Honda CRF150R - 2007 Bike Of The Year

Pete Peterson
Associate Editor
Preferred riding mix: 94% moto/5% off-road/1% sitting on bikes and making engine soundsBOTY vote: Honda CRF150R. We are living in a four-stroke world, but we weren't living in a mini four-stroke world until this bike came along. This bike shook everything up just by showing up, and it's awesome. I would never throw a leg over an 85, but I jumped at the opportunity to take this bike out. I realized right away the thing was too small to be a safe bike for me to moto on but was too fast for me to think I was out there just goofing off. It may be too much bike for some kids, and for some classes, too. This little thumper may not rewrite the record books, but it is rewriting the rule books.

Favorite bike ever: My 2004 RM250. It was a passionate but short affair. I never rode as well on any other bike and even got bumped up a class. Then we had a falling out. I choose to remember the good times.

Favorite bike of this year: The 2007 YZ125. The broad power (yes, for a 125) makes the bike easy to ride, and I love how light it feels. Forget arm-pump, this bike gives face-pump by making me grin like a doofus.

Jesse Ziegler
Associate Editor
Preferred riding mix: 65% motocross/35% off-roadBOTY vote: Honda CRF150R. I didn't want to vote for this bike. Not even close. I'll never own one, I'll rarely ride one, and I'm only interested in it because the idea is so damn cool. With that said, I can't get away from this little weasel. The CRF150R is everywhere. And for making the biggest impact our sport has seen since Yamaha's original YZ400F, it wins my Bike of the Year vote easily. That, and I can jump on it stock and smile my butt off as I loft over tabletops.

Favorite bike ever: My favorite bike ever wasn't even my own. It was my big brother's 1995 CR250R. I borrowed (stole) it from him and raced an entire season without him really knowing. I'm sure he figured it out, but I was having so much fun on the bike that I think he just let me go. It had a purple seat cover, but all the other stickers were long gone. What was so great about it? Holeshots. And pretty much everything else.

Favorite bike of this year: The 2007 RM-Z250. I can't give it BOTY honors because of that little red stinker remaking the industry. However, the RM-Z is the best stock 250F I've ever ridden. The motor makes up for any soft suspension worries, and considering it's Suzuki's first real 250cc four-stroke motocrosser, it's a huge success. I hate Chris Denison for getting to keep it all year for his Long Haul.