What a start to the month…. Following last months Bristol and West Bike Show I got a mention and a few pictures in the quarterly VJMC (Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club) magazine called “Tansha” which was a nice surprise.







Almost six months ago I contacted the UK Honda Owners Club as I read they were attending and showing at the annual Kickback and Custom show held at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern which isn’t too far away from me and withing spitting distance of where Zeus lives, so being local-ish I could ride there without the hassle of a van or trailer etc.


During my conversation with Jude from the Honda Owners club we discussed the bike and the rebuild journey along with the fact that I had documented it on NSR World, which being a Honda exclusive platform was bang on the money for them and having shared the QR code they kindly featured my bike in their quarterly magazine with a full page given over to my once rusty neglected wreck that had languished in my dad garage for 25 years before being resurrected







The show which has now come and gone proved to be very popular and featured a ton of bikes and cars with both time and an obscene amount of money seemingly lavished upon them, now I’ve never been a fan of RD350LC’s but jesus was there some sweet modded ones on show with Ohlins USD’s and cool paint jobs, felt my head being turned before I came back to my senses.


The old dog also made the local paper when the reporter covering the show, stopped at the HOC stand and spoke with the team.



After a quick clean and wipe over to get rid of the dust from riding the bike to the show and across the gravel car park she looked good and held her own!




One end of one shed




The winner of the most Original Vintage Classic Bike was this Honda CB500 a very worthy winner and absolutely mint, especially considering where the journey began with one rust bucket.



One of the many RD’s this one had a zip painted down the middle and wore different paint on either side





This Old Katana was equally eye catching




when viewed thought my rose tinted glasses this little AR125 was both mint and exactly how I remember mine from 1987 – okay whilst mine was just like this and at the time only two years old it had been down the road a few times




Rothmans – ten a penny






As for the rest of the show here’s one bike with TWO engines




Honda CBR anyone ?- this ones got Lister Diesel engine from a cement mixer







Zooped up lawn mower anyone ? Fastest one around


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Nick

Rebuild project NSR250 MC18 R4J

Too Tall Terry! Brilliant. Amazing you found the issue of the cold starting. I finally got some carb insulators from Greece but they took forever pretty sure they were for an MC-16 (which had 28mm carbs) because it took some heat, some grease and some sweat and tears to get the 32mm carbs into them...not sure how smart that is but I couldn't face looking for another set.

Hudtm60 wrote:Too Tall Terry! Brilliant. Amazing you found the issue of the cold starting. I finally got some carb insulators from Greece but they took forever pretty sure they were for an MC-16 (which had 28mm carbs) because it took some heat, some grease and some sweat and tears to get the 32mm carbs into them...not sure how smart that is but I couldn't face looking for another set.

Being from the USA - I was surprised you knew about Terry Rymer let alone knowing his nickname

The bike starts a treat now, no idea why the choke jets have blocked for a second time, but after a carb clean by the guys at Spa Motorcycles it’s like new again

Loving your build thread by the way!
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Nick

Rebuild project NSR250 MC18 R4J

Just can’t help myself – the bank holiday arrived and the bike hit the road and over the three days another 500Km put on the clock we’re rapidly heading for 40,000 km on the speedo


Never quite made our intended destination Devils Bridge in but instead ended up at the Elan Valley Reservoir in Rhayader Mid Wales, The roads there were suitably gnarly and twisty however being a haven for bikes the highways agency have installed way too many speed camera’s and in-between them the local bizzies had set up shop, not to mention the 20mph zones in every Welsh town you pass through


You meet the nicest people on a Honda !
Having come out of the visitor centre I spotted a women inspecting by bike in the car park – never caught her name but she turned out to be incredibly knowledgeable about NSR’s which kinda floored me before she went on say she had a Genuine SP MC21” at home and was surprised to see an older MC18 so far out in the boonies.

Took a few pics whilst we were there



And without the tree


As its warming up the insect kill increased, but still nowhere near what it was like back in the 1990’s



Tried (and largely failed) to take some an “Arty Pics”








Already looking forward to this weekend and the Classic Hub ride in, and hopefully finally meeting up with RobH

http://nsr250.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15670
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Nick

Rebuild project NSR250 MC18 R4J

Yes, I lived in Scotland from 1971 to early 90's when I was fully indoctrinated in motorbike culture...and it will never leave me...everything from racing to trying to keep a bike running all year round for pennies with no real help other than what the mags and mates could tell me...many mistakes were made.... imagine my surprise when I first took apart some front forks only to find the oil level was low.....that was a jarring few rides before I realized that maybe they need not be filled to the top! etc etc etc it was always a real joy to assess a problem and successfully fix it...that's what your choke adventure reminds me of...congrats. and it cost nothing! could have easily been £500.

As much as I like Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 I think you definitely settled in the right place
Even if you can’t get Irn Bru in glass bottles or deep fried Mars bars where you are.
Guess you could rustle up stateside version of Neeps and Tatties anytime you like …..but try to make a haggies and you’ll have OSHA along with homeland security knocking on your door.😆

Some things are better left alone !

Another great ride out today in the Cotswolds and cracked 39k on the Odo and slowly edging closer to catching RobH up on 40k

Finally got to meet Rob today and put a face to a name and also see his trusty steed, as Rob arrived early he got prize right outside the main building and the first bike you see on the way in

As soon as there was a gap I shoehorned mine on next to his for a quick photo and the guy next door kindly moved his bike


Birds of a feather!







Some lovely cars in storage at the place and some equally bizarre ones
This thing is 16.5 litres and would need a starting motor bigger than mine or Robs bike






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Nick

Rebuild project NSR250 MC18 R4J

It's a great place to visit. So many fantastic cars. Queues for drinks are a pain at weekends.
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Why do things simply when you can complicate them

There's a 24 litre car at the Brooklands Museum
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Why do things simply when you can complicate them