By now, nothing in the collector world should surprise us, but this one still knocked the wind out of us. A brand-new, never-assembled 2001 Honda CR500R just sold on eBay for more than a Harley-Davidson CVO’s MSRP. Let that sink in: that price for a dirt bike that originally retailed for $5,899. However, this is not just any dirt bike, arguably one of the rowdiest, least forgiving, most gloriously overpowered motocross machines ever built.
A Honda CR500R Just Sold For $78,000
Dirt bikes are inherently disposable. Beat them, crash them, rebuild them—then repeat until the engine seizes or your knees give out. So when a fire-breathing two-stroke like the Honda CR500R shows up still in the crate, with factory plastics, untouched handlebars, and a seat no one has ever sat on, it’s practically mythical. This particular CR500R was part of a dealer allocation in 2001 and spent the last 24 years preserved in a climate-controlled showroom at North’s Services of Lenox, Massachusetts.
The bike was never sold, never registered, and still carries its original Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin. The original warranty docs are even included. Well, Hell, they better be for $78k. The auction, hosted by Kaplan Cycles in Vernon, Connecticut, ended after 66 bids with a final price of $78,100. Years ago, Kaplan had tried to pry it loose for $30,000, only to be told it was “priceless.” Turns out that wasn’t far off. The bike only came up for sale following the passing of its original owner, making the transaction bitter but undeniably historic.
Collector Prices Have Gotten Cartoonish
So what’s driving these sky-high prices? Call it the madness of the modern collector market. A clean CR500R will already fetch $10,000 to $20,000, which is wild, but in-the-crate examples are unicorns. Kaplan Cycles even cites the recent sale of a crated 1986 Honda ATC250R for $200,000 as proof that the right combination of nostalgia and preservation can push prices into the stratosphere.
Still, nearly $80,000 for a dirt bike? That’s wild. This wasn’t owned by Steve McQueen, wasn’t raced by Ricky Johnson, and didn’t appear in a movie. It’s just… new. Untouched. A time capsule from the final year of the CR500R’s reign, back when open-class two-strokes ruled the motocross world with gnashing power.
Cycle World once described 500cc two-strokes as “knob-shredding, rock-chucking, suck-your-breath-away acceleration machines.” They weren’t built to be coddled. And maybe that’s why something like this—pure, unmolested, and defiant in its perfection—sells for a small fortune now.
TopSpeed’s Take
Is this truly the last CR500R in the crate? Maybe. Maybe not. But even if there’s another one out there, it’s hard to imagine the market getting much crazier than this.
Then again… maybe check back in a few months.
Source: Cycle World, Kaplan Cycles
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