Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

Would like to request a favor - I'm a new VDBF member trying to put a bike together.

By chance does anyone here have an original 1975 Elsinore CR125M or CR250M with original handlebars that you could measure for me?

I had a CR125M in 1975 and don't recall the handle bars being that tall, but was recently told the stock rise is something like 5.0" on a stock bar (wow!), that's pretty tall. I'm restoring a bike and don't need an exact bar, but would like to get close with a current aftermarket handlebar from MSR or Moose who offer a CR-Hi bend that is 4.5" tall and that's close enough for me. I'm thinking a CR-Hi bend might just be the ticket but not sure what others here may have tried. Open to recommendations too...

If you have such a '75 CR bike and could measure the height and pullback, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance. Duane

Duane,

I'd be wary of using measurements for bar replacement, as apparently there are several different ways to measure handlebars. If you really want an OEM replacement bar, I would try to find real ones on eBay or contact a place like http://www.vintageiron.com that specializes in older bikes.

Here's the original bars - I did a quick relative measurement from the photo, and they seem to be about 6" rise:

These look similar - notice how tall they are compared to modern bars:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MX-Hand ... 20bf3213a1

My MR came from the factory with one of the 5 different bars specified for the '74-'75 CR125M. I replaced the bent/cut up originals with Pro Taper SE 'ATV Mid' bars, with 150mm / 5.9" rise (supposedly). These bars weren't even close - when I rode standing up, I was looking down at the front fender - but I liked the pullback so I used 2" risers, and everything's fine now. I measure rise with the bars upside down on a flat surface with the grip sections flat, from the surface to the highest point on the center section. Using this method, the Pro Taper bars were a little less than 4.5"; perhaps Pro Taper rotates the bars to get an absolute-max height reading or something.

Hopefully some of this was actually helpful to you. If someone out there has found exact replacement CR125M bars or something really close, that would be great to know.

Ray

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'74 CR125M (175cc), '75 MR175, '82 RM250Z, '08 YZ250F, '14 Zero FX electric, '14 Zero MX electric, '18 Alta MXR electric

Ray,
I'm starting to wonder if my bars are original then or off a later CR model then, looking at your photos.

They look exactly like the chrome example you sent, with grooved lines all the way across in the same manner - except mine are Black.

I was thinking the original have a split groove with a smooth section in between where the bars clamp on. I'm not sure now...

Duane.

I'm almost certain this is true. I also seem to recall that my '74 CR's left/right knurled sections each consisted of two thinner lines of knurling, as shown in the parts diagram.

http://www.powersedge.com/pages/OemPart ... F24360001A

Here's some more photos - the top view from behind the seat shows bar detail pretty well when blown up:

http://www.vintagefactory.com/1975_hond ... sinore.htm

Ray

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'74 CR125M (175cc), '75 MR175, '82 RM250Z, '08 YZ250F, '14 Zero FX electric, '14 Zero MX electric, '18 Alta MXR electric