And now to the body work…

The bike arrived in fairly stunning aftermarket bodywork….it was a coat of many colors hiding some serious neglect….all of which is rectified. The bodywork is surprisingly robust.
The panels are reasonably thick and not flimsy at all.





Solid mounting points


The rear came without any of the fixtures or that rear double holed back panel surrounding the cool rear lights so I was in the dark as to how all of that assembled.
It was ziptied together.


At one point during my journey I bought a bag of random mixed fixtures from Australia which included the brackets I’d seen in the parts manual. So I had them blasted.


And then zinc plated….not sure if I got all the bits that should be zinc yellow correct but there’s not many rivet counting police around here so that doesn’t matter and what the hell…they look good…


Rear Panel came from Australia also..


The inside of the tank was very clean and the paintwork was actually pretty good so I elected not to refurbish it…I love the patina and that worn Castrol sticker.


Also it was my goal to semi faithfully copy Nick’s (rothmans_SPud-25 years of Neglect - MC18 R4J Rebuild) MC18 tribute to Wayne Gardner’s NSR500. Nick has been a huge supporter and helper in me getting all the decals.
He hooked me up with Graham at The Image Works http://www.bike-stickers.com/homepage.htm and I was able to benefit from all Nicks hard work he did in measuring and sourcing all the correct artwork.
He’s a true gent.
Nicks inspiration


My inspiration of Nicks inspiration… his (now award winning) MC18.


My side panels came without the ‘HONDA’, but I was able to find a complete Rothmans Honda decal from stickershop2007 on fleabay
(based in Macau of all places) and just sliced off the HONDA.






and then I've been wondering what to do about this mark left by some poorly fit aftermarket pipes...


...there.



more later!!

I'm chuckling at the placement of the RK sticker. I've got a graunch on my swingarm where a silencer rubbed it, that I am curious to see what Rene's done with. Ultimately though, I need to find a "new" one at some point, as my stupidity does my head in every time I look at it! Stupid for both running my system without stays back in the day, and for not buying the brand new swingarm that David Silver was selling for £100 all those years ago!
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would be tempting to find a gull arm if they are compatible- I'll bet someone on here has tried....

"Lot's" of MC18s with Gull-Arms, and I've even seen an MC16 with one. Also seen a '16 with a Pro-Arm. It's all doable, but you need to fiddle about with spacers and suspension geometry.

I did actually meet an nice SEED R5K on the road near my home one afternoon, that had a Gull-Arm.
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Hudtm60 wrote:would be tempting to find a gull arm if they are compatible- I'll bet someone on here has tried....

Chris
You know the voices in your head are going to get louder and louder until you find yourself hitting the “buy it now” button on an auction site 🤣
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Nick

Rebuild project NSR250 MC18 R4J

Ha...yes it's tempting but I'm still working hard on trying to get the bike rolling as stock as possible. Won't be complicating things. Yet.

Talking about complications....I had no idea how to put the side panel/tail unit all together but after a few false starts discovered it's best to put it together on the bench first.

This bracket is the first to connect



then the triangular tail piece


Followed by the rear light tail piece


This is the curious arrangement of fasteners and small brackets that works...


Lights in...


That's it really...


Onto the bike..none of these plastics are in perfect condition but they are good enough.




and the other end works too!!



Last edited by Hudtm60 on Sun May 25, 2025 10:33 pm; edited 1 time in total

And she runs. To be honest this is about the third heat cycle. Fuel is 50:1...oil pump is working tho...I can see it pumping to the carbs....

https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/n-8gc5dS/1989HondaNSR250R/i-GBNrmDg/0/NH7x34t3mhdMswMDjXKmb7hPD8GS56GTc9k3mhcmW/1280/IMG_3106-1280.mp4

The power valve servo just arrived at T2 Racing in Osaka on Friday (23rd May) because it doesn't seem to be working as it should.
This movement in the video link below is when it's up at 10,000 rpm (been thru many heat cycles now) and it doesn't move
AT ALL as described in the tuning section here "With the kill switch set to the run position, turn the ignition on with the key/card. A
llow the Valve to cycle to the start setting. Now switch the ignition back off with the key/card.
Unplug the throttle position sensor (T.P.S), located on the inside of the right frame rail under the air solenoid block,
and switch the ignition back on. The servo will rotate to the "hi" open position.
Once again, turn the ignition off. Adjust the cables at the pulley end so the pointer aligns
with the mark on the back plate as shown in the diagram below.
**Note I tried to get it working with both the easy derestriction (disconnect the black/blue wire) or stock with it connected. (https://www.nsr-world.com/tuning/250-tuning/ignition/

I also ran the tests recommended in the workshop manual which involved a couple of wires with crocodile clips connecting to the battery terminals and certain tabs in the connector block but the servo wasn't interested in even pretending to respond.



https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/n-8gc5dS/1989HondaNSR250R/i-LNzsmPm/0/M9NSPM8fcHtGbV6gxRWrxrpkQ6Hx2TJXzm3WJQzW8/1280/IMG_3108%202-1280.mp4

Hopefully the servo will come back in a few weeks- (T2 said to expect two) it will come back fully functioning....as you know if it's not the servo, it could either be the Throttle Position Sensor (I looked around for a used one but there doesn't seem to be any available) OR of course...it could be the dreaded PGM.

T2 racing said they know someone who can fix the PGM's but there is a two year waiting list! I hope there's something lost it translation there....it might just be two months!...
in fact here's exactly what Yukako Hanakawa said
"I am not saying that I don't accept PGM2 refresh, but I don't do it at my shop, it is done by a specialized company.
However, the specialized company is busy, so I don't know the delivery time.
You have to wait about 1 to 2 years after receiving it. S
o I don't recommend it and I only accept it if you agree with the delivery time."

The PGM earlier this month, resting to give either immense joy or frustration.


and yes it's a PGMCDI not a 2.

If it's otherwise running fine, you can use a couple of split [knock] pins to fix the RC Valves in the HI position and enjoy a bit of more "traditional" full power. You won't get the famous NSR bottom-end, but it will certainly feel more "2-strokey"! It's not ideal, but it certainly works... I set a mate's up in Florida like it years ago, and certainly didn't seem to slow him down at all!

Bear in mind it may not be the PGM, as there is a dedicated RC Valve controller under the pillion seat.


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Last edited by Andy on Wed May 28, 2025 10:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ah, bloody hell.....the RC Valve Controller...another prospective villain. Hmm- 1) anyone fix those or 2) are they readily available second hand? 3) How often do they fail? I'll do some research.
I might try that trick with the RC Valves this weekend if I can get the bike registered and the weather cooperates. I just have to work out which way to turn them so they are HI and hiding.
Getting on the road this weekend could be brilliant!
Watch this space!

UPDATE: there's plenty of RC Controllers on Jauce- you just don't know if they work or not.



Tank was off because I'm painting these horrible rusty bits......you never see them because the side panels cover it up (maybe trapping the moisture that caused it)...but you know....rust kills..maybe not in my lifetime but still...worth doing



Last edited by Hudtm60 on Thu May 29, 2025 3:53 am; edited 1 time in total

Hudtm60 wrote:
I might try that trick with the RC Valves this weekend if I can get the bike registered and the weather cooperates. I just have to work out which way to turn them so they are HI and hiding.

It'll be obvious as soon as you look... there's only one position you can pin them in! 😉
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Chris
It’s coming on a pace now - hopefully we’ll be seeing some action shots real soon

That's interesting...the pinning. I've done it on my YPVS and it was clear how the valves got pinned....but check out the bracket or (cable guides as Honda call them) here....there IS a hole in the smaller 'outer' bracket to put a pin thru
but there isn't a corresponding hole on the inner bracket that would accept a pin and thus lock the two brackets in place.



And it's made even more interesting to look at the parts manual available on CMSNL and see that the inner bracket SHOULD have a hole.


Having said that...on 'our' parts manual...it's not so clear if there's a hole or not...


However I might have a remedy. I still have the cables connected to the power valve brackets and I have a device that will hold the cable in place-Basically it's the magnet that fits on a bicycle spoke that trips a sensor to give
you an idea of speed- like this..


the question is which way should the bracket be held so that the exhaust valves are flush and out of the way. I've looked at a lot of pics I've taken and even a video
and I think that if the bracket is turned fully clockwise and held in that position...the valves are flush and out of the way. I know that all I would have to do is take off the exhausts and see for myself but they are sealed so good with brans new crushable OEM gaskets I would hate to spoil that work.

Any thoughts anyone?

UPDATE:
Discovered these on Jauce. See, there should be holes, seeing where the holes are in the rear brackets might give me an idea of what position the bracket should be to have the valves flush?