Howdy Gang!

In another post, I mentioned that I was living in Japan and had access to NSR parts via Yahoo Auction, Mercari, and local second hand shops.

Sometimes I come across parts for give away prices.

And as I do my weekly searches online, I came across this: an AliExpress MC21/MC28 crankshaft for Y94,000, around $620 U.S. https://tinyurl.com/4wnx9ns9

I've seen online where there are bootleg (fake) Honda parts (labels don't say Made in Japan, font is a little off, etc).

So my question is, how rampant are bootleg Honda parts? If Honda still sells a crank at Y300,000, how are folks selling them so cheap or have so many in supply? And, all of the boxes and packaging looks near identical from one seller to the next.

Dana
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2016 Husqvarna 701SM
2021 Husqvarna FS450 supermoto
1995 NSR250r MC28

Not sure about counterfeits, but weren't there like 3 of those NOS cranks listed on upgarage a few weeks ago for about the same price? Could it be that the aliexpress seller snapped them up and is now trying to sell on the Chinese market?

I've seen those cranks too. I highly doubt they are counterfeit, but I am absolutely sure there are smaller counterfeit parts out there.

The automotive industry is rife with counterfeit parts out of China, and there are even some exposé videos on YouTube of undercover filming in the factories. You can basically order any part, with any manufacturer's label, and they will deliver it.
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Andy.
NSR-WORLD.COM

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To add to my speculation, I searched the reviews of the AliExpress seller. They have sold 7 cranks at once to someone in Japan in July. https://tinyurl.com/yk54acnt (3 star reviews). It also says the origin is Cn (China).

And looking at other reviews, they are all Chinese made parts.

Things that make me go hmmmm.

Caveat emptor!

Dana

Tyga is selling them for $1,093.81 U.S. and has a stock of 99+. I think I'll grab one from them...a trusted source.

https://tyga-performance.com/product_info.php?cPath=72_1036_80_136_137&products_id=134
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2016 Husqvarna 701SM
2021 Husqvarna FS450 supermoto
1995 NSR250r MC28

You should be able to buy direct from Honda in Japan for the MC21/28, as it's part of their Heritage Parts programme.

https://www.honda.co.jp/bike-genuineparts/nsr250r/list.html

Edit: That page no longer shows the crank... maybe because it's fully back in production?

We [Performance Engineering] ordered as many as we could get off the Honda system back in 2015 (I think we got 10), and when we unboxed the first one, it was very clear they were all made with brand new tooling. All the stampings on the con-rods for example, were pin sharp, and the overall finish much more superior. They were also far truer than previous NOS cranks we'd sourced.

I'd still say, get one while you can. I'd also say, if you have a serviceable one, I would most definitely investigate Inoue Boring. See what kind of feedback you can find in Japan for them, because their centre seal replacement looks almost too good to be true! My understanding is a rebuild from them costs about the same as a new crank, but the centre "seal" should last pretty much forever, so you will be able to just replace outer bearings for about £70, if and when they deteriorate... which is very rarely! (Incidentally, this is what we did on the NSR500Vs too, as the centre bearing on those cranks is unobtainable, so replacing the outers frequently put less stress on the centre.)
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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.

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