The Honda MT125R is not as widely known or produced as other Honda models, making it a rare find in the collector’s market. It was a production Grand Prix motorcycle racing roadracer designed for closed-course competition road racing.
1977 Honda MT125R For Sale on eBay
From the seller:
Extremely rare original production model.
Bike is in prestine condition and ready to race or add to your collection
6 speed 25hp 2t capable of going 120+ mph. Every component of this Bike is engineered to dominate the track
Rare Thoughts:
These bikes were sold in white with no kick-starter, bump start only. Approximately 400 made, ready to race. Just add numbers and graphics if you feel the need.
Back in April Mike wrote about this particular bike on RSBFS stating “Powered by 125cc two stroke engines, the MT125R was meant to be a rung on the ladder for racers looking to turn pro in the bigger classes. Offered for only a couple of years (1977 – 1978) but officially imported into North America as an off-road only motorcycle, finding one MT125R is a rarity in itself.”
If anyone has ever ridden one of these, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. It looks like a fun little machine.
As a collector of vintage Japanese motorcycles, anything two-stroke with a narrow power band is worth checking out.
– Red
I bought a brand new 1977 MT125R in 1990 after I crashed my ’87 GSXR-750 for the third time and decided it was too much bike for me. I’m 5’3″ and at the time, probably about 120lbs. We went to our local Honda shop in Omaha looking for something more suitable for me and in talking to the owner, he said he had something for me. We went back into the maintenance part of of the shop and in the back, in the corner, was this little white bike. He said he bought it in 1977 for his son to race at Daytona but the week before, his son crashed in a flat track race and was paralyzed. After starting the bike and running it up the road, they parked in the corner and that’s where we found it 13 years later. When I bought it, it still had these heavily triangulated tires with thread on them. They were so hard that I had to cut them off to put on some slicks. When I told some other long time 125 racers that, they cringed and told me those tires were then valuable. I had no idea.
Anyway, I carried it one story up to my apartment and prepped it over the winter. Unfortunately, I only raced it a couple of times. We (“we” being my friend Dave Rosno, whose Mom lent me the money to buy it, which I repaid) never could get it running right, being two-stroke ignoramuses at the time. I do remember one race at Blackhawk Farms when I was going around T3, thinking I was railing it at the highest possible speed anybody had ever gone through there. Right about the time that thought popped into my head, TWO FZR400s zipped past me on the inside. hahahahaha….Still, I remember it being fun, zippy, and just so cool to sit on and rev. I wish I could have another go on one and learn to ride it properly. I only have a couple of pictures of it but will gladly supply them if you give me someplace to send them.
Thanks for sharing your story! -dc