Honda Ns 400 R, Replica of the Freddie Spencer

This Honda 3-cylinder two-stroke is a street racer replica of the machine Freddie Spencer took to the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship in 1983. As one would expect from Honda in the 1980s, the NS400R was packed with high-tech features, had a build quality second to none and, most importantly, was the first Japanese production motorcycle with peerless handling. While many consider the later RC30 as deserving that title, in fact, the little two-stroke laid the foundations for a new era in Japanese motorcycling, when specialist chassis builders were no longer needed to get the best out of Honda’s powerful engines. Honda managed to translate the excellent handling of its Grand Prix machines into a road bike, while also smoothing out the twitchiness and sharpness from its racing manners. The NS400R was a proper race replica built between 1985 and 1987 that used the interesting 90-degree engine configuration of Spencer’s championship machine, but with a “reversed” layout: two cylinders forward-facing and the middle cylinder vertical, a change no doubt made to accommodate road equipment like a starter motor, electrical system and airbox. The front forks used Honda’s racing TRAC valving system (Torque Reactive Anti-dive Control), which really worked under hard braking; the two-stroke exhaust ports had mechanically operated ports that worked with exhaust resonance to increase the low-down torque of the motor. The lightweight frame used box-section aluminum tubing and was firm without totally losing rider feedback, and it handled the water-cooled engine’s 72 HP well. The 6-speed gearbox was close-ratio, and riders in a hurry needed to keep the engine on the boil, as despite Honda’s best efforts to lower the powerband, the 400cc rocket ship needed to be revved to really fly, and it certainly would when asked. How amazing that you could finally buy a 3-cylinder two-stroke Hot Rod that handled as well as it went—at least, if you lived outside the U.S., as the NS400R was never sold stateside. This hotshot 1985 Honda NS400R is from the MC Collection. Photo credit: Mecum.

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