TWO-STROKE TUESDAY | DONNIE HANSEN’S 1982 RC250

 

_DSC4202_Donnie Hansens CR250The 1982 RC250.

There was a time when works bikes were truly one-off works of art. Before the AMA clamped down on factory bikes, race teams could do about anything and everything. Factory bikes are still by no means stock, but they are hardly as trick as the machines of eons past. Honda is known for winning. Donnie Hansen is among the elite to have won a championship for the Japanese manufacturer. The California native started racing professionally near the end of the 1970’s. While his career was short-lived due to injury, he won both the Supercross and National Championships in 1982. The Honda museum in Torrance, California  has his machine out on display.  Let’s take a closer look at the works bike.

_DSC4199_Donnie Hansens CR250Vented number plates were once a thing.

_DSC4200_Donnie Hansens CR250Look at that giant handmade cone pipe. 

_DSC4206_Donnie Hansens CR250The rear sprocket assembly with a drum brake. Notice the welds and holes on the swingarm.

_DSC4208_Donnie Hansens CR250Honda had short silencers in the past, and to this day their four-stroke dual mufflers are stumpy.

_DSC4209_Donnie Hansens CR250That contraption is a Showa rear shock. Directly behind it is the aluminum airbox. 

_DSC4211_Donnie Hansens CR250Check out the formed mold for the kickstarter (on the left!).

_DSC4213_Donnie Hansens CR250Aluminum fuel tank. 

_DSC4217_Donnie Hansens CR250The grips haven’t changed all that much, but that clutch lever is quite unique. Back in the day the lever stuck out more because the cable would creep as the race progressed.

_DSC4221_Donnie Hansens CR250A simple front brake.

_DSC4225_Donnie Hansens CR250Keihin carb.

Donnie Hanson racing an SX mud race in 1982 on a factory Honda.
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