play ride on. The best of the '81 CR's in my opinion.

At the end of the '81 season I picked up a used '81 RM 250 and was in moto heaven. My results improved quite a bit.

It was a crappy year to be a Red Rider.


I worked at a dealership in 81 and never saw anyone happy with any of the 81 CRs. Maico ruled the open class and Suzuki the 125 and 250s. Suzuki really knocked it out of the park in 81 and it took everyone a few years to catch up. 

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