What's the best year R? There all good! But I thought in the later years they improved it a bit. I'm going to go and look at one and just wondering what the differences were. Thanks.

 

88-89 were better, Shorter Aluminum swingarm, lowerd the top 2 gears, in 89 they delt with a clutch problem (all years can be updated though). The 88-89 had +1 inch forward A-arms, they didnt have ugly gold rims. ect ect ect

 

I believe most parts are also interchangeable for all 4 years. I am actually thinking of building an R while I can still get parts. Seems like you can get just about anything you need, and then some.

 

The 89's did not have problems with clutches.The point of the 89 clutch update kit was to update years 86-88 to the 89 clutch design.

 

I knew about the clutch update but i wasn't sure which years went bad. Thanks for the info. It looks like the 89 is a better choice if i have a choice when buying one.

 

I thought that the 87-88 models had clutch problems so Honda put the original 86 clutch in the 89 models. The part #s are the same.

 

no thats wrong. The 86-88 R's had a clutch pushrod and plate that used a small ball bearing. The 89 update kit comes with a new pushrod, flat needle bearing, and pressure plate. I think the 86 pushrod is the same as is used on the 89 update, but the bearing is totally different.

 

i prefere the 88's myself. they look the best!