Take a good look at this Honda coming up for auction with Charterhouse on 6 June. It’s a rare, and I mean very rare, Honda CR93 from 1962.
How rare? Just 200 Honda CR93 motorcycles were ever made, most for racing with just 30 being street legal, such as this one. According to the CR93 register, only 12 are known to exist as complete machines. This is one of them. An original example beautifully restored to immaculate condition.
What is the Honda CR93 and why is it so special? The year before this one was made, Honda had its first success in world championship racing. A year later, the Japanese manufacturer 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.
The 50cc single and 125cc twin had gear-driven double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, just like the works racers. The 125cc CR93 produced 23hp at 13,000rpm, an out of this world set of figures, and topped 100mph.
As well as the racing CR93s, Honda offered a street-legal sharing the model designation and that beautiful long petrol tank. The roadster CR93 came equipped with lights, a speedometer/tachometer in the headlamp, steel mudguards, chrome wheel rims, mirrors, an air filter and silencers (in place of the racer’s raucous megaphones).
In 2020 at a Bonhams sale, a CR93 racer went for £26,450. This is the much rarer road-going version and guide price is £55,000 to £60,000. That’s a big price for a little motorcycle… but this could go for even more, given its rarity and condition.
Just one thing. It doesn’t have a British V5 registration document, so you’re limited to track riding as it stands.