Honda invented the street scrambler concept with its 1962 CL-72, a street motorcycle with dirt-bike styling and a little better off-road capability than the purely street models of the day. Trail riding in America was a slowly growing sport until Yamaha put everybody and his hound dog on knobby tires with its 250cc DT-1 in 1968. Honda's first response to the ring-ding onslaught was the Motosport SL series, a line of bikes that were too heavy to really stomp the Yamahas into the dirt, but they certainly had long-lasting, sweet-sounding engines and the legendary Honda bullet-proof reliability. The brochure shown here is of the heaviest of the Motosport bunch, the SL-350 introduced in late 1969 with a heavy frame and electric starter. The breed would begin to improve its dirtability with the K1 model of 1971. Compare this photo with the Blue '71 K1 on the other Motosport page. Here is a basic chart of the SL models.SL-70
Year | Color Choices | Tank | Frame | Speeds | Speedometer |
1971 - K0 | Light Ruby Red - Aquarius Blue - Summer Yellow | White Stripe | Silver | Four | Optional |
1972 - K0 | Light Ruby Red - Aquarius Blue - Summer Yellow | White Stripe | Silver | Four | Optional |
1973 - K1 | Fire Red - Candy Riviera Blue - Candy Yellow | Yellow Panel | Silver | Four | Standard |
All SL-70's had black exhausts with chrome shields, double-downtube frames, and body-colored fenders.
SL-90
Year | Color Choices | Tank | Frame | Exhaust | Fenders | Speeds |
1969 | Candy Ruby Red - Candy Blue | Silver Stripe | Silver | Chrome | Body Color | Four |
All SL-90's had upswept exhausts, 19" front wheels, kickstarters, and horizontal cylinders. Note: Some SL-90's may have had black frames, as shown in the '69 Honda brochure. According to my own personal recollection, I rode a friend's SL-90 in 1969, and it had a black frame. The first silver-framed SL I remember encountering was another friend's SL-350 of several months later. The SL-90 was the first SL model released, and it is the only one showing a black frame in the brochure. Since we are discussing my memory of more than thirty-five years ago, it is quite possible that I am just plain wrong on this issue.
SL-100
Year | Color Choices | Tank | Frame | Exhaust | Handlebars |
1970 - K0 | Ruby Red - Sapphire Blue - Emerald Green | White Stripe | Silver | High-rise | No Crossbrace |
1971 - K1 | Ruby Red - Emerald Green - Mars Orange | White Stripe | Silver | Low-rise | No Crossbrace |
1972 - K2 | Candy Ruby Red - Tortoise Green Metallic | Yellow Panel | Silver | Low-rise | Crossbrace |
1973 - K3 | Fire Red - Candy Riviera Blue | White Decal | Black | Low-rise | Crossbrace |
All SL-100's had flat-black exhausts with chrome shields, kickstarters, and body-colored, steel fenders.
SL-125
Year | Color Choices | Tank | Frame | Side Covers |
1971 - K0 | Strato Blue Metallic - Poppy Yellow Metallic - Candy | Black Stripe | Silver | Body Color |
1972 - K1 | Special Silver Metallic | Red Stripe | Black | Body Color |
1973 - K2 | Special Silver Metallic | Red Stripe | Black | Matte Black |
All SL-125's had tachometers, kickstarters, painted steel fenders, and flat-black exhaust pipes with chrome shields.
SL-175
Year | Color Choices | Tank | Exhaust | Exhaust Shield |
1970 - K0 | Candy Ruby Red - Candy Sapphire Blue - Candy Topaz | White Stripe | Black | Chrome |
1971 - K1 | Light Ruby Red - Candy Sapphire Blue - Poppy Yellow | White Stripe | Black | Chrome |
1972 - K1 | Light Ruby Red - Candy Sapphire Blue - Poppy Yellow | White Stripe | Black | Chrome |
All SL-175's had two-into-one exhausts, silver frames, body-color fenders, kickstarters, and Ceriani-style front forks.
SL-350
Year | Color Choices | Frame | Tank | Starter | Front Wheel |
1969 - K0 | Ruby Red - Sapphire Blue - Candy Gold | single downtube | White Stripe | Electric | 19" |
1970 - K0 | Ruby Red - Sapphire Blue - Candy Gold | single downtube | White Stripe | Electric | 19" |
1970 - K1 | Ruby Red - Sapphire Blue - Topaz Orange | double downtube | White Stripe | Kickstarter | 19" |
1971- K1 | Ruby Red - Sapphire Blue - Topaz Orange | double downtube | White Stripe | Kickstarter | 19" |
1972 - K2 | Marina Blue Metallic - Candy Panther Gold | double downtube | Yellow Trim | Kickstarter | 21" |
1973 - K2 | Marina Blue Metallic - Candy Panther Gold | double downtube | Yellow Trim | Kickstarter | 21" |
All SL-350's had candy paint, silver frames, flat-black exhausts, Ceriani-style front forks, and exposed rear springs.
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