Honda Xr80

HONDA XR80

CYCLE WORLD TEST

It's Not a Motocrosser but It's Long on Fun and Low on Maintenance.

In its present form Honda’s mid-kid playbike is the XR80, so designated because the displacement is nearly 80cc. The model bike began five years ago. as the XR75, and because it’s been on the mar-

ket for so long, and because the CW crew and kids have considerable experience with the basic machine, this is as much a longterm report as it is a test.

Unlike the other 80s in this issue, the XR80 is not a racer. Honda doesn't advertise it as competition material, and when we borrowed the bike we made it clear that in no way would we compare the XR with the two-stroke 80s from the other companies. They and we agree, never mind the letters from XR owners, that the XR would finish fourth out of four.

This doesn't mean the XR isn't a good bike.

It is. It’s probably the best beginner kid bike ever built, and it will double as an adult pit bike or camp bike if required, although it wasn’t designed for that.

The engine is an 80cc four-stroke, overhead camshaft, two valves, with a rather small (20mm) Keihin carburetor and five speeds. It's a wet sump engine, with engine and transmission sharing an oil supply. Ignition is with breaker points and the valve clearances are set with a feeler gauge and wrenches. The air cleaner needs to be persuaded out of the box, which has bolts for its cover, but the entire machine has been built—we assume on purpose—to be strong and simple and well within the abilities of the kid who promised pop he’d take good care of the thing. Whether he does or not depends on his formative years, sure, but what Honda has done is make sure he can do it if he wants to.

Along with the larger engine for 1979, the XR was restyled some, to give the bike the look of the larger XRs. And it does look nice. The 1 gal. tank is trim and narrow'. One gallon does not sound like much, but it will take the bike 40 or 50 mi., even at full speed. Adequate, as the kid probably won't be going that far from home or truck without an adult along, and when he does, it’s simple to transfer fuel from the bigger bike to the little one.

Why isn't this a racing bike? Honda isn’t persuaded, or at least hasn’t been at the close of the ’79 model year, that the demand is there. Honda has always viewed off-road riding as more family fun than competition anyway.

So they build the XR strong, which comes out heavy. They keep the seat at a reasonable height, and provide less wheel travel than the motocrossers have. The engine, rated at 8.8 bhp isjust barely better than half as powerful as the race-ready two-strokes. The XR is strong enough to hit 50 mph on a dirt road, that is, plenty for a kid. and it’s geared so it will pull any hill within expectations. In the lower gears it will power across deep sand, and plug through mud. in short, it will do anything one can fairly ask.

Handling is fine. Although a good kid on the KX can beat a better kid on the XR, what came across most strongly during the group riding sessions was that the XR is a really good dirt bike. It w ill jump and slide and bank off berms—all the stuff'kids want. There are no weaknesses, merely more weight and less power than you need to win races.

As for the longterm experience, one of the CW fathers bought an XR75 for his older son. When that boy outgrew the XR, it was passed on to the younger son, for a total of three years’ service. Then the bike was sold to the father’s brother for his son to learn on. Last time we heard, the XR was still going strong.

Another man here bought an XR for his son. who learned to ride on it and has been riding every week or so for two vears. He's ridden from Barstow to Vegas, in fact. Dad added up all the work done in two years:

One flat tire, two pairs of grips, one worn-out tire, one spark plug, one throttle cable. The front brake cable needs to be replaced at this writing, there’s a dent in the tank and a rip in the plastic rear fender. The gear lever has been unbent countless times, the forks need to be wrestled straight when the kid drops it.

And that's all.

The XR is the bike for which the term bulletproof should have been invented.

As the Honda sales pamphlet says, “Don’t you wish you could have had a motorcycle like this w hen you were starting out?”

We sure do.

HONDA

XR80

SPECIFICATIONS

$598

DIMENSIONS