An enduro motorcycle that’s small enough for teenagers and yet big enough for adults to ride without rolling their eyes, this 1976 Honda MR-175 is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Stockbridge, Wisconsin, and they’re asking $1,000. It needs some cosmetic work, and the fuel system needs to be cleaned out. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
The gas tank will be a fairly big part of the restoration related to this MR-175 enduro. There are some dings and deep scratches on it, so if a showroom-looking off-road motorcycle is on your to-do list, this one needs work. The seller says the tank and entire fuel system would benefit from a thorough cleaning and maybe even resealing inside the gas tank.
You can see that the tail/brake light is gone, so add that to the list. Otherwise, it appears to be more cleaning, some touching up of the flat black paint on the engine and exhaust, and maybe buffing and whatever other minor cosmetic things it needs. Or, just get it running like new and keep it as is, so when you’re burning through the woods, you aren’t worried about scratching it up. The fenders are plastic with the white color incorporated in them, so they should be able to be cleaned and polished rather than painted.
Honda made the MR-175 beginning with the 1975 model year, and it came in Glare Green with silver-painted fenders. The 1976 model, as seen here, was only available in Light Ruby Red with unpainted white plastic fenders and a black side cover. The last of the series was the 1977 model was also red but had a different side cover with an oval-shaped number plate, perfect for an enduro bike. This one has just under 3,000 miles on it, and there is no title, unfortunately.
The engine is Honda’s 171-cc two-stroke single-cylinder with somewhere around 12-14 horsepower and runs through a five-speed manual transmission. At just over 200 pounds, it’s a light bike, and the seller says it’ll start and idle with starting fluid. I’d bet that a good carb cleaning and fuel system cleaning would do the trick, along with a gas filter, of course. Are any of you into “smaller” euduro-type motorcycles?
Perfect size bike to learn how to ride 👍
One of the neighbor kids sold me his Ace 100 to buy a Combat Wombat when his next door neighbor bought a 1975 MR 175. The kid on the Honda was mad when the other guy beat him on our “desert track” because the Hodaka was only a 125!
He sold his Honda and bought a Thunderdog..rode it twice, scared himself silly and bought a ‘63 Chevy II, never rode bikes again-until he bought a Harley when he turned 60, another story altogether..
Great coverage, Scotty.
Love the Hodaka’s ! I have 71 Super Rat in the garage right now.
In an effort to strike up sagging “EA” comments, the authors work hard for our entertainment, so get off your,,,,um, clearly comments have fallen flat, so help the writers out, SAY SOMETHING,,,good,,that is. I happen to know, it helps the writers to know their efforts aren’t in vain.
Ah,,the “El Senior”.( Elsinore) Great bikes, and a stout departure from Hondas lack of 2 strokes. I’ve always maintained, it’s better to have power and not need it, than t’other way ’round. There’s a reason all these putt-putts have low miles, they aren’t that much fun. Don’t get me wrong, ANY off road bike is fun, it’s getting TO the trails, that sucks. One of the things I didn’t like about that DR400, plenty of steam ( almost 40hp!) but on the road it sucked, 55-57mph was it, and if I went with a smaller sprocket, then 1st wasn’t low enough. This particular bike has been laid down more than once, those brake levers only bend once, but was designed as a cross between an MX bike and a trail bike, Cycle World said it did neither well. At $895 new, like Stan sez, it was perfect to start out on, but the low miles indicates, they wanted more power.
Ok, Howard made me feel bad, so I’ll comment lol. I’m not much of a bike guy. But I will say that its in good shape for the age, despite the bumps and bruises on the tank, like Scotty said, probably just a good tank cleaning, maybe new fuel lines and a carb clean. Although I would add that anything two stroke you wouldn’t want tk keep trying to start it with a snort of carb cleaner, it needs oil to lube the engine and you could wind up hurting something inside. ( this principal applies to chainsaws, and anything else two stroke.) Like Scotty said, get it running and go through the woods!!!
I can tell you all about this bike because it was mine. I bought it in 1983 when I was 12 from the original owner who used it as a backup bike on trail trips to Colorado. I lived in Johnson County, KS when I bought it with lawn mower route money. I rode it quite a bit on the then gravel roads of the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. It followed me to college and went with my parents when they retired the first time to Appleton, WI. I believe it went to my nephew who lived in Hilbert, WI growing up. I am glad to see it again and to know it’s not sitting in a field somewhere rusting!
That’s as cool as it gets, Rock Black, thanks for filling in the blanks on your old Honda!
This was my first bike, given to me by my late uncle, who set it up with lights and street tires (and I immediately got nailed for riding without a license, because I was 15). Bless my uncle for trying to do a nice thing, but it really was a dog – I just remember you were ALWAYS shifting, because it was totally gutless.
I’ve seen this bike on YouTube I believe
He’s a great guy really good channel he has. Has a lot of vintage bikes.
This one must be gone; the seller has deleted the listing.