You meet the nicest people on a Honda…
The XR75 was the most popular mini bike of its day. Honda sold thousands of them. Many can be seen in the pictures on this site.
Although the Yamaha YZ80B and the Suzuki RM80 of the middle-late 70s were arguably faster, the XR was beautifully built and dead reliable.
The little 72cc engine had great torque and made the bike very forgiving to ride – perfect for someone stepping up from smaller bikes such as the Kawasaki MT75, the Honda Mini Trail and the Deckson series .
The XR went through three iterations of the basic design from 73-76. The only differences between models was the colour and fuel tank designs.
In 77, the XR was redesigned, with a 5 speed gearbox, laid forward rear shocks and a capacity increase to 75cc. This model was used by the IMBTC display team.
However, the redesign was not enough to see off the increasingly dominant 2 strokes….even Honda admitted defeat in 1980 and produced the CR80…
Club member Gary Beaumont has a nicely restored K1 (74) model – below. Don’t forget that ride you promised me, Gary…
Some interesting XR links:
http://pulpmx.com/2016/06/13/gps-classic-steel-116-honda-xr75/