Honda Cr80

HONDA CR80

Racing Suspension For the CR80

Honda's new CR80 is a dynamite bike except for the shocks. And the shocks are bad enough to hamper a true evaluation of the bike, so we started calling around for replacement shocks. DG Performance has a complete list of mini bike accessories including shocks, fork and engine kits and sent a pair of KYB remote reservoir shocks and a Terry fork damper kit.

We installed the shocks first. They come with an instruction manual and all of the necessary mounting hardware. They are 0.75 in. longer than the Stockers and have 0.625 in. more stroke. Installation takes about half an hour and requires slight

trimming of the rear fender for reservoir clearance. The extra length raises the back of the bike slightly and the extra stroke increases travel about one inch to 7.3 in. The raised rear doesn’t make the CR look like a bug. Quite the opposite, it looks more right than before. The KYBs were stiff until used for a couple of days, a problem we have experienced with past KYB shocks. The stiffness is caused by tight shaft seals that take time to break-in. Once broken in, the CR’s horsepower could be used to full advantage. The bike corners better than before due to steepened rake from the longer shock length, and big jumps are taken in stride. The bike

lands from jumps without shuddering and the rider maintains control easily. Shock waves no longer travel through the frame and rider. The KYBs don’t lock or jolt the rider. We were so pleased with the bike didn’t install the fork kit! A pro racer will probably want to use the fork kit since everyone else has them and it’ll be necessary to be competitive, but most novices and intermediates won’t need it. The shocks cost $129.50, the fork kit is $39.50. Both are available from D.G. Performance, 1170 Van Horne, Anaheim, Calif. 92806 (714) 630-5471.