c.1963 Honda 50cc CR110 Racing Motorcycle

• Over 30 years of ownership
• Iconic Honda design
• state-of-the-art Grand Prix motorcycle offered for privateers

"Not only did they epitomise the virtues of a racing motorcycle, being small, light, fast and simple, but they handled wonderfully well, and if properly (and rather expensively) maintained they were remarkably reliable." – Brian Woolley on the Honda CRs, Directory of Classic Racing Motorcycles.

Little more than 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 CR110's maximum power of 8.5bhp arriving at a then stratospheric 13,500rpm. 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 gearbox, the more tractable '125' made do with six. First made available in 1963, 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.

Nothing is known of the history of this Honda CR110, which was purchased in 1994. The machine was started in the paddock by the late owner (date unknown) and has been stored since his death. Recommissioning will be required before further use (the engine turns over and engages gears).

Offered with the 1994 purchase receipt, this CR110 represents a wonderful opportunity to acquire one of these jewel-like masterpieces, which are highly sought after today by classic racers and collectors alike.