The Honda CR250M Elsinore is a two-stroke motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 first manufactured by Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

 in March 1973, with 29 horsepower and weighing 229 pounds. It was Honda's first two-stroke bike, the first competition bike that Honda built from scratch instead of adapting a street bike, and the first production motocross

Motocross

Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...

er. Gary Jones

Gary Jones (motorcyclist)

Gary Jones is an American former professional motocross racer. He won the first three AMA 250cc Motocross National Championships, riding three different brands of motorcycles, a feat that has never been repeated....

 rode it to win the 1973 AMA 250 national motocross series, yet within a year the Yamaha YZ250A was outcompeting it. The first US Honda factory that opened in 1979 in Marysville, Ohio

Marysville, Ohio

Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Ohio, United States. The population was 15,942 at the 2000 census, and the Census Bureau estimated that it had risen to 17,621 by 2006.Marysville's longtime slogan is "Where the Grass is Greener"...

 built CR250Ms. The Elsinore was named after the offroad race in Lake Elsinore, California.

The CR250M was followed by its 'son', the Honda CR125M

Honda CR125M

The Honda CR125M Elsinore was a motorcycle designed and manufactured by Honda and released in 1973. This bike was designed and intended for use solely as a motocross bike. Any other 125cc motocross bike at the time would have to have undergone major suspension, motor, and chassis upgrades to be...

, in 1974.