>works Hondas For Motocross

Honda Works Motocrossers: Where The Races Are; Sun Tops Florida Winter-AMA Series

RACE WATCH

WORKS HONDAS FOR MOTOCROSS

Honda works bikes for World Championship and AMA National motocross racing are different for 1982. The 124cc reed-valve, water-cooled RC125M has a claimed power output of over 32 bhp at 11,000 rpm and a claimed dry weight of 194 lb. The wheelbase is 57.9 in. with a Pro-Link single-rear-shock frame. The Pro-Link shock has a huge remote reservoir and the exhaust pipe is unusual in that it is extremely fat in the mid-section and short in overall length, which should move the powerband up the rpm range. The gas tank holds 2.0 gal.

The RC250M has a 248cc reed-valve, water-cooled engine with a claimed power output of over 41 bhp at 7500 rpm. Wheelbase is 58.3 in. with Pro-Link rear suspension. The expansion chamber is short and fat and left unpainted for easy detection of vibration-induced cracks. The radiator is placed low, taking up room that otherwise might be used by the 2.1-gal. gas tank, so the gas tank is short and deep, extending down all the way to the top of the cylinder head.

The exhaust system on the air-cooled, 498cc RC500M is more conventional than those on the smaller bikes. The gas tank is

small on this bike, too, holding 2.6 gal., but isn’t displaced by a radiator. The RC500M has a large rear shock reservoir and some sort of shield over the front brake backing plate. The 500 has a 58.7in. wheelbase and a claimed power output

of more than 58 bhp at 6500 rpm.

All three works models feature handmade aluminum swing arms as well as aluminum silencers, brackets and brake stay^ arms. The wheel hubs look like production 1982 parts. >