Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

Was given a 1976 CR250m to restore but was wondering if it is worth anything to do it. I have read that it may not be worth to much.

If you are asking the question, probably not. While there are some that can make a reqular profit restoring and trading historic bikes and parts, for the rest of us it is a labor of love with many rewards, but they cannot be counted in dollars and cents.

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Michael Stiles
1979 Honda CR250R Elsinore | 2006 Husqvarna SM510R | 2007 Service Honda CR500R-AF

I've been trying to research that year bike and have not read to many positive things about it. Was that a bad year for Honda? It also seems that there are not many parts(NOS) listed for that year. Any help would be great.

After Honda came out with the 73 CR250M, which was an awesome bike in 1973, they just sat on their big fat laurels for 4 years (74-77) while they allowed the competition to not only catch up but blow by them. In 78 Honda came out with a totally new design and got back into the race so to speak. Honda didn't change many things on the bike between 73 and 76. (They didn't even make a 77 model) The pipe went to an up-pipe and the rear shocks got moved up on the swingarm a bit, the fenders style changed along with the paint jobs, but no significant upgrades were done. It's not that the 76 CR250M was a bad bike in 1976, its that it was a great bike for 1973.

The main reason there are a lot of parts floating around for it is because it is not competitive in AHRMA racing today. No demand, no supply. Granted you can make it competitive, but that will cost you $$$. For less money you can get an RM or YZ without much altering and be competitive.

You have to wrap yourself around: Appraisal of worth is a relative term. It isn't that the 76 Honda is worth less then other bikes of the period, it is that 73-74 Hondas are insanely high priced. It isn't uncommon for a low milage 73-74 to sell for over $4,000 and properly restored there are reports of them going for over $10,000.

The first CRs were a bike that literally changed the world so they have historical value to collectors. The price/performance level with local dealership support eliminated all the marginal players like Husqvarna, CZ, etcetera from the landscape.

They are valuble to racers since the cut off for vintage vs. evo class is 1974.

Even for the mass produced models like the MT they were used as donors for performance increases making them even rarer.

Your '76 isn't bad, it just isn't a '74. If you get it running it will be worth as much as any other bike with a 1975 to ~1980 DOM with a few exceptions. People are nuts for KTM 495's and big Maico's for instance.

WOW!! Thanks alot you guys that was great info!!!!