Introduced in 1977, this Honda motocross competition model was part of the company’s early CR racing family and quickly became one of the most recognizable names in two-stroke dirt-bike history. It arrived as a purpose-built 250cc motocrosser rather than a street-legal off-road machine, aimed squarely at racers and serious off-road riders. Honda’s official history later notes that the CR250R became the first Honda motorcycle produced at Honda of America Manufacturing in 1979, underscoring how important the nameplate was to the brand’s North American manufacturing story.
Over its long run, the model evolved through several major eras while keeping the same core identity. A significant early milestone came in 1981, when Honda’s history timeline highlights the CR250R alongside a water-cooled engine and Pro-Link rear suspension, marking a major technical step forward from the earlier generations. The bike continued to develop through the 1980s and 1990s, and in 1997 Honda’s timeline calls out the CR250R as the world’s first production motocross machine with an aluminum frame — a landmark change that helped define modern motocross chassis design.
The nameplate remained in production as Honda’s flagship two-stroke 250 racer until 2007, after which Honda had moved decisively toward its CRF four-stroke motocross line. Because the model was discontinued rather than revived, it is treated as a single continuous production run. Enthusiasts remember it as one of Honda’s most important competition motorcycles and as a final representative of the factory two-stroke motocross era.