1992 Honda NSR 250SP Rothmans For Sale on eBay!
Excuse me sir . . . I’m interested in your JDM only Honda NSR 250SP Rothmans Racer Replica, but only if it has a rarer than Hens Teeth, Rocking Horse Poop, Unicorns, Fairy’s and the Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow, NOS, Honda Rothmanss upper fairing to go with the sale. What’s that? I’m in luck because you do have a rarer than Hens Teeth, Rocking Horse Poop, Unicorns, Fairy’s and the Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow, NOS, Honda Rothmans upper fairing to go with the sale!
GTFOOH!
And there you have it- My work is done here and you all know what to do from here. What are you waiting for? Call this guy up and ask, beg, borrow or bribe your way in to his black book of contacts and ask him “Where in the hell did you find a NOS, 1 of 1500, 25 year old upper fairing?” No really, this might be the most important question 🙂
We all know about the adjustable suspension, dry clutch, MagTek’s, Racer Boy graphics and terribly uncomfortable seats that our beloved NSR’s offer, but have you ever seen a NOS upper fairing? Much less a NOS Rothmans upper fairing?
But, there’s more . . .
This NSR is a bit of a project in that it runs, but doesn’t idle very well, looks good from 15′ away and (IMHO) needs a lot of work for the $16,750 asking price.
But wait, there’s more . . .
The seller is very upfront about the work he’s done on the bike and he’s also very upfront about what he thinks it needs. He was even gracious enough to make us a video detailing the pros and cons of his little jewel.
From the sellers eBay ad:
1992 Honda NSR250SP Sports Production Rothmans, dry clutch, adjustable suspension, Magtek wheels, clear Florida title. Very nice original condition with minor age marks, oxidation and tiny pits on aluminum here and there. Runs good but will need further tuning and engine upgrades for serious riding. Carbs were rebuilt, has new chain slide, all lights work, horn works, temp works, etc. Also has brand new factory correct petcock or fuel tap. It appears the fuel cap was replaced and may not be Honda and it has a different key for the fuel tank. Will need tires, possible chain and sprockets. Front cowl has missing ear at left mirror that can be repaired. According to the VIN, this is the 2nd to last one ever built in 1992, it is 1499 out of 1500. Comes with other body parts including very rare New old stock never installed Rothmans front cowling, new aftermarket Chinese front cowl with cracked but glued ear, new aftermarket windscreen.
Let’s get this discussion started and tell us your thoughts. Maybe Stevie from Speedwerks will chime in here and let us know what it’s gonna take to bring this one back to 100%
Check out this 1992 Honda NSR 250SP Rothmans Edition here.
Cheers!
dd
Not to mention this model is stupidly easy to de-restrict. In fact, it is so easy that the only way this bike is any more rare is if no previous owner has not already done it for you.
I would never own this bike, way too pretty. I take mine to the track and it looks like it. This isn’t your typical bike that most riders can hop on and go. You have to properly operate the throttle. Grab too much too soon and it practivally dies. If you open it only as much as it is ready for, it is a ripping experience! Funny but i have given it off to another rider and half way through a lap and they think the plugs are fouled. Then i can hop on and turn a personal best as it rips the field in 2. Its needs are so unlike modern 4 strokes. But the rewards are amazing. Just don’t downshift mid corner when you discover you got out of the powerband. Because when you complete the shift, you will get launched, probably off the high side. This is no electronic baby proof rider aid engineering marvel. Only thing saving you is you.
This is why I can’t have nice (looking) things.
And yes, Steve at speedworks can fix it if you need that. Just ship it to him and be done with it. Lest you waste a year making it worse on your own with the wrong parts and a japanese service manual (actually in japanese).
There’s translated service manuals through nsrworld in English. I have one for my mc21.
Don’t send it to Speedwerks. They screwed up my RGV500 in a BIG way. If you want it fixed right, send it to Iconic in California.
If you’re going to own one of these you should not need to send it off to a shop, you should be able to maintain it yourself. I watched the video and certainly appreciate the sellers honesty. The NOS upper is a sweet deal since he could probably get $2k for it alone. Being an owner of an original MC28 (follow on model) I know what it means to own one of these. While the bike may look good, the reality is that everything needs to be taken apart and inspected. Most likely there are things that need to be replaced that are not obvious. Over the years I’ve replaced every seal and bearing (with ceramics) on my bike. I’ve done a 100% engine rebuild including installing a 300cc kit (mine is 100% track bike).
A few items the buyer needs to look at.
1. Seller mentioned brakes where seized, but didn’t mention what he did to unsieze them. The seals in the calipers need to be replaced and the pistons either polished or replaced based on condition. Master cylinder needs a rebuild or replacement too. New parts are still available so can be kept stock. Same needs to be done for rear brakes. No reason to put your life at risk with 29 year old brakes.
2. The rough idle could be something as simple as adjusting the mixture screws or cleaning out the carbs again. Even though seller says inside of tank looks good, after all these years there will be tiny pieces of crud coming out of it. The simple quick fix is an inline filter. Long term is to clean the tank and seal it with proper sealer. But the rough idle could also be the result of a bad crank seal which is not so easy to replace. Replacing the seals requires splitting the crankcase. Left and right seals are available, center seal not readily available. Luckily new old stock cranks are still available for about $1200 from Honda. Or you ship the old crank off to England where there are folks who have center seals. My opinion there is, if you got the cases split put in a new crankshaft cause you get new rods and bearings. Another area to check are the air solenoid hoses, a dried out hose there could impact the idle!
3. Seller describes how he unsiezed the engine by dissolving crud in cylinder, but didn’t say if he pulled a head or cylinder off. This seems ok and would not bother me because the nikasil on these is tough so probably ok, but I sure would want to have a look at the rings and pistons. New rings and pigeons are available if you know where to look. After market are available too.
4. The fork legs look really corroded but a bit of elbow grease can work this out. Every once of these bikes has one corrosion that needs to be addressed. The seller didn’t show the fork tubes. Many of these bikes have pitting on the tubes that may or may not be forgettable by rechroming. If they are beyond repair, NOS are very hard to find and in now way would any sound person endorse a cheap after market set…why put your life on the line. The alternative is to modernize with an inside down set of forks, but then you give up on originality. Hopefully the tubes are ok on this bike.
5. Hoses…replace them all. Brakes lines, fuel lines, air and water hoses. All are available as NOS or aftermarket.
6. The exhausts look to be in great shape on the outside. Based on the mileage they will probably need to be removed and de-coked which involves filling them with drain cleaner to get the crud out. Too much crud in there and the expansion chamber is losing its effectiveness. But take off the cans off before doing that. Although they might need to be pulled apart, cleaned and repacked too.
Well, bottom line, I love these bikes and hope it finds a new home. The buyer just needs to go into this with eyes wide open. The NSR forum is a valuable resource for all owners. Used stuff can be found on Yahoo Japan. T2 racing and Tyga have lots of stuff too. If you want the bike perfect, plan to invest a few more bucks and a bunch of hard work.
Is it a true 106 vin? All mc21sp rothmans were 106 vins. I had one.
I just noticed that the forks are not SP, they are from an SE bike. The SP has the knurled blue adjusters on top. The SE version has the smaller ones with flat blade screw driver slot. These forks do look much more corroded then rest of bike so the originals were probably damaged and replaced.
My bike did have a bent fork tube when i got it. Noticeable but did not catch on until i rode the bike. But the pitting on the tubes was immediately obvious and was already going to require replacement. My friendly texas suspension tuner was able to source a domestic replacement. It did not require a 6 month wait. That type of thing is not always the case as these things continue to age. Resto-modding is often the only way forward.
Thanks for the heads up regarding the seals. I will be on the lookout for those and a spare crank. When the time comes i don’t want to be starting a 6 year search..
All solid comments about the bike- Thank you all for sharing what you know.
bit of a worry that the tank has been replaced and the forks are not original….me thinks it may have been down the road sideways at some point.
Helpful comments, I learn alot but still want to learn more. I can’t find any information about the front forks for a SP being any different than an SE. Someone commented that the fork adjusters are different SE to SP but I think the different “Blue” adjusters may be on a 1993 or more likely a 1994. My research leads me to believe that the front forks and the adjusters are identical in 1992 for SE and SP, maybe someone can confirm? As for the tank being replaced, its possible but that is not what I noted, it appears original to me. I noted that the fill cap, the part with the keylock was replaced, from what I can tell, because the key is different. It is a 106 vin, as I mentioned from my research it seems to the the second to last one ever built in1992. Thank you
Would you Possibly trade for a 2004 RC51 with only 11k on the clock. Duban scoops, spal fans, silicone hoses, Kyle racing 520 set, Scotts damper, woodcraft clipons, tyga rear sets, Jardine titanium 2 into 1 full system, power commander,, Competition Werkes tail,, puig screen, and more I’m not remembering
Seth – just a heads up that this was an organic blog post referencing this bike on eBay. We are not in contact with the seller. I would recommend sending them a message through eBay. Good luck! -dc