Glad i'm not the only one Nick, when i had my NSR, RS250 and 125's, i was buying up whatever new old stock i could lay my hands on, especially for the RS's, even though i knew i was never gonna use half of it, sad or what, if i had £50 for every part i bought i could have retired early, sadly i still keep looking for bits of bling to go on my CRF450, at my age as well. Oh well glad i'm not the only one. Have to say the old 18 is looking good. _________________ Proud Father of , 05 ktm 400exc supermoto 2018 honda crf rx supermoto
Good to know I’m not alone! ^^ in fact sounds as if I’m “in good company” as far as my addition goes, perhaps we should start a support group
I’ll go first …… my names Nick and up until I was introduced to Yahoo auctions Japan by a very bad man who goes by the pseudonym of RobH I had money in the bank and space in the shed, - these days both are challenged and I find myself browsing the web at all times of the day with the voices in my head feeding my anxiety around FOMO for illusive NOS parts from Japan.
Love you really Rob and my bike looks so much better for being introduced to Jauce !
Back to reality -
With some fresh fuel in the tank I took her out for a spin to Cheltenham to see Nick and the guys at Spa motorcycles (another of Robs nuggets of worldly wisdom)to see if they could improve the situation with the choke/carb for cold starts and perhaps put it on their dyno and get it dialed in.
As soon as I went through the door I knew I was in safe hands, apart from an overly friendly guard dog that acted like it had been pole axed and rolled over for a belly scratch without any encouragement (could have taken him home to be honest) - the shop was full of 2 Stokes down one side a real smorgasbord of very clean old LC’s and a newer (still 30 yrs old) YPVS’s for sale along with a bunch of late 1970’s 2T’s
A date has been set for workshop time next month, but until then she’s still a rider 😁
Standing guard
When your greeted by these old timers you know you’ve come to people who love and respect smokers - The Rothmans MC16 is a dogs dinner of parts from later marks and very much a non runner by the seem of things, it did have some very lovely Rainbow Tyga expansion chambers on it so somebody’s been waving their wallet around in the past
Rob and the team at Spa are superb. I'd interested to see how you get on. My RD400 with all the updates went from stock 34bhp to a conservative 50bhp on their Dyno. _________________ Why do things simply when you can complicate them
RobH wrote:Rob and the team at Spa are superb. I'd interested to see how you get on. My RD400 with all the updates went from stock 34bhp to a conservative 50bhp on their Dyno.
Cheers Rob I’ll keep you posted, when the boff came out of the workshop fresh from having done what I assume was a dyno test judging by the noise I could hear when I walked in with what looked like at first glance a pair of 80’s stereo headphones around his neck (believe he was Rob) he looked at what I’d ridden in on and asked what airbox, carbs and porting was it running, followed up by a second question “what do you want to achieve” since everything is standard I just want a crisp sounding motor, and to be honest if he can deliver that I’ll be happy.
Whilst writing this reply and thinking about your comment regarding a modest power increase, it’s just dawned upon me that when I rebuilt my bike - I’ve literally and inadvertently put it back to Japanese Domestic market spec as I’ve reconnected the RED wire back up when fitting the loom !
Job for this afternoon I think, and then an excuse for a further test ride 🤔 _________________ Nick
After dropping my bike off last weekend and then waiting all week like a 5 year old counting the days down to Christmas, Friday finally arrived and phone call late Friday afternoon confirmed I was on for Saturday and a return trip over to Spa Motorcycles in Cheltenham to collect my old girl.
Having hopped on a Bus (yes I know what you’re thinking) such a rock and roll look way to travel complete with all my Motorcycle paraphernalia ! Spa Motorcycles didn’t disappoint – sat outside when I arrived was this, admittedly its a disembowelled “Yamaha” but even so it still looked impressive (maybe it had more to do with Marlboro colours it was sporting)
Not sure on this vintage power valve with a modern headlight and cowl – but hell I wasn’t there to buy, especial not a Yam ….merely to be re united with an old friend.
Sadly there are no pics of my bike on the dyno but I guess its all about the results and here’s whats she’s putting out, no idea how to interpret a good/bad or for that matter an indifferent dyno graph but 57bhp on a quarter litre made me smile – certainly more than I was expecting.
On a newly built motor with standard pipes and jetting I’m guessing this about where it should/expected to be?
Having had a quick squint on here, I can see tuned MC21’s and 28’s well inside 60bhp territory so mine is respectable! and a definite improvement on the restricted 46bhp it left the factory with, doing some basic maths it’s still 228bhp per litre in a bike weighing around 130kg/288lbs = not that I need it but it certainly validates having the motor rebuilt by Steve Alee at GT Performance Engineering in order to re live the 1990’s on and enables me to kill off a few brain cells sniffing the blue haze coming out of the exhausts in the process. _________________ Nick
It's a very nice smooth graph. I can't remember what the spec is, but given it's a bit "mix-n-match", I'd say it's healthy enough.
There may be a little bit more in it, but I can't comment based on the figures because I can only go on what I've seen on GT's dyno, and you can never compare dyno results. If you are happy with it and the way it rides, that's all that really counts. Not always worth trying to get them on the bleeding edge... just better to have a quick, fun, and reliable ride 🙂 _________________ Andy.
NSR-WORLD.COM
Please keep all responses to Forum posts on the Forum so that others may benefit.
Please DO NOT PM me for technical advice. My time is precious, and you will probably receive a faster response on the Forum anyway.
Apart from the later higher swept pipes lifted from the ‘89 R5K it’s all boring “Vanilla”1988 OEM so I’m quietly please with the results😀
If I’m honest the bikes already capable of going waaay faster round corners than my current riding skills can handle, so “chasing the dragon” and hunting down more power to liberate is only going to end in tears especially when I’m sat on my arse in the middle of the road watching it slide away from me - or more likely come at the expense of a spectacular engine detonation at the end of along straight (only time I’d truly be able to find its limits)
I think the only thing I’d be setting in motion is one of these ~ a gut wrenching “Boom” followed by an abrupt silence, loosening of bowls and heavily soiled under crackers !
Okay that’s actually taken somewhere near Assen in 1993 capturing the moment John Kocinski pulled the pin and deliberately self detonated his Suzuki in a fit of rage at coming third
Thats actual footage of my first pentax eating its pistons at about 130 if anyone knows the 2 hills going towards alfreton town,you will know where,i was flat out,down the hill,and just as i started going up the the other hill,hail seizure,sideways and clutch in and i free wheeled into the layby,quite a distance _________________ ive seen more tarts than mr kipling
Thats actual footage of my first pentax eating its pistons at about 130 if anyone knows the 2 hills going towards alfreton town,you will know where,i was flat out,down the hill,and just as i started going up the the other hill,hail seizure,sideways and clutch in and i free wheeled into the layby,quite a distance _________________ ive seen more tarts than mr kipling
silikesguiness wrote:Thats actual footage of my first pentax eating its pistons at about 130 if anyone knows the 2 hills going towards alfreton town,you will know where,i was flat out,down the hill,and just as i started going up the the other hill,hail seizure,sideways and clutch in and i free wheeled into the layby,quite a distance
That was one of my biggest fears, I’ve put just over 1,400kms on my engine and only now starting to give it some Beanz, it’s was originally going to be a “show pony” or “garage Queen” but I love it so much I can’t help but ride it _________________ Nick
With zero chance of rain and the sun out I though I’d get up early and find somewhere scenic in the north Cotswolds to take a picture or two, sadly as it was a Sunday not a lot was open
So 92 miles later on just one road the A40/M40 - I found myself rocking up at a two stroke event at the Ace Cafe on the north circular,
Bizarrely no other Honda’s - just a sea of Kawasaki KH and Suzuki GT triples - followed by RD’s of assorted flavours from 125 single cylinder to the full on 500 monster
FS1e anyone ?
Even the little know brand of Cabellero out numbered Honda
This 1992 TZR took the crown for the newest 2T in the car park
_________________ Nick
Having covered over 200 miles on todays soirée I was left with two things to sort out
A bill from Sadiq Khan for £12.50 for the privilege of entering London
And this paltry smorgasbord, I can remember coming back from a Cotswold summer ride in the late 80’s early 90’s with ten times more fly debris than this….. easier to remove than a black carpet but kind of sad all the same that our insect population have been killed off by the farmers
Its been a while since I’ve updated this page but that’s because I’ve been out riding and enjoying the old girl, so much so I’ve put close to 3,000 km on the clock in the last few months.
Is a project ever completed ? – probably not as the refinements keep on coming and we’re now into minor or ridiculous territory, Having fitted the higher sweep pipes I managed to find all but one of the original parts to make it work – the uniquely shaped flat rubber washers dampers illuding me.
Anyway to scratch an itch and get hold of the rubber washers I ended up buying the whole lot again only this time no more missing frilley washers
And fitted
Having joined the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club (VJMC) back in January I attended my first show at the weekend and exhibited my MC18, the Vintage Transport show just outside Cirencester in the Cotswolds was unbelievably big and had every type of bike going, I got to meet a lot of interesting people – one chap (frequent visitor to this website) who owns an MC18 and unbelievably sporting Rothmans colourways (common as muck these R4J’s) – I forgot your name but if your reading this you know who you are and we should meet up sometime since your less than 10 miles away!
As some of you might have spotted above ^^ and courtesy of the guys at Image Design I’ve got myself a new lid sporting Wayne Gardners 1980’s design to match my bike – since Wayne’s iconic Rothmans helmet evolved over the years, with the early one sporting “Wayne” is some god forsaken ugly font on the rear mine is a bit mix and match with the biggest difference being the solid blue block at the back being used to celebrate his season wins and 1987 world title.
I’m super pleased as it’s all paint even the Swan Lager logo 😁 back in the day when you could buy it in the UK (early 90’s) I got pissed many a time on Swan lager as I genuinely liked the stuff
To those of you with keen eyes and know their onions, YES that is an Arai lid dressed up as a Shoei - Arai manufacture a “Modern” Lid that best resembles the shape of the round golf balls we used to wear in the 80’s and 90’s - most modern helmets especially Shoei are now egg shaped or have a ton of vents and other shizzle all over them. _________________ Nick
I love the new lid! If you don't mine me asking, what did they sting you for the paint? (Reply in PM if you're happy to tell me but don't want to say here.) Only thing I would've done different on yours is I would've had NSR painted where it says SHOEI.
I'd like to get my (black) Arai done in a version of the later Doohan design but in NSR-WORLD silver/gun metal/neon red. _________________ Andy.
NSR-WORLD.COM
Please keep all responses to Forum posts on the Forum so that others may benefit.
Please DO NOT PM me for technical advice. My time is precious, and you will probably receive a faster response on the Forum anyway.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum