7.30.2018: The seller has contact us to notify that this bike has sold. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc
Here’s a great looking NS400R that is available in the Northeast. The seller notes that it is not all original but it represents well to my eyes. They don’t surface too often in North America and are a bit overlooked compared to the 500cc 2 strokes of the same period. Check out our recent posts on NS400R’s for comparison.
dc
1987 Honda NS400R for sale on eBay
from the seller:
Here we have is what by many is considered to be one of the Unicorns of the grey-market 2-stroke motorcycles, and a beautiful example of a 1987 NC19 NS400R. I have personally never seen one of these for sale in the US, and the ones I’ve seen over seas are bringing quite high prices so this is a rare opportunity to own one of these gems. This was Honda’s street-legal offering in the big-bore 2-stroke market although not as aggressive or powerful as the Yamaha or Suzuki 500cc competition.
With the Yamahas and Suzukis are fetching close $20K for clean examples, this Honda is even more rare than the others for a bargain in comparison.
This one may not be for the ultra-discerning collector, as it is not 100% original but a gorgeous example, the previous owner did a nice restoration and paint, with very high quality fiberglass bodywork, in fact this bike was so well maintained, it started up right off the container without the need of a fuel system or carb-clean!
[…]
-Fully serviced
-Mechanically all orignal, with 24K miles on the clock
-Compression test and coolant flush performed
-Stock expansion chambers with ZEP silencers
-24K miles and fresh paint
-Bodywork not original but of very good quality fiberglass with great paint
10K for a fresh off the container non-stock fiberglass faired bike?
$10K buys a lot of bike these days in the good used market. You must really want an NS400 to spend $10K, but then if you really really want one, wouldn’t you want a better represented stock bike – especially for $10K?
Nice bike, just seems very over priced. Then again, it is worth what anyone will pay for it.
GLWTS.
For $10K you better be getting a collector low mile bike. Having owned and sold a number of these, the market is very small and Honda unfortunately engineered the fun out of these bikes… Even the toned-down RZ500 is supposed to be much better. Save yourself some money and have some fun with a Rz350.
In my collection I have an NS400R, RZ500 and RG500, among others. All Canadian spec bikes. Each is better at something than the other. The NS400R is a lot of fun to ride, especially above 7500 RPM. Below that it can feel sluggish. The ATAC valves close at 7500 RPM and that is where the fun starts. 3rd gear will take you to 160 KPH and rolling on the throttle in 3rd produces good acceleration. If you know how to properly ride these bikes there is plenty to like. NS400R braking and handling are superior to the RZ500 and RG500. It is an easy bike to ride and an easy bike to throw through the twisties. It definitely feels more refined than the RZ500 and RG500. Honda build quality is, as expected, excellent. The NS400R definitely isn’t as brutish as the RZ500 and RG500.
I’ve owned more than 15 RZ350s. I have built and modified many RZ350s. In no way, shape, or form is the RZ350 a better bike and it is a very poor comparison to an NS400R. I sold all of my RZ350s because I got tired of the hinged in the middle feeling. The RZ350 is good for a what it is: a low priced hooligan bike built to a price point.
The bike we see here looks old and tired. There are plenty of obvious issues. The “great quality paint” is incorrect in several ways. NS400R prices are on the rise, but only the best quality bikes should see the highest prices.
I would pass on this bike. Spend more money and wait for a better bike. Buy this tired example and you’ll be putting a significant amount of money into making it correct. When you start your expensive restoration you’ll soon discover the reason why this bike has aftermarket silencers and fiberglass bodywork and why it has no mirrors.
There’s another one on craigslist b.c. right now. Don’t go looking for spares for this bike lots of NLA even on consumable items. Never seen one for sale in the states there’s been a few before.
-From the owner:
To be honest it was never my fave out of all the 2 smokers either, I like my gorgeous 89 KR1S a lot better, but someone is going to grab it this one, I grabbed it becuase they rarely if ever surface on US soil, and call it what you will, someone will end up with this bike, whether it brings a high price or low.
JR
Appreciate your input and knowledge, but enlighten me a little as to how the paint is “incorrect” other than the obvious not being the exact correct Freddie Spencer colors, if you look at the closeup photos on my website you will see clearly that the paint is of great quality, even though not original.
Like RC45 said, bikes are worth what people are willing to pay,I’ve been in the selling game for a lot of years and I think most of us will agree there will be a long wait before a nice museum quality one of these guys comes around, and it will sell foe a lot more money than this one. Heck I might even keep this one if it doesn’t bring me to a reason to sell, but I think it will do just fine, tired or not. This is actually a very clean bike.
Not all bikes will have their original bodywork, and who cares about the DEP silencers, the reason they are there is because the previous owner wanted it to sound good, and it does!
PS the bike comes with mirrors, they are just not in the photo.
At the end of the day everyone will look at this bike and pick it apart because it’s not all original, heck I almost didn’t buy it because it’s not all original, but it was a good grab, it’s an NS Freaking 400 with a US title and it’s ready to be ridden, not sit on some shelf on a lift in somebody’s museum. I did not advertise it as such. Yes $10k buys a lot of nice things, I just spent that on my awesome new 43-horse fire-breathing 125cc shifter kart, but it will be interested to see what this bike ends up bringing.
-Bluesmoke
“Who cares about the DEP silencers?” Really? And you claim to be a collector? Lol.
As for the paint, it is wrong, and obviously so. The haphazardly placed decals don’t help. The tank decals are not placed correctly, and that is just one of the obvious flaws. The only decals that should be on the front side fairings are the HONDA decals. The other 2 decals look very out of place and unnecessary. The blue paint is clearly very wrong. It is supposed to be Candy Aleutian Blue. What we see there isn’t even close. A large part of the front side panels (the lowers actually) should be yellow The yellow paint is missing entirely from this bike. While the paint may be new, it is far from correct. A better option would have been Chinese bodywork. Cheaper and better representative of the OEM bodywork.
And what’s with the black top clamp? It should be gold. The black looks like it was done with a Sharpie.
And while I’m nit picking the obvious, the polished frame isn’t correct either.
It really does need the mirrors installed, especially if they are the correct mirrors. They are impossible to find if you do need them.
Anyone considering buying this bike will care about the missing OEM silencers, especially with the starting price at $9949 US. DEP so it sounds better? I suppose that is one possibility, but a poor choice in the end. I think that for nearly $10,000 US to start the bidding and $12,949 US to buy it, people expect more than what is being offered. It will be interesting to see what the bike brings. Perhaps not even the opening bid price. I hope I’m wrong and it is a successful sale and a collector buys it and properly restores it.
Hiram,
yes I am a collector, I own 17 motorcycles at the moment, many of which are all original, but some have high quality exhausts, some have different silencers on them. This is the nature of the beast, not all bikes are going to show up stock, and yes some people are going to care if the silencers are not oem. I personally don’t even have to sell this bike and actually decided to on a whim.
JR,
thanks for the feedback, I have never owned one of these and I did get it at a reasonable price so I would hope it does ok. You never know what will happen on a bike like this. Cheers.
So much for comments being moderated. Sorry to the seller from the rest of us for JR. Suppose my comments were not that helpful to boot. JR does have a point on the paint color and decals but otherwise meh. Just sounds like a whiner.
Seriously EZ….
I pointed out some obvious flaws and stated what the bike should look like. I highlighted the bike’s strengths and weaknesses based on my own experiences as a long time owner, and compared to the RZ500 and RG500, which I also own. I think the owner has accepted the feedback and acknowledged the feedback and understands the bike’s shortcomings. Thus, the site works as intended.
EZ….your best advice was buy an RZ350 because an NS400R isn’t any fun. That does sounds like whining.
The moderators are free to delete my posts if they wish. I thought one of the points of this site was to establish when bikes are or are not accurately represented.
It is a long standing misconception that comments are heavily moderated on this site. I allow almost everything to go through with the exception of downright personal attacks, and/or comments that don’t add anything meaningful to the conversation.
That said I certainly wish those with constructive criticism could share their thoughts and knowledge with less vitriol. As pointed out earlier, one of the main objectives of the comments section is to educate and enlighten other readers – but it would be a more welcoming community if the manner in which they were written didn’t start so negatively and without provocation.
This topic deserves it’s own post but in general:
– commentors should always feel free to point out what differences/changes could elevate a given example and/or make it more original and correct. But if you can’t do so in a positive and constructive manner, you’re not obligated to leave a comment.
– for the time being, commentors can express an opinion on price — but it would be to everyone’s benefit to show comparable examples that have either sold or have asking prices that are recent. Bring some value to your comment and prove it’s not just a opinion pulled from thin air.
As always, I thank everyone for reading and sharing their thoughts on this site. I welcome your comments directly by email: dan@motoringblogs.com
Dan Crouch, owner RSBFS
I think the gist of the responses is that this bike in this condition is a $5000 bike. It is not a $10,000+ bike. Rare does not equal expensive.
I have an NS400 just like this one, fiberglass, custom paint and Jolly Moto expansion chambers – except it is tuned and way quicker than stock and I would consider myself lucky to sell it for $6000 – but if the market is this desperate that it will bear $10,000+ for a fiberglass draped tired NS400 then may I should just cash in now and walk away laughing.
RC,
I wonder what would happen if my NS 400 was the last one for sale in the world. How much would it bring? I’m amazed at how worthless people who own these bikes think they are! Give the bike a little bit of credit! Original or not, this is not a CBR600RR, it will bring a lot more than $5k whether you want to beleive it or not. How do you know just by looking at it how tired it is by the way? It actually rips, runs and sounds great, and is very far from being tired at all.
Is RSBFS os the only show in town? I’m amazed at how much hating is going on for a bike that is the only one for sale in the country at this time.
One more time….Motorcycles are worth what people are willing to pay. On the contrary people are willing to pay a lot more than $5K for this bike, in fact I have been inundated with so many emails and calls and even people offering to trade me bikes that are better than this one that I haven’t had time to respond to them all.
Nobody really knows what one of these is worth as far as I’m concerned, time and the market will tell. Let’s see what it does, too much speculation going on.
Rare does not equate to high price. The rarity must be combined with condition.
The buyer that drops $10,000 on that NS400 will regret the purchase the first item they try buy a restoration spare and realize it will take another $5,000 in parts to get it back to original.
If the buyer (like me) is not interested in original then they will be looking for a bargain, not a premium priced bike. Premium price should deliver premium condition. That is just my opinion.
You are more than welcome to sell it for what ever amount you want – that is what free enterprise is all about. But also be prepared for opinions on your price 🙂
Good luck with your sale.
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u204501504 Currently on Yahoo Auctions for $7,000.
I agree that rare does not always equate to high price, and of course I expect an opinion, I hear them every day at work at my dealer, but exclusivity sometimes does bring a higher price.
The bike on Yahoo is in Japan, sure, nice price by the time you get it here, complete the titling process, and if it’s not on a container with a bunch of other bikes be prepared to spend at least $2,000 to get it here, never mind the carb clean, rebuilding of the front forks(which by the way mine has all been done) and whatever else may happen to the bike in transit, including a potential inspection fee. People do not realize what the import/export business is about until they try it themselves, a good deal overseas is just that…a good deal, if you live where the bike is! That $7K will turn into 10K plus by the time it’s on US soil. I speak from experience on this.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1985-HONDA-NS-400-R/283037892085?hash=item41e65f7df5:g:Lc4AAOSw~jpbOowe $9950-per GBP conversion rate
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1984-Honda-NS400-RF-Sports-NS400R-Modern-Classic-2-stroke-V3-Rare-Investment/302236818731?hash=item465eb7dd2b:g:xJQAAOSwtfhYtC5C $13,850 per GBP conversion rate
I have asked about a few of these in the past year, and one dealer confirmed he had sold one for over $12K us for one with the same miles albeit it was mostly original, and another guy had a full race bodied modified one a year ago that also sold for well over 10. I do my research before I set my prices, almost every bike you find overseas sells for less there and more here, all some people care about is whether or not there is a clear title, and will pay even more for a CA titled bike(even harder to get)
I’ll let you know what this one sells for!
I must be part of a different NS400 community then.
The point is all those other bikes have glossy paint stock fairings and mirrors. Those pieces is very good condition alone would easily cost your $2500 to locate.and import.
Condition does impact price.