diff --git a/example/otel/go.mod b/example/otel/go.mod
index 59178f9b900..1b1cd44281d 100644
--- a/example/otel/go.mod
+++ b/example/otel/go.mod
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-module github.com/google/go-github/v82/example/otel
+module github.com/google/go-github/v81/example/otel
 
 go 1.24.0
 
 require (
-	github.com/google/go-github/v82 v82.0.0
-	github.com/google/go-github/v82/otel v0.0.0
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.24.0
+	github.com/google/go-github/v81 v81.0.0
+	github.com/google/go-github/v81/otel v0.0.0
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.27.0
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.27.0
 )
 
@@ -19,6 +19,6 @@ require (
 	golang.org/x/sys v0.39.0 // indirect
 )
 
-replace github.com/google/go-github/v82 => ../../
+replace github.com/google/go-github/v81 => ../../
 
-replace github.com/google/go-github/v82/otel => ../../otel
+replace github.com/google/go-github/v81/otel => ../../otel
diff --git a/example/otel/go.sum b/example/otel/go.sum
index 6d1563c3d2c..e7517823d57 100644
--- a/example/otel/go.sum
+++ b/example/otel/go.sum
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0 h1:HtqpIVDClZ4nwg75+f6Lvsy/wHu+3BoSGCbBAcpTsT
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0/go.mod h1:r2ic/lqez/lEtzL7wO/rwa5dbSLXVDPFyf8C91i36aY=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.27.0 h1:9BZoF3yMK/O1AafMiQTVu0YDj5Ea4hPhxCs7sGva+cg=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.27.0/go.mod h1:DMpAK8fzYRzs+bi3rS5REupisuqTheUlSZJ1WnZaPAQ=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.24.0 h1:s0PHtIkN+3xrbDOpt2M8OTG92cWqUESvzh2MxiR5xY8=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.24.0/go.mod h1:hZlFbDbRt++MMPCCfSJfmhkGIWnX1h3XjkfxZUjLrIA=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.27.0 h1:/0YaXu3755A/cFbtXp+21lkXgI0QE5avTWA2HjU9/WE=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace v1.27.0/go.mod h1:m7SFxp0/7IxmJPLIY3JhOcU9CoFzDaCPL6xxQIxhA+o=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.27.0 h1:hvj3vdEKyeCi4YaYfNjv2NUje8FqKqUY8IlF0FxV/ik=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.27.0/go.mod h1:mVFgmRlhljgBiuk/MP/oKylr4hs85GZAylncepAX/ak=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.27.0 h1:mlk+/Y1gLPLn84U4tI8d3GNJmGT/eXe3ZuOXN9kTWmI=
diff --git a/example/otel/main.go b/example/otel/main.go
index 05dc4df4af4..ae0cf64506d 100644
--- a/example/otel/main.go
+++ b/example/otel/main.go
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
 
-	"github.com/google/go-github/v82/github"
-	"github.com/google/go-github/v82/otel"
+	"github.com/google/go-github/v81/github"
+	"github.com/google/go-github/v81/otel"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/stdout/stdouttrace"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/trace"
 )
@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ func main() {
 		),
 	}
 
-	// Create GitHub client
 	client := github.NewClient(httpClient)
 
 	// Make a request (Get Rate Limits is public and cheap)
diff --git a/example/otel/otel b/example/otel/otel
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..484721c0eb5
Binary files /dev/null and b/example/otel/otel differ
diff --git a/github/github.go b/github/github.go
index 490351d1343..319d07fc871 100644
--- a/github/github.go
+++ b/github/github.go
@@ -36,12 +36,12 @@ const (
 	defaultUserAgent  = "go-github" + "/" + Version
 	uploadBaseURL     = "https://uploads.github.com/"
 
-	headerAPIVersion    = "X-Github-Api-Version"
-	headerRateLimit     = "X-Ratelimit-Limit"
-	headerRateRemaining = "X-Ratelimit-Remaining"
-	headerRateUsed      = "X-Ratelimit-Used"
+	HeaderRateLimit     = "X-Ratelimit-Limit"
+	HeaderRateRemaining = "X-Ratelimit-Remaining"
+	HeaderRateUsed      = "X-Ratelimit-Used"
 	HeaderRateReset     = "X-Ratelimit-Reset"
 	HeaderRateResource  = "X-Ratelimit-Resource"
+	headerAPIVersion    = "X-Github-Api-Version"
 	headerOTP           = "X-Github-Otp"
 	headerRetryAfter    = "Retry-After"
 
@@ -785,13 +785,13 @@ func (r *Response) populatePageValues() {
 // parseRate parses the rate related headers.
 func parseRate(r *http.Response) Rate {
 	var rate Rate
-	if limit := r.Header.Get(headerRateLimit); limit != "" {
+	if limit := r.Header.Get(HeaderRateLimit); limit != "" {
 		rate.Limit, _ = strconv.Atoi(limit)
 	}
-	if remaining := r.Header.Get(headerRateRemaining); remaining != "" {
+	if remaining := r.Header.Get(HeaderRateRemaining); remaining != "" {
 		rate.Remaining, _ = strconv.Atoi(remaining)
 	}
-	if used := r.Header.Get(headerRateUsed); used != "" {
+	if used := r.Header.Get(HeaderRateUsed); used != "" {
 		rate.Used, _ = strconv.Atoi(used)
 	}
 	if reset := r.Header.Get(HeaderRateReset); reset != "" {
@@ -1451,10 +1451,7 @@ func CheckResponse(r *http.Response) error {
 	switch {
 	case r.StatusCode == http.StatusUnauthorized && strings.HasPrefix(r.Header.Get(headerOTP), "required"):
 		return (*TwoFactorAuthError)(errorResponse)
-	// Primary rate limit exceeded: GitHub returns 403 or 429 with X-RateLimit-Remaining: 0
-	// See: https://docs.github.com/en/rest/using-the-rest-api/rate-limits-for-the-rest-api
-	case (r.StatusCode == http.StatusForbidden || r.StatusCode == http.StatusTooManyRequests) &&
-		r.Header.Get(headerRateRemaining) == "0":
+	case r.StatusCode == http.StatusForbidden && r.Header.Get(HeaderRateRemaining) == "0":
 		return &RateLimitError{
 			Rate:     parseRate(r),
 			Response: errorResponse.Response,
diff --git a/github/github_test.go b/github/github_test.go
index 8cffb7f7ef6..7ce660dd177 100644
--- a/github/github_test.go
+++ b/github/github_test.go
@@ -1230,9 +1230,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit(t *testing.T) {
 	client, mux, _ := setup(t)
 
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "59")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "1")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "59")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "1")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, "1372700873")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 	})
@@ -1349,9 +1349,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_errorResponse(t *testing.T) {
 	client, mux, _ := setup(t)
 
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "59")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "1")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "59")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "1")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, "1372700873")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		http.Error(w, "Bad Request", 400)
@@ -1390,9 +1390,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_rateLimitError(t *testing.T) {
 	client, mux, _ := setup(t)
 
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "0")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "60")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, "1372700873")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1440,9 +1440,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_noNetworkCall(t *testing.T) {
 	reset := time.Now().UTC().Add(time.Minute).Round(time.Second) // Rate reset is a minute from now, with 1 second precision.
 
 	mux.HandleFunc("/first", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "0")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "60")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1508,9 +1508,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_ignoredFromCache(t *testing.T) {
 	// By adding the X-From-Cache header we pretend this is served from a cache.
 	mux.HandleFunc("/first", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		w.Header().Set("X-From-Cache", "1")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "0")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "60")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1556,9 +1556,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_sleepUntilResponseResetLimit(t *testing.T) {
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		if firstRequest {
 			firstRequest = false
-			w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-			w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "0")
-			w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "60")
+			w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+			w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "0")
+			w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "60")
 			w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Unix()))
 			w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1569,9 +1569,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_sleepUntilResponseResetLimit(t *testing.T) {
 }`)
 			return
 		}
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "0")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Add(time.Hour).Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1600,9 +1600,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_sleepUntilResponseResetLimitRetryOnce(t *testing.T) {
 	requestCount := 0
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		requestCount++
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "0")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "60")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1634,9 +1634,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_sleepUntilClientResetLimit(t *testing.T) {
 	requestCount := 0
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		requestCount++
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "0")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Add(time.Hour).Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1667,9 +1667,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_abortSleepContextCancelled(t *testing.T) {
 	requestCount := 0
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		requestCount++
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "0")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "60")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1702,9 +1702,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_abortSleepContextCancelledClientLimit(t *testing.T) {
 	requestCount := 0
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		requestCount++
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "0")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Add(time.Hour).Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1858,7 +1858,7 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_abuseRateLimitError_xRateLimitReset(t *testing.T) {
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, strconv.Itoa(int(blockUntil)))
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "1") // set remaining to a value > 0 to distinct from a primary rate limit
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "1") // set remaining to a value > 0 to distinct from a primary rate limit
 		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusForbidden)
 		fmt.Fprintln(w, `{
    "message": "You have triggered an abuse detection mechanism ...",
@@ -1917,7 +1917,7 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_abuseRateLimitError_maxDuration(t *testing.T) {
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, strconv.Itoa(int(blockUntil)))
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "1") // set remaining to a value > 0 to distinct from a primary rate limit
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "1") // set remaining to a value > 0 to distinct from a primary rate limit
 		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusForbidden)
 		fmt.Fprintln(w, `{
    "message": "You have triggered an abuse detection mechanism ...",
@@ -1956,9 +1956,14 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_disableRateLimitCheck(t *testing.T) {
 	requestCount := 0
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		requestCount++
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Add(time.Hour).Unix()))
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "0")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Add(time.Hour).Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -1992,9 +1997,9 @@ func TestDo_rateLimit_bypassRateLimitCheck(t *testing.T) {
 	requestCount := 0
 	mux.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
 		requestCount++
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateLimit, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateRemaining, "5000")
-		w.Header().Set(headerRateUsed, "0")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateLimit, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "5000")
+		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateUsed, "0")
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateReset, fmt.Sprint(reset.Add(time.Hour).Unix()))
 		w.Header().Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
@@ -2135,9 +2140,9 @@ func TestCheckResponse_RateLimit(t *testing.T) {
 		Body: io.NopCloser(strings.NewReader(`{"message":"m",
 			"documentation_url": "url"}`)),
 	}
-	res.Header.Set(headerRateLimit, "60")
-	res.Header.Set(headerRateRemaining, "0")
-	res.Header.Set(headerRateUsed, "1")
+	res.Header.Set(HeaderRateLimit, "60")
+	res.Header.Set(HeaderRateRemaining, "0")
+	res.Header.Set(HeaderRateUsed, "1")
 	res.Header.Set(HeaderRateReset, "243424")
 	res.Header.Set(HeaderRateResource, "core")
 
diff --git a/otel/go.mod b/otel/go.mod
index 7f98b378b84..ef7ca64e6d7 100644
--- a/otel/go.mod
+++ b/otel/go.mod
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-module github.com/google/go-github/v82/otel
+module github.com/google/go-github/v81/otel
 
 go 1.24.0
 
 require (
-	github.com/google/go-github/v82 v82.0.0
+	github.com/google/go-github/v81 v81.0.0
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.27.0
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.27.0
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.27.0
@@ -17,4 +17,4 @@ require (
 	golang.org/x/sys v0.39.0 // indirect
 )
 
-replace github.com/google/go-github/v82 => ../
+replace github.com/google/go-github/v81 => ../
diff --git a/otel/transport.go b/otel/transport.go
index 45a9f69ae73..f6e1d41ba2f 100644
--- a/otel/transport.go
+++ b/otel/transport.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"strconv"
 
-	"github.com/google/go-github/v82/github"
+	"github.com/google/go-github/v81/github"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/codes"
@@ -80,12 +80,12 @@ func (t *Transport) RoundTrip(req *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
 	// Capture response attributes
 	span.SetAttributes(attribute.Int("http.status_code", resp.StatusCode))
 	// Capture GitHub Specifics
-	if limit := resp.Header.Get("X-Ratelimit-Limit"); limit != "" {
+	if limit := resp.Header.Get(github.HeaderRateLimit); limit != "" {
 		if v, err := strconv.Atoi(limit); err == nil {
 			span.SetAttributes(attribute.Int("github.rate_limit.limit", v))
 		}
 	}
-	if remaining := resp.Header.Get("X-Ratelimit-Remaining"); remaining != "" {
+	if remaining := resp.Header.Get(github.HeaderRateRemaining); remaining != "" {
 		if v, err := strconv.Atoi(remaining); err == nil {
 			span.SetAttributes(attribute.Int("github.rate_limit.remaining", v))
 		}
diff --git a/otel/transport_test.go b/otel/transport_test.go
index c005691490a..ab5b1fae911 100644
--- a/otel/transport_test.go
+++ b/otel/transport_test.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"testing"
 
-	"github.com/google/go-github/v82/github"
+	"github.com/google/go-github/v81/github"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
 	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/codes"
@@ -57,8 +57,8 @@ func TestRoundTrip_Spans(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Setup Headers
 	headers := http.Header{}
-	headers.Set("X-Ratelimit-Limit", "5000")
-	headers.Set("X-Ratelimit-Remaining", "4999")
+	headers.Set(github.HeaderRateLimit, "5000")
+	headers.Set(github.HeaderRateRemaining, "4999")
 	headers.Set(github.HeaderRateReset, "1372700873")
 	headers.Set("X-Github-Request-Id", "1234-5678")
 	headers.Set(github.HeaderRateResource, "core")