This is a 2002 Honda CR250R that has remained unridden in its factory crate since new, and it’s now being offered for sale.
This bike was delivered new to Dutrow’s Honda Sales & Service of Frederick, Maryland but it was never uncrated or prepared for sale. It comes with an owner’s manual, a front number plate, a period warranty document, parts, and a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin.
This is a 2002 Honda CR250R that has remained unridden in its factory crate since new, and it’s now being offered for sale.
History Speedrun: The Honda CR250R
A good argument could be made that the Honda CR250R and its predecessors are among the most important motocross motorcycles ever built.
Across its Honda 250 two-stroke motocross lineage, from the original CR250M Elsinore and RC250 works bikes through to the production CR250R, Honda took 12 AMA premier-class outdoor national championships between 1973 and 2003, with riders like Gary Jones, Rick Johnson, Jeremy McGrath, and Ricky Carmichael piloting their bikes to victory.
Early on, Honda founder Soichiro Honda had publicly declared that his company would never build a two-stroke motorcycle, but the emergence of domestic motocross racing in Japan from 1967 onward (largely dominated by two-strokes from Suzuki and Yamaha) forced his hand. Honda engineers began developing two-stroke prototypes, testing a 250cc machine in Japan in 1971 and then in California in 1972.
The result of all this was the now-legendary CR250M Elsinore, which quietly arrived in dealer showrooms in early 1973. Named after the famous Elsinore Grand Prix off-road race in Lake Elsinore, California (the same event featured in Bruce Brown’s 1971 documentary On Any Sunday) it was the lightest production motocrosser in the world.
Its 248cc air-cooled, piston-port, single-cylinder two-stroke produced 29 bhp at 7,500 rpm, and the engine cases used magnesium alloy to save weight. Honda hired reigning AMA 250 National Champion Gary Jones to race the bike, and he won the 1973 title aboard a production-based Elsinore, establishing its reputation immediately.
Across its Honda 250 two-stroke motocross lineage, from the original CR250M Elsinore and RC250 works bikes through to the production CR250R, Honda took 12 AMA premier-class outdoor national championships between 1973 and 2003, with riders like Gary Jones, Rick Johnson, Jeremy McGrath, and Ricky Carmichael piloting their bikes to victory. Image courtesy of Honda.
The CR250M was offered largely unchanged through till 1975, allowing Honda’s Japanese competitors to catch up. Soichiro’s company’s response came in 1978 with a ground-up redesign that was directly inspired by the RC500 Type II works race bike.
Renamed the Honda CR250R (the “R” standing for “Replica”) it had a Euro-style engine layout with the output shaft on the right, a six-petal reed-valve induction system fed by a 36mm Keihin carburetor, and a chrome-bore cylinder. Everything was painted fire-engine red, earning the bike its long-lived “Red Rocket” nickname.
The early 1980s brought two new innovations to the line that would later be considered landmarks – in 1981, the CR250R became the first water-cooled 250cc production motocross bike, and it debuted Honda’s Pro-Link single-shock rear suspension.
By 1984, a hydraulic front disc brake and the ATAC exhaust valve had arrived, and the bike settled into the form it would take for years, with a slower series of improvements and iterations thereafter.
The golden era came in the late 1980s through the 1990s, with a major chassis and engine overhaul in 1987, an inverted Showa fork from 1989 onwards, and an all-new aluminum frame in 1997.
With the motocross world shifting decisively toward 450cc four-strokes, Honda announced the end of two-stroke production after 2007, marking the end of CR250R production and forever closing one of the greatest model series in the history of the sport.
The now-legendary Honda CR250M Elsinore arrived in dealer showrooms in early 1973. Named after the famous Elsinore Grand Prix off-road race in Lake Elsinore, California (the same event featured in Bruce Brown’s 1971 documentary On Any Sunday) it was the lightest production motocrosser in the world. Image courtesy of Honda.
The Factory-Crated Honda CR250R Shown Here
This 2002 Honda CR250R is a new-old-stock example that was originally delivered to Dutrow’s Honda Sales & Service in Frederick, Maryland, and is said to have remained unused in its factory crate until the current seller bought it in 2024.
The 2002 model year was the first year of Honda’s third and final generation CR250R, which introduced a completely redesigned engine with case-reed induction, an electronically controlled power valve, and the last iteration of the aluminum twin-spar chassis.
The bike is finished in the factory red and white livery with black, yellow, and white touches. The bodywork includes high-mounted fenders, side number plates, a two-gallon fuel tank, and a black and red solo seat. It has serrated foot pegs and a cross-braced handlebar with bright levers and black grips.
This bike was delivered new to Dutrow’s Honda Sales & Service of Frederick, Maryland but it was never uncrated or prepared for sale. It comes with an owner’s manual, a front number plate, a period warranty document, parts, and a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin.
As you might expect, power comes from a liquid-cooled 249cc two-stroke single producing a factory-rated 53 bhp, fed through an expansion-chamber exhaust system and equipped with electronic ignition and an electronic power valve. Drive is through a multi-plate wet clutch, a 5-speed transmission, and a chain final drive to the rear wheel, with a kickstarter only.
The bike is now for sale out of Fort Myers, Florida with an owner’s manual, a front number plate, a period warranty document, and some additional parts. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer + Honda
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
