GP’s Classic Steel #59: 1995 Honda CR250R

For this week’s GP’s Classic Steel we are going to take a look back at the bike that took Jeremy McGrath to his only 250 Outdoor Motocross title, the 1995 Honda CR250R.

For this week’s GP’s Classic Steel we are going to take a look back at the bike that took Jeremy McGrath to his only 250 Outdoor Motocross title, the 1995 Honda CR250R.

If you can’t beat them, join them. After years of losing to Kayaba in the suspension rankings, Honda decided it was better to switch than fight in 1995. Unfortunately, the switch did little to improve the Honda’s dismal suspension performance.

From 1986 through 2001, Honda enjoyed an amazing run of 250cc motor dominance. Through half-a-dozen model changes and a complete motor redesign, the venerable Honda deuce-and-a-half remained the fastest bike on the track. In motocross, if you wanted motor, you bought a CR, plain and simple. If you wanted good suspension, however, well…let’s just say you bought something else.

In the mid-nineties, this was without a doubt, the best motor in motocross. It made the most power, and did so over the broadest range. It was also blessed with the best transmission and most durable clutch. In 1995, 250cc two-strokes did not get any better than this.

In truth, Honda’s suspension struggles could be traced all the way to the earliest days of their involvement in motocross. Starting with the advent of long travel suspension in the mid-seventies, Honda CR’s had been solidly ensconced at the back of the pack in suspension performance. While the Suzuki and Yamaha stole the headlines with their LTR rear suspension systems, the lowly CR bounced and banged around the track year after year.

Interestingly, American Honda seemed to realize they had a bit of a problem on their hands with the terrible stock CR color palate. As a result, the race team completely revamped the looks of the Factory bikes in ’95 and came up with one of the most iconic Honda looks of all time. Even today, this bike looks awesome.

Early on, Honda had stuck resolutely to Showa for its suspension components. The two companies were closely allied by family connections and Honda Motor Corporation owned a significant portion of Showa stock. Even so, after nearly a decade of losing to the Kayaba systems of their completion, Honda decided to try using KYB components on the CR125R in the early 80’s. Unfortunately, no matter who supplied the components, the results were uncannily the same. Somehow between testing and production, Honda would find a way to screw up the suspension that felt fine on the green, white and yellow competition.

On the dyno, the 249cc reed-valve Honda mill put out 45.4 horsepower. That was head of the class in ’95 and nearly four more ponies that the midrange only KX and RM could muster.  Only the smooth Yamaha was close to the CR in performance. It had a similar powerband to the Honda, but lacked its burly horsepower numbers.

The only exceptions to a twenty year run of suspension ineptitude, were the “glory years” of ’86 and ’87.  In 1986 Honda turned the motocross suspension industry on its head with the introduction of Showa’s revolutionary “cartridge” fork on the CR250R and CR500R. This new works-style fork technology offered a quantum leap in performance and wiped the floor with the competition in ’86 and ’87. By 1988, however, the tide had begun to turn for the competition. Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha all had cartridge systems of their own ready to go, nipping away at Honda’s competitive advantage. Then, to make matters worse, Honda made some poor setup decisions on their all-new ‘88 CR that sealed its fate. Their suspension went from head-of-the-class, to back-of-the-pack overnight, thus ending the CR’s glorious two year run at the top of the suspension heap.

In 1995, Jeremy McGrath had a magic season on the CR250R.  He dominated his way to his third consecutive Supercross title and surprised many people by capturing his first 250 Outdoor Motocross title to match.

Amazingly, this unprecedented run of mediocre suspension performance did very little to hurt the sales of the venerable Honda 250. In spite of suspension that would pound riders to a pulp in only a few laps, Honda’s CR250R continued to be the most popular bike in the class. For many riders, its combination of a rocket-fast engine, sharp handling and unassailable durability seemed to more than make up for its suspension inadequacies. The CR250R may have been a flawed machine, but it was a very fast flawed machine.

In addition to having the best motor, most testers agreed that the CR featured the best ergonomics of the ’95 MX’ers. The layout was slim and comfortable without being cramped and the seat lasted the longest before sacking out.

For 1995, Honda once again tried to play the suspension roulette game with their CR250R. After several years of scathing suspension reviews for its Showa components, Big Red made the switch to Kayaba for 1995. This was, by far, the biggest news (if you did not count the ridiculous new purple color scheme) on a largely carried over motorcycle. The CR250 had seen a complete redesign in ’92, with refinements coming the following three years. With the Jeremy McGrath at the controls it was nearly unbeatable, but how was it for the common man? Read on.

Time to go back to the drawing board.  By 1995, Honda’s ineptitude at producing a decent set of forks was taking on legendary status.  Even a switch to competitor Kayaba from longtime partner Showa was not enough to turn the tide for Honda. The new KYB’s were just as harsh and poorly set up as the Showa’s had been the year before.

So how did the switch to Kayaba work out for the Red Riders in ’95? Well, to quote MXA at the time “the transplant was rejected”. Amazingly, the suspension that had dominated MX for three years on the KX, suddenly forgot how to absorb bumps when bolted to the Honda. Once again, poor set up doomed the Honda suspension to gruesome reviews at the hands of all the magazines in ’95. By this point, it was pretty obvious that the problem was not with the components (Showa’s worked great on Suzuki’s and Kayaba’s were nearly flawless on the KX), but with the men setting them up. No change of hardware was going to fix that, regardless of the name on the side of the tubes.

What is red and purple and harsh all over?

In terms of outright performance, the new Kayaba’s felt just like the previous year’s Showa’s- harsh and unforgiving. As delivered, they were undersprung and overdamped, with a jarring spike in the mid-stroke. With the overly soft spring, they tended to hang down in the stroke and hit a valving “wall” instead of absorbing small impacts. Even worse, the overly aggressive rebound damping prevented the forks from “re-cocking” on successive hits (a condition referred to as packing) and compounded the harsh action. If you lowered the oil level and added stiffer springs, the forks could be made raceble, but they were never going to be as plush as the competition.

McGrath was not the only Red Rider to have success on the CR250 in 1995. Fan favorite Doug Henry would win his first 250 Supercross at Dallas that year, and may well have taken the 250 Outdoor title as well, if not for his spectacular season ending crash at the Budds Creek round in June.

In the rear, the story was the same. The new Kayaba shock was as harsh and prone to packing as the forks. It tended to hammer your spine on impacts the other bikes took in stride. Somehow, the combination of the Honda’s frame, linkage and quirky setup conspired to once again provide a punishing ride in ’95. If you had a tender backside, the CR was not your type of ride.

As it had with the forks, Honda switched to Kayaba for the rear shock on the ’95 CR. And just as it had with the forks, the result was not appreciable improvement in performance. The KYB rear was poorly set up, harsh and prone to packing.  Kidney belt recommended.

While the new suspension was big news for 1995, the CR’s most significant advantage was the one thing it did not change; its remarkable motor. In ’92, Honda had retired its groundbreaking HPP power plant in favor of an all-new mill that promised even better performance. While it was initially a step back from the ’86-’91 powerhouses, by ’93 further refinements had the CR250R motor back at the head of the motor rankings. For ’95, Honda made only minor changes to its award winning 249cc mill. It was still the same romping, stomping monster motor that had dominated motocross the previous two years. It was broad, smooth, easy-to-ride and blazing fast (no easy feat in a racing two-stroke). Its powerband was so wide that it could do in one gear what would require three shifts on the green and yellow competition. It was torquey down low, burly in the midrange and Top Fuel fast on top. In ’95, this was the ultimate “do-it-all” motocross power plant. 

There are not very many pictures of the King on the fugly stock CR, and for good reason. Every time I see this god awful Honda ad it gives me a headache. Time for an Advil…

Prior to 1994, the handling on Honda’s CR250 was defined by two significant traits -razor sharp turning and terrifying headshake. These two characteristics often go hand in hand, as the geometry needed for precise turning often leads to impression at speed.  Bikes like the late eighties and early nineties CR’s were poster children for this malady. For ’94, Honda decided to pull back the fork half a degree to try and gain a little stability. Unfortunately, the change only succeeded in neutering the CR’s previously impeccable turning manners. Both the ’94 and ’95 CR’s lacked the incredible steering precision of the ’93 model (this was the reason McGrath insisted on continuing to use the ’93 chassis on his works Honda’s), but gained no appreciable increase in stability. They went from razor-sharp handlers that shook at speed, to middle-of-the-road handlers that shook at speed. Not a particularly good trade off by most standards.

By 2013 standards, the CR’s Nissin binders are nothing special, but in 1995, these powerful and trouble free brakes were the best stoppers in motocross.

While the suspension and handling may have left something to be desired in ’95, there was still much to praise on the CR250R. It offered the best shifting and clutch of any motor in that year. It also featured the best brakes and to most riders, the most appealing ergonomics. Durability was also no issue, as the CR tended to outlast the other bikes by a substantial margin. Looks are a very subjective category, but it is hard not to comment on the ’95 CR’s bold color choices. Purple was all the rage in the mid-nineties and Honda certainly took that to heart with the graphics on the CR250R. The purple shrouds and seat, combined with the garish graphics. made the ’95 CR probably the most ridiculous looking racing Honda ever. Again, taste is an individual thing, but wow, they went out there with this one.

In the nineties, the Honda CR250R was defined by one trait -horsepower. For many riders, its fantastic motor was more than enough to overlook its other shortcomings.

In 1995, $5099 bought you a lot of motorcycle. The CR250R was the fastest bike (by a wide margin) with the best racing pedigree and an unmatched reputation for quality. Unfortunately, it was also the worst suspended (by a wide margin). Its handling was no longer the crowning jewel of the class, but it was workable and certainly raceable. Even a complete transplant was not enough to alleviate its one Achilles heel. It was a curse that would haunt Honda throughout the nineties and define their race bikes into the new millennium.