For this edition of Classic Ink, we are going to take a look back at some ads for Honda’s branded gear lines.
When riding your all-new ’73 CR250M Elsinore it is important to have the proper cowhide Hondaline leathers in the gear bag.
To me, the oddest thing about this Hondaline riding jersey from ‘73 is the fact that they chose to put a traditional collar on it like it is a polo shirt. I guess you could unbutton it if you wanted a bit more airflow. Either way I am sure it was cooler than those hotbox Gel Prints I wore in the nineties.
I did not care very much for Honda’s ’73 gear but this 1975 version is pretty sweet. That iconic red, white, and blue colorway that Marty Smith made famous still looks great today.
I have never ridden in genuine cowhide leather pants, but I have to think those suckers must have been heavy and hot as hell. The advent of nylon riding pants in the late seventies had to be a welcome innovation to riders in the hot summer months.
Considering Honda is a Japanese company, I have always thought it was interesting that they went with the red, white, and blue motif for their team and gear. Perhaps this was an American Honda decision, or maybe they were just caught up in US bicentennial fever. Regardless of the reason, it did make their riders and gear stand out on the track.
Nothing says 1980 like wood paneling on your custom bike-hauling van and Velcro on your riding boots.
The Man retired in 1981, but he still had that iconic style on the mighty RC500. This Hondaline gear from 1984 looks to have been built by Sinisalo for Honda. Over the years, Big Red has had many different gear partners for their in-house brand.
Honda’s ATCs were synonymous with off-road riding in the 1980s and this Hondaline gear from 1985 made a nice combo with your all-new liquid-cooled ATC250R.
The “H” logo with the number one imbedded in the center was such a clever and iconic Honda design element from the 1980s. Those boot gators, however, you can keep in the eighties with the mullets and Hammer pants.
In 1989, Honda made a serious push to have all its factory riders in Hondaline gear. This was no issue for Jeff Stanton, Mike Kiedrowski, and George Holland, but Honda’s biggest star Ricky Johnson was less enthusiastic with this idea. RJ would end up leaving his Fox Racing contract and sign with JT Racing rather than spend the ’89 season in TX-10.
In 1989, Answer Racing built Honda’s all-new TX10 apparel. While certainly less bold than the designs from AXO Sport, JT, and Fox at the time, this TX-10 gear was not bad looking gear in my opinion.
In 1990, both Answer and AXO made different versions of the TX-10 gear for Hondaline. Personally, I did not really care for either of these designs.
I loved my 1990 CRs and if I had to run TX-10, I would definitely have gone with this cool Sinisalo version. I think it is by far the best looking of the three versions but interestingly, I have never seen any of the factory riders actually wearing it on the track.
In 1992, Honda moved exclusively to AXO Sport for their HRC branded gear, and this is the first official team gear that I really loved and wanted. I was more of a Bradshaw guy at the time, so I went with the Beast’s AXO orange in ‘92, but I did have a cool Stanton HRC replica shirt that mimicked this jersey that I wore until it was literally in tatters. What a great time to be alive.
In 1995, Honda moved to Fox Racing as their official gear partner and this pairing resulted in by far my favorite era for Honda branded gear. I absolutely loved all three of these colorways and bought a complete set of the Glo Red to go with my CR.
I have long gone back and forth as to whether I prefer this 1996 version or the 1995 design of Fox’s Honda gear. Both are super cool with the added cache of the King, but I do think the more interesting colorways of 1995 give it a slight edge for me.
With Jeremy’s departure, it was left to Ezra Lusk to carry the torch for Honda’s Fox racing team gear in the late nineties.
While none of the Team Honda gear from the late 1990s and early 2000s was bad looking, I do think it lacked the style and unique flavor of the iconic mid-nineties’ designs.
Pic #19 After several years of sticking with a rather basic red/black and red/white motif, Fox and Honda brought a bit of color back to the Team Honda gear in 2000. For me, adding in a bit of yellow into the mix makes this my favorite of the Honda gear form this era.
