Honda NS400R
The Honda NS400R was a street-legal road-oriented two-stroke sport bike produced by Honda Motor Co., Ltd between 1985 and 1987.
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| Manufacturer | Honda |
|---|---|
| Production | 1985 - 1987 |
| Engine | 387 cc (23.6 cu in) 90° V-3 two-stroke, liquid-cooled |
| Bore / stroke | 57 mm × 50.6 mm (2.24 in × 1.99 in) |
| Power | 72 hp (73 PS; 54 kW) at 9,500 rpm |
| Brakes | front: dual disc rear: single disc |
| Tires | front: 100/90-16 rear: 110/90-17 |
| Wheelbase | 1385 mm |
| Dimensions | L: 2065 mm W: 720 mm H: 1150 mm |
| Seat height | 790 mm |
| Weight | 163 kg (dry) 183 kg (wet) |
| Fuel capacity | 19L |
| Oil capacity | 2L (engine oil capacity) |
| Fuel consumption | 29 km per L at 60 km/h |
| Related | Honda MVX250F, Honda NS500 |
The NS400R was inspired by Honda's NS500 (also known as the RS500R) 500cc GP-bike ridden by Freddie Spencer.
The NS400R is the largest-displacement, street-legal two-stroke road bike that Honda produced. The limited-production NS400R was only sold from 1985 to 1988 and traces its lineage back to 1979. Honda was cleaning up in 500cc class motocross racing with two-stroke engines, but its four-stroke-powered World Grand Prix road bikes were lagging behind the competition. After internal deliberation over its four-stroke racing heritage, Honda pushed forward into two-stroke development. The water-cooled NS500 fused the power of three two-stroke motocross engines into a compact and lightweight V-3 configuration that produced 120 HP at 11,000 RPM. Freddie Spencer grabbed Honda's first 500cc class win in 15 years on an NS500 in 1982, and then rode a lighter and more powerful NS500 to a 1983 500cc World Championship. The following year, Honda manufactured a limited-production version of the championship racer for privateers called the RS500 that was a near duplicate of the works machine without the specialized exhaust. Yamaha and Suzuki had already released street-legal replica racers, and Honda answered the challenge with the NS400R in 1985. The 387cc liquid-cooled two-stroke V-3 cranked out 72 HP at 9,500 RPM with triple flat-slide carburetors, and a 6-speed transmission wet clutch combination got the power to the ground. TRAC anti-dive front forks and a Pro-Link rear suspension joined a box section alloy frame and triple disc brakes with dual-piston calipers. The road-going replica racer was a street-legal facsimile of the NS500 V-3 that Fast Freddie rode past his 4-cylinder competition to become the youngest ever world champion at 21 years old. Honda discontinued the NS400R in 1988.