Multi-cylinder two-stroke Grand Prix race replicas were much in vogue during the mid-1980s as first Yamaha and then Suzuki sought to exploit their links with the racetrack. Honda too were players in this niche market but somewhat surprisingly chose to make their GP look-alike a 400 rather than a 500 like those of their rivals. Despite giving away 100cc, the NS400R looked every bit as convincing as Yamaha’s RD500LC and Suzuki’s RG500 Gamma and had the advantage of being both lighter and more compact than either. Introduced for 1985, the NS400R boasted a three-cylinder engine just like Freddie Spencer’s 1982 World Championship-winning NS500 while being notable as Honda’s largest two-stroke roadster and its first with an aluminium frame. Although somewhat over-geared – you needed a long straight to see more than 130mph on the speedometer – the NS400R was one of the best-handling road bikes of its day: ‘there are few machines that will make up time on the NS400 through a series of bends,’ declared Bike magazine. An ‘instant classic’, the NS400R is today one of the most sought after of 1980s sports bikes. This clean and original example is finished in the limited edition livery of the Rothmans cigarette brand, sponsors of Honda’s racing programme at the time. Acquired in 1998 and kept in the Museum since then, the machine displays a total of 31,535 kilometres (approximately 19,500 miles) on the odometer and is offered with original Austrian Typenschein confirming matching frame/engine numbers.
Multi-cylinder two-stroke Grand Prix race replicas were much in vogue during the mid-1980s as first Yamaha and then Suzuki sought to exploit their links with the racetrack. Honda too were players in this niche market but somewhat surprisingly chose to make their GP look-alike a 400 rather than a 500 like those of their rivals. Despite giving away 100cc, the NS400R looked every bit as convincing as Yamaha’s RD500LC and Suzuki’s RG500 Gamma and had the advantage of being both lighter and more compact than either. Introduced for 1985, the NS400R boasted a three-cylinder engine just like Freddie Spencer’s 1982 World Championship-winning NS500 while being notable as Honda’s largest two-stroke roadster and its first with an aluminium frame. Although somewhat over-geared – you needed a long straight to see more than 130mph on the speedometer – the NS400R was one of the best-handling road bikes of its day: ‘there are few machines that will make up time on the NS400 through a series of bends,’ declared Bike magazine. An ‘instant classic’, the NS400R is today one of the most sought after of 1980s sports bikes. This clean and original example is finished in the limited edition livery of the Rothmans cigarette brand, sponsors of Honda’s racing programme at the time. Acquired in 1998 and kept in the Museum since then, the machine displays a total of 31,535 kilometres (approximately 19,500 miles) on the odometer and is offered with original Austrian Typenschein confirming matching frame/engine numbers.
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