Update – June 23, 2013. The seller has lowered the price to just $500!
The Honda CR480R was the replacement for the 450 Elsinore (the swan song of that name). Built for only two years, the ’82 model was, to put it politely, below average, but the 1983 model saw several upgrades that turned it into a one-hit wonder. The immensely popular CR500R, successor to this bike, is instead what everyone remembers of Honda’s open class bikes of the 80s. Still, the Honda CR480R produced 51 horsepower, and was considered competitive in open class until the early 90s.
Changes that made the ’83 model much better included an extra gear on the transmission – to make 5, a removable subframe, 43mm Showa front forks and a 15-way adjustable Showa shock in the rear. The bizarre left side kick starter remained, however. An open-class motocross bike back in the day, people now either use these in vintage racing or as trail bikes due the relatively low weight and incredible midrange power.
This specific Honda CR480R is pretty much stock, with two major exceptions. Firstly, you’ll get an oversized Clarke desert tank (usually these are around 4.1 gallons, though the seller doesn’t specify). Secondly, you get disk brakes in the front and the back, with units pilfered from the Kawasaki KX250 in the front and the KTM LC4 in the rear. This addresses probably the worst aspect of the original bike – lots of speed, and no effective way to scrub it off!
Find this Honda CR480R here on ADVRider for $1,000 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.