Hi to the forum....I am not currently an NSR owner, but could well be in the near future. Not new to 2strokes having owned plenty over the years, mainly RD's, RGV's and my last 2stroke was an NS400 (regret letting that go now!). I have only owned the NS previously so I have no experience with NSR's and know very little about them in general as a bike.

So I am considering buying what I believe is an NSR250 MC18 1989 Mk11 R5K model which West Coast have for sale (its on eBay if you search). It requires a full engine rebuild which I am more than happy to do, but it doesn't have a crank. I am happy with the reason as to why the crank is missing but before I invest my hard earned I wanted to ask a few quick questions:

1. How easy is it to source a crank and which models are interchangeable?
2. Roughly how much would I expect to pay for one?
3. Who are the experts in rebuilding them in the UK?
4. Whats not available for the bike or easy to source in general?

Thanks for your help!

JasonM wrote:
1. How easy is it to source a crank and which models are interchangeable?
2. Roughly how much would I expect to pay for one?
3. Who are the experts in rebuilding them in the UK?
4. Whats not available for the bike or easy to source in general?

Hello Jason, and welcome to NSR-WORLD.

So, in the order they were posted:

1. Not very easy. R5/6K cranks are long discontinued, and no other crank is directly interchangeable. It is possible to machine the later MC21/MC28 crank to fit though. But finding someone to do the job properly may be difficult. While they can be rebuilt, they're not officially rebuildable, so not all the parts are either available, or replaceable. This means that any used crank you source does run the risk of being fit for nothing more than the scrap pile, and you won't actually know until it's split and inspected. GT Performance Engineering will inspect a crank for £25. Steve at GTPE could machine a new MC28 crank (currently running about £650), but whether he will or not is another matter. You'd have to call and ask... very nicely!
   
   
2. As with #1, a new MC28 crank is about £650 now, and would need further machining to fit MC18 R5/6K cases. A freshly rebuilt MC18 R5/6K crank is probably going to stand you in between £300 and £500, depending on how benevolent the seller is feeling. Expect closer to £500 for a rebuilt MC18 crank, and less for a machined & rebuilt MC21 crank. A dead crank, for rebuild, could be anywhere from £50 to £250 in my experience.
   
   
3. Unquestionably, GT Performance Engineering in Plymouth are the UK's only true NSR250 specialist. If I were to take an NSR anywhere else, it would be to Andy Sawford at St. Neots, but he's an HRC RS (and Yamaha TZ) specialist, and while they share very similar DNA, I am sure Andy is professional enough to admit himself you would be better off with someone who knows the NSR250 inside out -- and Steve at GTPE does. Andy Sawford however, would certainly be more than capable of rebuilding the crankshaft to exceptional standards, as the NSR250 crank is extremely similar to the early HRC RS250 crank.
   
   
4. TYGA Performance are your best bet for any aftermarket parts, and David Silver and CMSNL for NOS Honda parts. Most, if not all, the internal engine parts (except the aforementioned crankshaft) are available, but things like barrels and heads are no more. They can often be sourced on Yahoo! Auctions in Japan, and sometimes on eBay, or even through classifieds on this site.

Once up and running, people don't seem to have any problems keeping them on the road still. Also, the simplicity and performance over any of it's contemporaries will more than make up for any initial inconvenience and expense!

Hope that helps, and please keep us posted.
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Hi Jason, Andy is spot on with his answers, plus a lot of dealers are realy jumping on the 2stroke bandwagon, and advertising bikes, ie, nsr's without realy knowing anything about them, ie, some parts are unobtainable or how much they will cost to restore. West coast have had that particular bike for sale for a long time, and in my opinion way overpriced for what it is, in it's current condition I would like to be paying around half that amount. Personally I would hang fire, add a bit more dosh and buy one that's complete, and more importantly running, don't fall into the trap of buying a 5- 6 thousand bike that the dealers have imported, and haven't even bothered to start, better off buying privately from a member who has hopefully sorted most problems

Great info and thanks for the quick reply Andy....a lot for me to think about

Gecko have an MC18 F3 crank for sale, I guess this wont fit without machining?

http://www.geckomotorcycles.co.uk/magento/parts/nsr-250/engine/mc18-hrc-honda-nsr250-f3-crank.html

JasonM wrote:
Great info and thanks for the quick reply Andy....a lot for me to think about

Gecko have an MC18 F3 crank for sale, I guess this wont fit without machining?

http://www.geckomotorcycles.co.uk/magento/parts/nsr-250/engine/mc18-hrc-honda-nsr250-f3-crank.html

Haha! Don't even go there! I don't mean "don't go to Gecko", Dan's a good bloke and has often sorted parts for me, I mean don't start trying to mess with HRC parts unless you're prepared to go the whole hog!

The crank needs the HRC cases, or the stock cases machined. You then need the correct stator and flywheel. Then you need the correct ECU. Then you need the HRC harness, and ideally HRC carbs... and on and on it goes! Oh, and it all needs to be the correct year, unless you really know what you're doing, and have all the resources at your disposal. Don't get me wrong, it's all doable, but it's far better to just get a good stocker and tune it a bit! 65rwhp and perfect tractability is easily attainable.
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Andy.
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Andy wrote:

JasonM wrote:
Great info and thanks for the quick reply Andy....a lot for me to think about

Gecko have an MC18 F3 crank for sale, I guess this wont fit without machining?

http://www.geckomotorcycles.co.uk/magento/parts/nsr-250/engine/mc18-hrc-honda-nsr250-f3-crank.html

Haha! Don't even go there! I don't mean "don't go to Gecko", Dan's a good bloke and has often sorted parts for me, I mean don't start trying to mess with HRC parts unless you're prepared to go the whole hog!

The crank needs the HRC cases, or the stock cases machined. You then need the correct stator and flywheel. Then you need the correct ECU. Then you need the HRC harness, and ideally HRC carbs... and on and on it goes! Oh, and it all needs to be the correct year, unless you really know what you're doing, and have all the resources at your disposal. Don't get me wrong, it's all doable, but it's far better to just get a good stocker and tune it a bit! 65rwhp and perfect tractability is easily attainable.

Lol..I did wonder to be honest but having no experience of HRC I had to ask the question!! Based on what I have read so far and an hour or 2 of trawling the net and Yahoo I think I am going to pass on this one and wait for a better option. Appreciate the up front answers guys!

Lesviffer750 wrote:Hi Jason, Andy is spot on with his answers, plus a lot of dealers are realy jumping on the 2stroke bandwagon, and advertising bikes, ie, nsr's without realy knowing anything about them, ie, some parts are unobtainable or how much they will cost to restore. West coast have had that particular bike for sale for a long time, and in my opinion way overpriced for what it is, in it's current condition I would like to be paying around half that amount. Personally I would hang fire, add a bit more dosh and buy one that's complete, and more importantly running, don't fall into the trap of buying a 5- 6 thousand bike that the dealers have imported, and haven't even bothered to start, better off buying privately from a member who has hopefully sorted most problems

Good advice and thanks for the reply.....I am with you on it being over priced but it seems to be the way of things these days where 2strokes are concerned.

Yeah, as much as I will always champion the NSR over anything else (3XV is a close second), and would love to see another new owner joining the ranks, I'd much rather you wait for a better opportunity.

I've seen it before where someone bought the wrong bike and their experience was tainted, which lead to them very wrongly dismissing the marque. And I say that having experience with both Yamaha and Suzuki 2-strokes of similar vintage, so it's not blind bias.
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Hi Jason

I'm also a newbie to NSR's (welcome👍) having only owned a 1995 Honda RS125 in the way distant past. Andy and the guys have given easily enough info for you to make a clear decision and that for me would be a clear indication of the potential of this bike...having access to a forum full of people willing to help out while you learn the bike is a real help.

My experience of the NSR so far has been wholly positive. I was surprised by how much is still available OEM from Honda as well as after market parts from UK and foreign suppliers. (there's shedloads of stuff on Yahoo Japan!)

A word of CAUTION though... I just found out this morning that in fact I need at least two NSR's! One completely standard and mint as HRC planned it and then another trick one for track days and events!!

Good luck!
Max

Hi there never put a lid on the amount of nsr,s
Get collecting 👍😉
Good luck in your quest
jonmac

Hi Jason, Welcome to the Forum. thanks for your questions, Andy seems to have them covered. There are very knowledgeable people on here about NSR's. Hope you enjoy your NSR experience

yes lots of clever peaple and then theres me every villiage has an idiot
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ive seen more tarts than mr kipling

Guys thanks for the welcome and great advice, I am keeping my eye out for a nice project and it will be an NSR so hopefully in the not to distant future I will be posting a few pictures!

JasonM wrote:
Guys thanks for the welcome and great advice, I am keeping my eye out for a nice project and it will be an NSR so hopefully in the not to distant future I will be posting a few pictures!

Good stuff! Please feel free to stick around and join in the discussions and/or ask questions while you're on your quest!

silikesguiness wrote:
yes lots of clever peaple and then theres me every villiage has an idiot

Come on Si, give yourself a little more credit... it's quite a big town, not a village!
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Andy.
NSR-WORLD.COM

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Max wrote:

My experience of the NSR so far has been wholly positive. I was surprised by how much is still available OEM from Honda as well as after market parts from UK and foreign suppliers. (there's shedloads of stuff on Yahoo Japan!)

Cheers Max...a quick question on Yahoo Japan, the last time I bought anything was for an RGV and that was probably 10 years ago and I used a company called OK Shon who where based in Hong Kong, long story short I dont think they exist anymore....who are you using as a proxy now?