Retro Rebuild Ready to Rip: ‘87 Honda CR125 

Dude even looks like he's straight out of the 80s

Coolest bikes ever! 87' Honda CR125, CR250, and the king...the 1987 Honda CR500!😄👍

I had an ‘87 CR125 back then and loved it! I rode it everywhere from tracks, trails, dunes to Baja! This video brought back good memories, thank you.

One of the all time greatest 125’s ever made….. I remember the first time I rode one….my dad was a Kawasaki dealer from 85’ on into the 90’s so I was on KX’s almost exclusively at the time. In 87 I quit racing MX and did trials and some roadracing….late in the year a friend talked me into doing a couple races on his 87 CR125. I was shocked at how good the bike was compared to the KX’s I had been racing. It felt smaller, lighter and much faster….such a good bike!!! The 85 KX125, 87 CR125, 83 YZ125, 81 RM125, 79 RM125 and the 79YZ80….were my all time favorite motocross bikes. The 86 KX500 also holds a special place in my heart….., but that 1987 CR125 was sooooo good.

Old but gold.

Nice video. Very clean and well put together bike. I have ridden and raced 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 Honda CR125's in the past. Everyone likes the 1987 the best. I always thought that the detuned 1988 was the best. I loved my 1988 Honda CR125. I am currently doing a Frame Up rebuild on a 1987 Honda CR250. I have owned 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 Honda CR250's. I love the old Honda 2-Strokes along with the 1989 thru 1992 Suzuki RM's of which I have also ridden and raced many (and just finished a Frame Up 1992 Suzuki RM250). I cannot wait to finish this 1987 Honda CR250 and get it back out on the track.

My first honda was an 87 CR80 i was 10 yrs old. I never looked back i have had honda in my blood ever since. Loved the vid thank you!

I had a Barrs Competition 1987 Cr 80 that flat out screamed. I won a national championship on it in 1989.

I'm older so i really like these old school builds, i raced for many years and i started on a 73 Cr 125! Brings back so many great memories!!! Thanks!!!😁😁😁👍👍👍

In my teenage years I had an 88 cr125. Great bike to have. The cylinder was bored out 1mm and the rod that opened the atac system was shortened by 1mm. That bike really moved after those mods. Guys I knew that raced 250s said my 125 was faster than their 250s. Wish I still had that bike

I owned an 87 back in 87-89. I had a lot of fun with it and I remember how snappy the power band was. Thanks for the video, it brought me back to that time in my life.

aah that 125sound gives me chills

The 1987 Honda line-up is one of the best in terms of looks and performance.

I think these bike builds are awesome and It's even better that they're riding it!

Just awesome! And that is a dude who knows his stuff! 87 was a good year! And that thing looks awesome!

That's a great build - I'm wrapping up the same bike myself right now so it's cool to hear how he approached the build. Really enjoyed the insights from the riders as well. Vintage is a blast, hands down. If Honda would make an exact copy of these all over for the same $2999 MSRP, they would sell every single one!

Observations are all spot on. Love my 87 CR125R for vintage racing, it's a blast!

Beautiful bike then and now!

I used to ride mainly 250s back then and a mate of mine had one if these and I went for a spin on it, oh my god it was so much fun, really light and whipable, short powerband, loved it laughed and smiled for ages afterwards

I had an 1985 cr125, that bike was a blast!! Know I have a 93 rm250. The older bikes just have a lot of character that the new ones don't. Great video!!!

Thanks fellas,awesome build on the 87. Very nice.One of my favorite bikes looking back. Lots of holeshots and moto wins in the intermediate(senior)class as it was back then. Just added a fmf pipe and answer roost boost lol.hang on. Solid machine and just never a problem also really enjoyed some time on a friends 87 cr250. Follow the Leader.....

Perfect 👌 Morgan made that old thing sound pretty healthy.

I absolutely love this channel mate 👍 Love your work and how you talk us through the restoration. Also not putting music over the heavenly sound of a two stroke is great too 👍👍

I had the 125 and 250 my last year to race 87 great bikes the best of that era this vid made me tear up

I’m impressed this dude knows his shit. Nice build 🤘🏻

Hell yes. More retro builds.

I had a really nice 1987 in '93 and really enjoyed it. Nice build and great laps by the guys.

Look at that banana seat, true classic. These old things can still rip. With a rebuild and fresh forks it'll chase any 125 on track

That’s what all the classic rebuilt should be!

absolutely amazing job

Beautiful Honda, Sounds Crisp

I’m building one up now. 100% all factory oem. Bike has been apart since 88. Water pump is mint.

Nice great job, love it 👍👍

Great looking bike!

I had cr125s from 86-93, the 87 was the best compared to others years competitors, that reed valve case fed, they really nailed it. 88 was same but honda mucked with the head ( domed it) so a milled 87 head would bring it back to life, along with a 36mm carb. Considered the big bang of it's time! Nice rebuild, I'm 14 again 😊

I had this bike as a young man paid for with my paper route money. Bought from the Canadian National Champion. It was a full Pro circuit bike. What the riders said was spot on. You had to work this bike to go fast on it. It was a mid range to top end motor. You had to keep this bike on the pipe and the clutch finger on the lever to keep in the bubble. The bike was way over my riding capabilities as beginner rider. To this day reminisce having this bike and it’s the most beautiful and best 125 Honda made it this era. The 88 and onwards were just not the same. This bike was the 1 year were Honda had it all perfect. Mickey Dymond won the National championship on it. Compared to what the other brands were offering in 87, it was a slam dunk that he would win.

Cant beat the fit and finish on a Honda CR 💪

That’s a great looking bike.

Always thought the 87" CR125r looked like a Factory Racer. Best looking Blue seat Honda Ever!!

It sounds great!

Did a great job in my opinion✌

This is a great bike. I had an 87 250. This is the first CR 125 to have a case reed induction engine.

1st and always fire, sick build! I’m building a 84 cr250

Nice build!

Awesome miss my CR

I have a 1988 CR125R that's a unrestored survivor. I still get it out every once and a while. If your ever up in Washington state I'll let you guys ride it.

Quick as hell 😊

I loved this! 🇨🇦👍😎👍

This was a love hate bike for me. Mostly hate. I started doing a few big races and this POS kept seizing on me. No one, not even American Honda could figure out the problem. I went through several cylinders. I was at a big So Cal race in Adelanto and my POS CR and a few top pros seized their 87 CR 125's that day. I think one of the pros was Bobby Moore. I contacted Honda and was about to get into a lawsuit with them on this issue and they were ready to blow me out of the sky because they had the funds to do so. Honda was so against trying to help me fix the engine problem Eventually I think the problem was an air leak causing the seizing. I ended up going the YZ route because I finally had decent sponsors and the 87 CR was not reliable.. When the bike worked, it was a fast tight track beast that I loved. Going fast, it was a head shaking, square edge bump nightmare. This guy did an amazing job on this bike. I really wanted to like mine back in 87...

I'm in awe of this bike ! I'm in the middle of restoring a 83 CR125.. hard to get parts for it though

❤ #Wow w..!!!! Very very nice motorcycle. ✌❤😀

I like the pocket the 1993 through 1995 Suzukis corner awsum and had the best pocket.

Renthal does make gold bars..

That is sweet! I'd love to find an 87' CR250. Or even an 88', and put on the blue seat cover and fork boots.

Who else remembers RJ testing that year 500cr in motocross magazine jumping off the cliff?...He was "Too Hip"...The original Bad Boy.

Did vital put a wig on ping in the first part of the interview? Hahahaha

older bikes just feel more better then the newer ones

Traded my lt230 and some cash and spare tires for a mint 87 cr125 that doesn't like to idle and needs the exhaust packed but I'm really excited 😁😁

Awesome build I love the classic Two Strokes I ride a 98 KX250 hey do you guys know anywhere I could find a complete rebuild kit for the engine on a 85 RM250 my buddy just bought one so hard to find parts or a manual if you read this and know where we could get a engine kit and a service manual I would greatly appreciate it keep posting the great content thanks

Nice! Like Micky Diamond’s. Yeah, the ‘87s CRs are some of the best looking. However, the ‘84 CR (and XR) line-up are the most “Works” looking.

Mullet Moto? Subscribed!

My favorite MX bike from 1980's decade! They should've built up the pocket in the seat with higher/more foam. Only weak part one this bike IMO was the rear shock.

Cool my dad has a 01 cr 250

I have an 87 cr125 100% original that is getting gasket lol the 125 hits soooo hard.. I personally think my 87 125 hits power band way hard then my 2001 125r. And in my opinion most any older 2 stroke I've ever had drips a little oil from the silencer if your mixing you fuel right. I bumped up plug temps and mix 32/1. My 1983 yz80 supermoto restoration is my baby though

Had an 88 .08 over in 99, it was great, I was a 180#s of suck, and that old ass bike would beat newer bikes up the hills at budds creek.

Got an 84 CR125 in the garage..its in running condition but the water pump needs to be rebuilt.. looking for rebuilding kit... it runs very good until radiator fluid rjns low

If you could have ridden one of these when it was fresh off the showroom floor, you would know how great the bikes of that era were, not to mention super fun. We had an 86 cr125 and it was fast and it had good grunt for a 125 when it was new and it was very reliable. The 86 Cr500 was an absolute blast and I'm not sure you get that kind of excitement from these newer 4 strokes. These rebuilds are great, but they don't quite compare to riding one when it was brand new. I would take a brand new 86-87 Cr500 over any new motocross bike today. Not they are necessarily better, but they were great and the fun factor was off the charts

I have the same bike

Digging this build great job..that gold on the wheels stood out to me right away. Thought you had oem wheels somehow. Thanks for sharing your tips. Iv got a couple 89s an love these ATAC motors. Fun bikes to rip around on

I just failed No Nut November thanks guys

All I need to know is. How did you get wheels / spokes . I need wheels for my 87 cr125. Thank you

What pro circuit it that?? My stock 87 has a different one I think.

Mean I had one of these when I was 14 she was a rocket but feel to bits and sold in boxs

I have the same bike but the motor is pretty bad rusted shut and it’s been sitting for 10 years so all the tubing is hard as a rock so I have a question should I rebuild the motor or buy a new one? I don’t really know much about bikes because I haven’t really broken any so I never had a really fix them and this is just a project that I wanted to do any tips could help.

It needs a Camel decal on the shrouds.

I bought a '89 for 5O euros and a bottle of wine. Gonna start working on it soon and boy is it fucked rn

I thought it was stank dog at first lol

👊

Imagine bending those custom bars.... 😬

This bike still is fast as FK

Had a 87 CR-500 race bike that I used in the open expert class, ended up putting a OHLINS rear shock on it which made a night and day difference in the rear suspension ! Ended up selling it after I had quit racing to buy a house which I'm still pissed at myself for selling it because it's now worth twice what i paid for it BRAND SPANKING NEW 😢

To confirm, I can install up to 2003 master cylinder and calipers on my 1987 CR125 ... I just need to use my 1987 brake hangers. Please confirm

Don’t let @Kaplan America see it? He’ll offer you 2,500 and flip it for 9 grand after his shop re jets it and puts some Honda stickers in whacky places.

Steve Lamson made the scream........

What colour code are the wheels ?

I had a 85 86 87 cr125 back in the day, all good bikes but the 87 was the least reliable. In 88 i went Kawasaki and 89 Yamaha. The 89 cr125 was a stonking bike but so was the Yam

Pfffft sometimes it's just the best EVO era bike ever if you know how to ride it and handle it.

Where’s PING?! I haven’t seen any bike reviews or anything from him. And with all the 2021 releases he usually would have at least 1 review out by now. I wonder what happened.

A l o t of money to pay for a 32 yo machine, regardless of the quality of the bike, and now parts and maintenance may make caring for it a labor of love for sure..

nice bike f old dirt bike have style new lost style

2 Strokes are better than 4 Strokes

Im keeping this guy away from my GF, sister and Mom

cagiva wmx 1987 had 6 horsepower more than honda in standard conditioni..impossible for pro-circuit close the gap 😎

Find a 1987 track

Ping dies not have an enthusiastic bone in his body. He comments on cool projects, but doesn’t show excitement about anything

Put someone with skills on these bikes ping just isn't as good as he once was

They were talking about the seat and how it's high in back and not flat etc, and not like the modern bikes w.basically flat seats. But if you look at the 85 works Hondas the seats are flat like the bikes of today. Honda knew that was the way to go but kept it off the production bikes for a while

The 86 and 87 cr125 were so much better than the other brands it wasn't even close. In fact the 86 cr125 was sti better then the 87 125s rm kx n yz.