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Vintage Feature Vintage Feature 1983 Honda XR200R 1983 Honda XR200R By Kurt Flachbart By Kurt Flachbart 34 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com As one who witnessed the steep evolu on curve of off-road motorcycles during my teenage years, I greatly appreciate and enjoy each and every im- provement we were treated to during this glorious me in history. I remember well back in 1975 how the hot set-up was forward moun ng your rear shocks. The upper shock mounts remained in the OEM loca on, and steel plates were welded to the swing arm in order to move the moun ng points a few inches forward. This trick increased travel while also reducing fork rake. Although this fad seemed to last only one year, with 1976 ushering in the laid-down shock moun ng posi on. Pen- ton/KTM could be credited as the first OEM to offer not only forward-mount shocks but also the op on to either remain in the standard (1974 and earlier) posi on or lay-downs, as we called them back in the day. Yamaha really mixed it up for us with the introduc- on of the first single-shock rear suspension system in 1975, dubbed the "Monoshock." This was an ex- ci ng me to be involved in the sport, as bikes were evolving at a rapid pace, with big changes happening not only every year for a good part of the 1970s, but many manufacturers were also offering mid-year models that differed dras cally from models only six months old. Although my first brand-new motorcycle was a Hon- da, I became a Yamaha fan only a year later with a new 1978 IT175. It was the Monoshock that was the big hook for this guy, but many of my woods riding friends began riding red with the introduc on of the XR line in 1979. During this period, I worked as a technician at a Honda, Yamaha, and Triumph dealer, and had my hands on many popular models of the day.