Honda CR250R CR250 1986-1991 Service Manual

Cycle World's own 1986 road test doesn't hedge on how significant that year's redesign was: "true to form for Honda, the CR250R once again has been seriously redesigned for 1986. But this time, the CR is more than just all-new: it's also all-improved — so much so that it sets new standards for 250cc motocross machinery." Dirt Bike Magazine's own retrospective on the model's 34-year run frames this as one of the genuine high points before things took a turn — "after that came a brief period that most riders try to forget."

Power comes from a 249cc liquid-cooled two-stroke single, run through a cartridge-type front fork new for 1986, alongside a more modern exhaust valve system Honda called "Honda Power Port" — Cycle World's own testing found the 1986 model genuinely the most powerful CR250R yet, though it pinged badly in the midrange on low-octane fuel until the carburetor needle was raised, a real tuning quirk worth knowing for anyone restoring one today. Dirt Bike's retrospective details the year-by-year progression through this span: 1987 brought a hydraulic rear disc brake and a larger 38mm Keihin carburetor (up from 36mm), while 1989 marked the most controversial change — a switch to an inverted Showa fork that Dirt Bike's own account calls "considered a step backward at first," only winning riders over once suspension tuners figured out how to properly set it up.

1990 brought genuine cosmetic reinvention: all-new bodywork, a white frame, and suspension upgrades, selling for $3,995 — though Dirt Bike's retrospective is candid that "massive redesigns became less frequent in this era" compared to Honda's earlier practice of reworking the CR every single year. 1991 closed out this span with what the same publication bluntly calls "the most offensive look" of the model's entire history — "a virtual mullet on wheels" — a styling low point that preceded a genuinely rocky 1992 update where increased engine power paired with a weaker frame, creating real handling problems most riders blamed on the suspension rather than the actual root cause. Rear suspension across this 1986-1991 span used Honda's Pro-Link system with a revalved Showa shock, which Cycle World's testing found "at least on par with any other stock rear suspension, and much better than most," delivering genuinely class-leading cornering precision and handling balance throughout the CR250R's mid-to-late-'80s heyday.

This factory service manual covers the procedures, torque specs, and diagrams needed to keep a 1986-1991 CR250R's two-stroke engine and driveline running the way Honda built it.