Honda's Frames

[mulisha_mike]

I feel like a dumb ass asking this question, but what are the main differences between the three generations of Honda's aluminum frame. I've read many articles on it but i want to know all of your guys opinion on it.

[Mungoman45]

Well if there's a Honda Question, there'd be one person I'd look to for informative answeres, and that lone gunman, would be Mungoman58, he's a Honda freak and knows most of the indepth details about anything Honda related. I'll point him in this direction next time he's online, which will probably be in few hours :)

[mulisha_mike]

yea i tried to ask mini me but all he did is agravate me

[Mungoman58]

Basically Honda has just kept refining them. The 1st generation frame was too ridgid for its own good so for the 2nd and 3rd generation frame they ditiched the twin front down tubes(where the radiator mounts) and replaced it with a single down tube that splits into two(like a conventional steel frame) to make it less ridgid. They have also changed the size of the 2 main spars and the wall thickness of the frame too. I also think they introduced a new forging or casting(one or the other) process of joining the head tube to the frame or something like that but I dunno which generation this was introduced. Also the new CRF250 has a 4th generation frame which is further refined. Overall Honda has basically kept refining the frame and used newly found technologies and processes in manufacturing the frame with each generation in search of perfection

[shirefmx]

i think the main thing is to steer clear of the 97 and possibly 98 model frames .... the 97 frame is the reason jeremy mcgrath stopped riding for honda

[mulisha_mike]

thanks Mungoman58, thats about what i have heard, but i want to know how these things really effect you when your riding.
I have a 99 CR250R and that has the generation frame which is supposed to be way rigid, but i like the way my bike handles and the only time i have noticed any annoying shaking of the frame up through the head tube is the few times i have been able to top the bike out but i would think that you would get that on any dirt bike going almost 90 miles per hour

[Mungoman58]

Yeah there are still a good bike, I had a 99 CR125 few years ago and I loved it. Having a rigid fram is good because it reacts to rider input quicker but because it is so rigid it transmits bumps and stuff like that more and can wear you out quicker. Good way to cure this is to just work on you suspension setup (mine was an ex race bike and had race tech gold valves altho I dunno if they made much of a difference because I never rode it without them) or to buy some tag t2's, renthal fat bars or pro taper bars(any bar without a cross bar) because they can help dial out some of the harshness and make your bike more forgiving because they help soak up some of the shock transmitted up through the handlebars. I didn't have any problems with the way mine felt but obviously some people do, its just rider preference really in the end.

[mulisha_mike]

ive rode a newer CR125 but i like the way my frame feels. and about wearino out faster i have been able to ride this bike longer then i could ride on my previous bike, a 2000 YZ125. hey Mungoman58 what do you ride?

[Mungoman58]

I don't ride anymore. My last cycle motor was a brand new 2001 yz250f (I know I know but Honda didn't make a 250 4 stroke at the time otherwise I would have gotten one of them without a doubt). I only had it for like 6 months before I decided to have a big crash and fly like superman only to land on my head instead of my feet. Saying that I'm lucky to still be walking is an understatement (crushed vertabrae will do that to ya) so I gave it up there and then. I nearlly got another cycle motor late last year but I just wouldn't get a chance to ride it often enough to warrant buying one, oh well. Anywho heres a picture of the big girl before I sold it

[mulisha_mike]

damn thats a shame that you dont ride any mor, thats what i do to get away from everything else. ANd who cares if itsa yamy, yamies are damn good bikes to.

[dtrule]

im gettin a 1998 cr250 tomorro its a rocket

[one_industries]

yeah that is a same, thats a pretty nice 250f there, so are you ever gonna ride again?

[freewheel burn]

the honda mx frames rule they look sic as nice and shiney