Your Collection: 1979 Honda XR80

This weeks collection comes to us from Mark Edwards in Huntington Beach, CA

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Here is my 1979 Honda XR 80. I got it for free from a nieghbor. It was a complete basket case but he said it run and all the gears and clutch worked so I took it. I researched for some replacement parts and found it was going to be pretty spendy so I kind of let it sit for a few months in pieces.

Back in the mid to late 1960s, my dad had a 1958 BSA Gold Star 500 single. That was the bike I learned how to ride by myself before I could even touch the ground. I actually got my first trophy on that bike in the open Mx class in 1972 at a local race in North Carolina. That bike has always had a special place in my heart. I joined the Air Force in 1976 and few months later I was talking to my dad on the phone and he said he had sold the Gold Star. I was devastated. I had no idea that he was going to sell that bike.
If I had I would have bought myself. Now 34 years later those Gold Stars are worth $10,000 - 25,000 depending on condition.

Anyway back to the XR. I thought, there are thousands of XR 80s. I thought I would do something that nobody has done with one before. I have always loved the late 50s and 60s MX so I thought lets make it a tribute to that era of MX history. I found some steel chrome fenders at a swap meet, made my own
oval number plates, and started cleaning painting and putting it back together. I was looking on Ebay for some retro stickers to put on it and I found some BSA Gold Star 500 replica tank stickers. I was like "thats perfect".

So here it is my little 1958 BSA Gold Star 500 replica set up in late fifties MX trim. Its not a show bike by any means but something that I am proud of and I know there is not another one like it in the world.