1963 Honda 125cc CR93 Racing Motorcycle

Frame no. CR93-3100191 Engine no. CR93E-3100205

• Iconic privateer racing motorcycle
• Purchased new and raced at the Isle of Man TT by Ken Finney
• Two owners from new
• Engine professionally rebuilt in 2017
• Offered with a substantial quantity of spares

"It was robustly reliable, steered and handled to perfection, was, if anything, over-braked, and would exceed 100mph. At a stroke it made all other 125cc machinery in Britain obsolete. The CR93 was not cheap but it was, quite simply, built to exactly the same high standard as Honda's own racing machinery." - Brian Woolley, Classic Racer magazine.

Just one year after its breakthrough first success at World Championship level in 1961, Honda made its state-of-the-art Grand Prix technology available to privateers in the form of the 50cc CR110 and 125cc CR93 over-the-counter racers. Like their works equivalents, the 50cc single and 125cc twin employed gear-driven double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, this combination of tiny cylinders and minuscule valves enabling them to rev safely well into five figures, the CR93's ceiling being a then stratospheric 13,000rpm with maximum power of 16.5bhp arriving at 11,500 revs. Both models employed a tubular-steel frame, devoid of lower rails, to which was attached a conventional set of cycle parts, and while the '50' boasted no fewer than eight gears in the 'box, the more tractable '125' made do with six. The duo immediately achieved a dominance of their respective classes that would last for many years, and countless stars of the future, including Bill Ivy, Jim Curry, Rod Scivyer and sidecar champion Chris Vincent, gained their early experience aboard the diminutive CRs. Just 40-or-so CR93s were imported into the UK and today they are highly sought after by classic racers and collectors alike.

This particular CR93 was purchased new in 1963 by local Honda dealer and racer Ken Finney from Nantyglo in Gwent. Ken raced the little Honda in the Isle of Man TT by Ken in 1965, 1967 and 1968 with a best result of 15th place in the 1968 Lightweight 125 event. Colour photographs of Ken and the Honda competing at the TT are on file together with A-CU entry correspondence; 1964 TT programme; 1965 A-CU Final Instructions; and a 1907-1967 Diamond Jubilee Report.

Ken passed away in 2012 and Thunder Road Motorcycles of Bridgend purchased the Honda from his widow. The engine was rebuilt in 2017 by Thunder Road technician Vince Morris, former TT race mechanic to Ian Laugher, Jason Griffiths and Robert Dunlop. It was found to be in excellent condition and rebuilt with a few new parts and gaskets. The Honda comes complete with its glass display case and a substantial quantity of very valuable spares.
Offered without key