1973 Honda 125 MT Elsinore
In 1973, Honda, the world's leading
constructor and the most ardent protagonist of the four-stroke engine,
surprised the motorcycling community by presenting its first modern motorcycles
with two-stroke engines, the Elsinore 125 and 250cc range of motocross and
Enduro machines.
American Champion
The Honda Elsinore motocross 250,
launched in the fall of 1972, was the marque's first two-stroke since the model
F of twenty years earlier. It also conformed to Honda's "green" policy of the
early 1970's, which was represented in four-stroke form by the SL1125 and
XL250. The Elsinore marked Honda's return to the two-stroke market in fine
style by winning the American 250cc motocross championship.
Short-Lived
Variant
If the motocross versions of the Elsinore were eventually developed
into production models, the trail/Enduro versions only enjoyed a short
lifespan, Honda, doubtless jealous of its image as a company exclusively
producing four-stroke bikes, waited until 1980 before returning to road-going
two-strokes with 80cc power units while bring out a new generation of 125cc
motocross machines with different (bore/stroke; 55.5x50.7mm) engine
measurements from those previously employed. Two years later, in 1982, Honda,
whose four-strokes could no longer hold off their two-stroke competitors, at
last introduced its first two-stroke trail bike for general sale, the MTX125,
derived from the CR of 1980.