1980 HONDA CR80R ELSINORE – THE LITTLE RED ROCKET! – FRAME-OFF RESTORATION – REBUILT ENGINE – EXTREMELY RARE VINTAGE HONDA MOTOCROSS CLASSIC!

AN INCREDIBLY RARE 1980 HONDA CR80R – THE LITTLE RED ROCKET IS BACK!

Guys, feast your eyes on this absolutely spectacular 1980 Honda CR80R Elsinore, affectionately known as the Little Red Rocket!

You've heard of Honda's legendary CR250R Red Rocket. Well, imagine shrinking that iconic motocross machine down into a lightweight, high-revving, 80cc two-stroke rocket ship, and you've got this incredible little piece of Honda motocross history!

Don't let its size fool you. The power-to-weight ratio on these machines is absolutely insane!

I stand 6'2" and weigh approximately 230 pounds, and let me tell you, even with my big butt on this thing, it absolutely HAULS! It pulls hard, shifts beautifully through all six gears, and will wheelie right up our driveway!

Now imagine being 11 or 12 years old, weighing 80 pounds, and having one of these machines back in 1980. You would have been the king of the neighborhood!

These little CR80Rs were serious motocross machines, built for young racers who wanted the performance, handling, and legendary Honda engineering of their full-size counterparts.

And this one? This is one of the finest examples we've ever had the privilege of offering.

EXTREMELY RARE – ONLY THE SECOND ONE WE'VE OFFERED IN 15 YEARS!

In approximately 15 years of buying, selling, collecting, and restoring vintage motorcycles here at Kaplan Cycles and the New England Motorcycle Museum, I believe this is only the second 1980 Honda CR80R we've ever offered for sale.

Think about that for a minute.

We regularly have Honda CR125s, CR250s, and even the legendary CR500s coming through our restoration department. But these little 1980 CR80Rs? They almost never surface.

Why?

Because most of them were purchased for young boys who proceeded to ride the living daylights out of them!

They were raced, jumped, crashed, ridden through the woods, and generally enjoyed until they either wore out or broke. Many were abandoned, parted out, or simply disappeared decades ago.

Unlike the larger-displacement motocross machines, very few of these little 80cc racers survived in collectible condition.

Finding an original 1980 CR80R worthy of restoration is difficult enough. Finding one that's already been extensively restored, mechanically rebuilt, and is running this well is an entirely different story!

If you're a serious Honda Elsinore collector and your collection is missing a 1980 CR80R, this is an opportunity you'll want to take seriously.

EXTENSIVE FRAME-OFF COSMETIC RESTORATION

This motorcycle was completely dismantled down to its frame and subjected to an extensive cosmetic and mechanical refurbishment.

Virtually every component was inspected, cleaned, refinished, restored, or replaced as needed.

Our restoration team invested approximately 50 hours of professional shop labor bringing this rare machine back to its present condition.

Cosmetic restoration work includes:

• Frame completely stripped and repainted

• Engine exterior cleaned and repainted

• Exhaust system reconditioned and repainted

• New front fender

• New front number plate

• New side number plates

• New rear fender

• Original fuel tank previously repainted

• Original handlebars refinished

• New handlebar grips

• New control levers

• Front fork lowers refinished

• Original chrome wheels cleaned and polished

• Front and rear wheel hubs refinished and repainted

• Swingarm cleaned, prepared, and repainted

• Rear shock springs refinished and repainted

• Footpegs refinished and repainted

• Rear brake pedal refinished

• Numerous small components individually cleaned and restored

• Original seat assembly retained with the cover that was on the motorcycle when acquired

The motorcycle was dismantled extensively, with individual components cleaned, vapor-honed where appropriate, sanded, prepared, and refinished.

The result is an absolutely beautiful representation of Honda's legendary red motocross machines from the golden age of two-stroke racing.

FRESHLY REBUILT TWO-STROKE ENGINE – RUNS INCREDIBLY STRONG!

As impressive as this motorcycle looks, the real magic happens when you fire it up and take it for a ride!

Our technicians performed substantial engine work to bring this little screamer back to excellent running condition.

ENGINE REBUILD AND MECHANICAL SERVICE:

• New piston

• New piston rings

• New cylinder base gasket

• New cylinder head gasket

• New spark plug

• Carburetor rebuilt

• New air filter

• Fresh transmission gear oil

• Exhaust system reconditioned

• Exhaust repainted

• New clutch friction plates

• New clutch steel plates

• New clutch springs

• Clutch assembly serviced and rebuilt

• Six-speed transmission tested

• Excellent compression

• Starts, runs, and rides beautifully

The six-speed transmission shifts smoothly through the gears, and the freshly serviced clutch operates properly.

The engine has excellent compression, crisp throttle response, and that unmistakable, high-revving Honda two-stroke exhaust note!

This is not some tired old garage queen that looks nice but needs an engine rebuild. The expensive mechanical work has already been performed!

And I can personally attest to how strong it runs.

At 230 pounds, I'm certainly not the rider Honda had in mind when they designed this machine, but that hasn't stopped me from having an absolute blast riding it!

The engine pulls incredibly hard for its displacement, and the power delivery is exactly what made these little Honda racers so legendary.

FRONT SUSPENSION, WHEELS AND BRAKES RESTORED

Our technicians didn't stop at the engine.

The chassis, suspension, wheels, and braking systems also received extensive attention.

FRONT END:

• Front forks rebuilt

• New fork seals

• Fresh fork oil

• Original air-assisted fork system retained

• Fork lowers cosmetically refinished

• New Kenda front tire

• New front inner tube

• Front drum brake serviced and reconditioned

• Original chrome front rim cleaned and polished

• Front wheel hub repainted

REAR END:

• Replacement rear tire

• Replacement rear inner tube

• New rear rim strip

• Rear drum brake serviced with new brake shoes

• Rear wheel hub repainted

• Swingarm refinished

• Rear shock springs repainted

• Footpegs and rear brake controls refinished

The suspension is excellent for a vintage lightweight motocross machine, and the chassis has that nimble, flickable handling that made these little bikes so much fun.

Yes, it still has old-school drum brakes, just as Honda intended!

This is vintage motocross in its purest form: lightweight construction, a screaming two-stroke engine, a manual six-speed gearbox, and nothing unnecessary to get between the rider and the experience.

A WORD ABOUT THE FUEL TANK AND COSMETIC CONDITION

I believe in full transparency when describing our motorcycles, especially rare collectible machines like this one.

The original fuel tank was repainted by the previous owner before we acquired the bike.

It's in very good overall condition and presents quite nicely, but I would describe the finish as a decent amateur paint job rather than a professional, concours-quality restoration.

There are also a couple of small dings on the sides of the tank.

The tank looks great on the motorcycle, and the overall presentation is excellent, but I want to be clear that the fuel tank's paintwork is not quite up to the level of a professional, show-quality finish.

Could we have sent it out for another $1,000 professional paint job? Absolutely.

But after approximately 50 hours of restoration labor, all the new parts, the engine rebuild, the chassis refurbishment, and the original purchase price, the financial investment in this motorcycle had already become substantial.

We elected to preserve the presentable finish on the tank rather than add another significant expense to the restoration.

This is a beautiful, extensively restored rider-quality collectible, not a claimed 100-point concours restoration.

We encourage prospective buyers to carefully review the detailed photos and riding video to appreciate the exceptional overall condition and the few remaining cosmetic imperfections.

AN ENORMOUS INVESTMENT IN LABOR, PARTS AND RESTORATION

Anyone who has professionally restored a vintage motocross motorcycle understands that the purchase price of the original machine is only the beginning.

It takes countless hours of skilled labor to properly dismantle, inspect, clean, repair, refinish, and reassemble a machine like this.

We have approximately 50 hours of professional restoration labor invested in this CR80R alone.

At professional shop labor rates, that represents thousands of dollars in labor before accounting for the replacement parts, tires, tubes, engine components, clutch, suspension work, refinishing supplies, and the cost of acquiring the motorcycle.

Financially, we're already heavily invested in this restoration.

But that's the nature of preserving these rare vintage machines. If you restore motorcycles strictly by the numbers, many of these little bikes would never be saved.

Sometimes you take on a project because it's rare, historically significant, and simply deserves to survive for another generation.

And that's exactly how we feel about this CR80R.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF HONDA TWO-STROKE MOTOCROSS!

For those of us who grew up riding dirt bikes in the late 1970s and early 1980s, motorcycles like this bring back some of the greatest memories of our childhood.

There was nothing quite like getting home from school, throwing on your riding boots and helmet, and heading out to the sand pits or local trails with your buddies.

You rode until the sun went down, the gas ran out, or something broke!

These Hondas were tough, fast, lightweight, and built to be ridden hard.

In my opinion, the power-to-weight ratio of these little 80cc machines was remarkable, and with the right lightweight young rider aboard, they were capable of incredible performance.

Their lightweight handling gave them a character all their own.

They looked just like the big CR motocross machines that everyone dreamed of owning, only in a smaller package.

And that classic Honda red color scheme? Absolutely timeless.

To me, this represents one of the greatest eras in motocross history, when Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki were locked in an all-out technological battle to build the best two-stroke racing machines on the planet.

A FANTASTIC ADDITION TO ANY SERIOUS VINTAGE HONDA COLLECTION

Whether you're building a complete collection of vintage Honda CR motocross machines, looking to relive your childhood, or simply want an unusual and exceptionally clean classic two-stroke, this CR80R deserves your attention.

There's something special about seeing an original 1980 CR80R restored to this level.

Especially when you consider how few of them appear for sale in comparable condition.

We frequently encounter larger vintage Honda motocross bikes, but these early CR80Rs are an entirely different story.

This is the cleanest 1980 CR80R we've offered, and only the second one I can recall us having in approximately 15 years.

You could search for years to find another example in comparable restored, running condition.

And even if you find a complete project bike, consider the cost of rebuilding the engine, servicing the suspension, sourcing the correct vintage parts, refinishing the chassis, and investing the labor necessary to bring it back to this condition.

The hard work has already been done on this one.

THE KAPLAN CYCLES DIFFERENCE

Here at Kaplan Cycles and the New England Motorcycle Museum, we have a passion for preserving vintage motorcycles, especially the legendary Japanese two-strokes that helped define an entire generation of motorcycling.

We don't just buy these machines, wipe them down, and put them back on the market.

Our restoration team invested approximately 50 hours of professional labor in this motorcycle because we believed it was worth saving.

The finished product speaks for itself.

It's beautiful, it sounds fantastic, it runs incredibly strong, and it's an absolute riot to ride!

Be sure to watch our detailed walkaround and riding video, where you can see and hear this Little Red Rocket in action.

If you owned one of these back in the day, I promise the sound of this little Honda screaming through the gears will bring back some incredible memories!

FINAL THOUGHTS – DON'T MISS THIS LITTLE RED ROCKET!

Guys, the bottom line is this:

This is an exceptionally rare, extensively restored 1980 Honda CR80R Elsinore with approximately 50 hours of professional restoration labor, a rebuilt top end, a rebuilt clutch, refurbished suspension, serviced brakes, new and replacement tires, extensive cosmetic refinishing, and outstanding running performance.

It's not a perfect, museum-concours-level restoration, and we've disclosed the imperfections in the fuel tank.

But it is an absolutely gorgeous, mechanically strong, incredibly fun, and increasingly difficult-to-find vintage Honda motocross machine.

We have a substantial investment in it, so we can't give it away, but our goal is to find this remarkable little Honda a good forever home where it will be appreciated, preserved, and enjoyed for years to come.

If you've been looking for an early Honda CR80R to complete your collection, this could be the one.

The Little Red Rocket is back, and it's ready for its next chapter!

Thank you for watching, thank you for your interest in our motorcycles, and thank you for helping us preserve these incredible machines for future generations.

God Bless America!

— Kaplan Cycles
New England Motorcycle Museum
Rockville, Connecticut

This is a vintage competition off-road motorcycle. Please review all photos, videos, and sale terms carefully. Due to the machine's age and competition design, it is sold as-is, with no expressed or implied warranty.

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WHY SHOULD YOU BUY FROM KAPLAN? WHAT DO YOU GET?

“You are buying from the Kaplan Cycles Family. We are not just another big auction house. We are family-owned and operated and have been buying, servicing, and selling motorcycles since 1975. You will work directly with Ken Jr., Ken Sr., and/or one of the 30+ experts on our team. We provide museum-quality, white-glove concierge service from start to finish. Every motorcycle we sell is inspected, serviced, and supported by our team, and we stand behind it after the sale. You’re not on your own — we back what we build and what we sell.

With over 17,000 units sold and still 100% positive feedback, we are the best stress-free buying experience you can have. From the first call to delivery at your door, we will handle it all — because vintage motorcycles deserve support, and so do you.

With every bike we curate you get:
• museum-level inspection & preservation services
• every machine is professionally evaluated, serviced, & rotisserie detailed
• all critical systems are checked, adjusted, or renewed
• you get professional setup, tuning, and delivery prep
• done by the best experts in the industry — we ride and restore every day
• you get post-sale phone support
• you get white-glove, insured, always-enclosed shipping to your door anywhere in the country

You’re buying from Kaplan Cycles at the New England Motorcycle Museum, one of the largest vintage motorcycle collections in North America. Free museum tours and tickets are included with every bike sold. With every bike you purchase, a portion of the proceeds is used to support, continue, and improve the 501(c)(3) nonprofit New England Motorcycle Museum.

You don’t just win an auction — YOU are creating & helping to preserve motorcycle history, and you become part of our family, a Kaplan Cycles client for life.

We do not take new clients off the street.
We do not service bikes purchased elsewhere.
We only take new exclusive clients who purchase a motorcycle from us.

You get a guided purchase experience with, and from, the experts who care about the bike as much as you do. If there’s a problem, you don’t get ghosted. You call us — you will have our cell phone numbers — we will answer your call on weekends, and we will help make it right.

Auction platforms = listing only. No support. No accountability.

Kaplan Cycles = we stand behind what we sell.

You are buying museum-curated provenance. That means:
• expert evaluation
• documented condition
• professional presentation
• long-term preservation mindset

You’re not just buying a motorcycle — you’re buying a curated piece of motorcycling history.

From the #1 family in this business — Kaplan Cycles & the New England Motorcycle Museum.

Sincerely,

Ken Kaplan Sr.
12/28/2025”

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AUCTION TERMS:

All motorcycles & vehicles are sold as-is where-is.

Kaplan Cycles guarantees all motorcycles are as-described. Please read the entire description and watch the entire video before bidding.

A non-refundable deposit is due immediately on purchase. PayPal or Credit Card is accepted for the deposit.

Cash (In-Person), Card (+3% fee), or Wire Transfer are our only accepted forms of final payment.

Full payment must be made within 7 days of auction close.

Your motorcycle must be picked up within 30 days of auction close. 

Exceptions are made only for international buyers OR buyers who have ALREADY made transport arrangements with a third party.

If a motorcycle is purchased and left here for longer than 30 days without written permission from Kaplan Cycles it will be resold. In the case of a re-sale, the owner will be entitled to a refund less storage fees ($25/ day beginning 30 days from auction close) ONLY if the motorcycle was paid in full on-time within the auction terms.

We always describe our motorcycles as accurately as possible.

You are purchasing a classic motorcycle. Even in cases where a bike may be in good running/ operating condition, new problems & idiosyncrasies can arise over-time from sitting or regular use.

If you have an issue with the motorcycle you’ve received, contact us within 24 hours of delivery and before leaving feedback so that we can address your concerns.

It is important you have at least a basic mechanical knowledge before purchasing and operating a classic motorcycle.

Due to our backlog, we cannot perform any additional service work or modifications on your motorcycle after the sale (ie; adding a light kit, different tires, etc.)

We respond quickly between the hours of 9am and 5pm EST, Monday - Friday

For our fastest service please call Ken Kaplan Jr directly at 860-471-0192

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We will not charge out-of-state buyers sales tax.
Out of state residents will pay sales tax with their DMV. 

We are not a registering dealership. You will receive only the documents required to register your vehicle in your state.

In our listings, title status is always listed directly below the main description.

In some cases we will sell motorcycles without title or registration. In these cases we guarantee all motorcycles sold are free and clear. We will always provide a route to obtaining title. Generally in these cases, the motorcycle will be sold at a discount to accommodate expenses involved.

Documents are mailed via USPS priority mail with a tracking number. Please allow up to 14 days after payment in full for your documents to be processed and mailed.

Keys will be shipped with the motorcycle.

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Warranty:

All Motorcycles sold "as is, where is" and Kaplan Cycles does not warranty any motorcycle sold. No express warranty and/or implied warranty are made by Kaplan Cycles. No statements by us give an implied warranty.

SHIPPING:

SEND US YOUR ZIP FOR A SHIPPING QUOTE!
WE WILL MAKE ALL ARRANGEMENTS!

We have the best shipping contacts in the nation who will provide the FASTEST transport times, have a perfect track record, and are always insured and ENCLOSED! All motorcycles are shipped WHOLE (roll-on, roll-off). We do not offer a pallet or crate service.

International shipping specialist contacts are available! They will assist in ground freight, customs clearance, and ocean freight to your country. International buyers will be required to work directly with our third party shipping contacts.

We strongly recommend you insure your motorcycle at the time of purchase.

PICKUP:

We require a 24 hour notice prior to pick-up. Please call us at 860-454-7024 during office hours Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm EST.

We will provide ramps, a dock for loading, and assistance to load for free.