Hello Everyone,

I have an issue in that my MC18 arrived with non-standard exhausts. Andy thinks they are ETHOS Design.



However I want to improve the way they are mounted to the subframe- the previous owner had one side with a jubilee clip


...and the other with a single self tapper into the plastic of the mudguard. absolute rubbish.


Bike also came without the pillion hangers and pegs so I figured I would get the pillion hangers and I could use those to hang the exhausts but I just matched a set of hangers I got from Oz and as you can see they are wider than the mounting holes...and if you're wondering about the RD500..yes it's wonderful but a crankseal's gone so...there's that to do...the beauty is only skin deep old mates.


In fact hanging brackets I also got from Tyga as a second choice that are supposed to fit an MC18 are also too wide


Me thinks my subframe is built for those foldaway pillion pegs and a hanger which has the sole purpose of hanging the pipes like this pic I grabbed from the net...but the swingarm is diffrent than mine.


OR did the hangers I bought fit something else? U never know with fleabay.

Hi Buddy

Your right you have the 89 R5K onwards subframe with four bolt mounting

That’s the subframe I had to purchase in order to achieve the high sweep pipe look I was after

1998 R4 subframe only has two bolt mounts as rear foot pegs hosts the hanger

That’s also why your electrics (in your pic) are strapped to the sub frame rather than bolted in place
Due to the mounting brackets being in all the wrong places for your loom


Your fairing is definitely a 1988 R4 and likewise all the fairing brackets

Some idiot like me has been mixing and matching

Aha! Thanks Nick for spotting all of that.

FYI the VIN on the bike is MC181004427 I'm assuming it IS for sure an R2J?

So I think have two choices to try and make the integrity of the bike solid/so everything fits...

-source those upswept pipes, foldaway pegs and exhaust hangers
OR
-find a correct R2J subframe, blast it, powder coat it, and work out some clever way of anchoring the existing pipes.

STOP PRESS: Jauce to the rescue...probably won't be cheap but could anyone verify this as an R2J subframe? (PS after re-re-reading Wayne Gardners 25yrs of neglect thread and studying the pics i realize the answers to everything are all there in black and silver!)

https://www.jauce.com/auction/u1169974937

That’s it!!

It will have the brackets in the right places now for PGM etc

Brilliant. I'm going in. Wish me luck. Going to Snipe it! Quick question: is silver the factory colour for the subframe?

Also forgot to add - check you black under tray / mud guard
Due to 2 verses 1 hanger they are different as the folding pegs need a larger cut out in order to fold away
Which I guess you cut one out or going the other way your going to be left with a gapping hole

It was kinda never ending when I swapped one part out and cause a domino effect of other parts that no longer fitted or worked

Excellent point. How far did my previous owner go in the switch? Wonder which mudguard I have?






Note somebody chopped off the number plate holder..


Apologies for posting these questions and then answering them myself. Just showing my work sir.

I think it's an R2J...check out the parts diagram. It's confusing but it seems to me that everything in a 3 box is R2J and everything in a 4 box is R5K Mine has those 2 vertical stubs.


AND...Jauce is by no means the ultimate authority on the idiosyncracies between parts but their advertised MC18 is same as mine https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1169972024


Last edited by Hudtm60 on Wed Jan 22, 2025 3:40 am; edited 2 times in total

Your right yours is 100% R2. (#3)


This is an R5 (or #4) and only pic I have that kinda shows the cut out on mine



Cut out is a lot longer - so much closer to the channels for the metal luggage loops on the subframe to go through

If they're original, MC18 subframes are easily identifiable as '88 silver or '89 black.
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This is good to know. Thanks Andy. Here’s hoping the one I’m looking at is refurbished and painted! Pigs might fly.

I'm way behind on posting my progress on the main thread of my build, but back to the subframe issue: my alleged R2J subframe arrived from Japan and is in great nick. I bolted it on and I've been rebuilding the right hand foot peg/brake pedal assembly and got it all together and all was going good until I tried to secure the master cylinder.

On my subframe there''s nowhere to do that- there is of course a mounting bracket on the subframe that came with the bike-(which we think is an 89-R5K subframe) but not on the this 'new' R2J one.

I'm beginning to wonder if the one I got from Japan is an R2J subframe. Anyone have any clues where it should mount? I'm sure my master cylinder is correct for an R2J bike because the parts diagram shows it being rectangular rather than round.

Original placement



Current quandry

Hi yah

You need a very different special mini bracket for the reservoir
I had the opposite problem and it drove me mad tracking one down
I’ve still got mine somewhere

In the end I used the later bracket for a short time and then went with a piggyback unit - i.e the res is build into the master cylinder came off a Honda motor crosser

I’ll see if I can fine it

Cheers Nick. that would be interesting to see....both versions! This bike is wrestling me all the way (and it's not even a special or a hybrid!) but I'm not giving in.

Hudtm60 wrote:Cheers Nick. that would be interesting to see....both versions! This bike is wrestling me all the way (and it's not even a special or a hybrid!) but I'm not giving in.

[edit for bad grammar and missing wors]
I’ve looked and looked in the R4J parts listing but can’t find the bracket listed
I’ll see if I can find mine

Bottom line is your reservoir needs to be visible through the now redundant hole in the side panel (right of Rothmans in this pic)


_________________
Nick

Rebuild project NSR250 MC18 R4J


Last edited by Rothmans_SPud on Mon Feb 17, 2025 6:04 pm; edited 1 time in total