With only 1500 ever made, the 1994 Honda NSR250R SP is one of the most desirable and exotic two-stroke sportbikes of the 80s and 90s. It checks all the boxes: snarling two-stroke v-twin with a manic powerband? Carburetors matched to an exotic ignition system that used plastic cards to load different maps? Single-sided PROARM swingarm? Cassette-style six-speed gearbox? Dry weight under 300lbs? Check, check, check and check. The liquid-cooled 249cc v-twin in the NSR250R produced about 45hp stock, nothing to sneeze at considering the bike’s weight. But de-restricted, these could pump out 60hp making them pretty formidable for riders who don’t mind having to work a little bit.
And to top it all off, this example has the very flattering and evocative Rothmans replica paint scheme. The premium tobacco manufacturer sponsored some of Honda’s racing efforts in the 80s and 90s and although we all miss the innocent days of motorsports prior to heavy corporate sponsorship, it’s hard to complain when those relationships result in machines that look this good.
Certainly, many of the 250 two-stroke sport bikes from this era are valuable in the USA because of their forbidden fruit status. Overseas, they’re well-loved but not especially valuable. They’ve been ridden hard and put away wet in many cases, used hard on road and track by young riders before they moved on to something bigger. But here in America, little 250 machines have traditionally been considered learner bikes, and the two-stroke market had dried up by the 90s anyway because of emissions concerns. These 250cc sport bikes offer up genuine performance and an involving nature that requires a rider skillfully exploit the limited powerband to make fast progress on road or track. In an era of stunning on-paper performance backed by an ever more sophisticated electronic safety net, many riders are happy to ride these scalpel-like machines that reward riding skill and offer up performance accessible to mere mortals.
Also, I’m pretty sure there’s some sort of addictive quality inherent in two-stroke oil: fans of the breed never seem to shut up about that smoke and the smell…
From the original eBay listing: 1994 Honda NSR250R SP Rothmans Replica for Sale
Authentic 1994 Rothmans NSR250R. Fully derestricted to accept HRC card on factory wiring, has aftermarket HARC Pro exhaust, HRC jet kit has been installed and bike is properly jetted for my area, engine has excellent compression and was rebuilt by previous owner and has about 1800 km since rebuild, there are some chips and cracks on the fairings but plastics are original and intact, front rim is not Magtek, bike runs fantastic and everything works the way it should, has 17552 km or about 10906 miles, will come with two stock key cards and one HRC P10 dry conditions only card, all fluids have been changed, clean California title with correct 11 digit VIN and engine # current registration ’till April 2017.
Although there are some cracks in the plastics, it sounds like this NSR250R has been properly maintained, and the fact that it has been de-restricted and includes several different PGM-IV cards is a bonus. The California title? That almost makes the asking price palatable. Almost. I think the $9,000 asking price is a bit high for a bike in this condition: certainly, with perfect plastics you’d be looking at a bike that could easily command that price. But while the bodywork is complete, I think collectors will balk at the wear-and-tear and the non-original front wheel. Magnesium wheels have a reputation for being fragile, so I wonder if it simply failed, or was the bike involved in a crash of some kind? Track day riders and two-stroke fans looking for their next fix might not mind the middling cosmetic condition, but I’m expecting collectors and our readers to give this one a pass considering that Buy It Now price…
-tad
no doubt, really nice bike just needs that front pearl white magtek in front, if it has a clean title and if those are really factory oem fairings, and if it really runs as fantastic as the seller claims with that cali plate and harc pro exhaust chambers….. after doing the math 9k dosnt seem excessive, considering that golden cali title
I would question the legality of the title claim. The bike is listed as “1980 Honda” so the import and title was done under a claim of it being a 1980 bike, not a 1994 bike. I don’t know if that is an eBay thing or not. But I suspect it was a trick to get the bike in under the 25 year limit.
All you need is one very determined and knowledgeable DMV bloke to spoil the fun. If the MSO was forged or altered or other supporting docs used originally get called into question then the buyer may have a problem down the line.
Also, for $9,000 I would hope to have a Magtek front wheel. They are hard to find and don’t come cheap.
Nice bike, but the title status (1994 bike imported/titled as a 1980) would give me pause. Actually awesome bike… really awesome.
most grey market motorcycles in california were registered as a 1980 to bypass the 1982 law requiring 17 digit vin, either thus bike is registered as a 1980 or is was registered as a special construction with correct 11 digit frame and engine number which would be the best possible title because the model yr dosnt show up on the title, so the buyer would have thier ass covered with that
In Colorado, They just give you a new vin and, rivet
( yikes ! ), the tag to the frame. You get this done at the Highway Patrol station. They just do a safety check of the lights horn and blinkers and off you go to the DMV for your plate.
The Magtek wheel is not a full magnesium wheel but a partial magnesium wheel with a lot of Aluminum. Therefore they are a little lighter, but just as strong, so no issues there. I doubt it failed, I have run Magteks on my bike for over 20 years with constant race/track use (very fast, but no crashes). I actually have plenty of front Magteks laying around in black color, so a buyer who negotiates could purchase a front wheel, powdercoat it, and be doing very well when complete. You just need to be a good negotiator, and know where to get the parts to get a great deal for a super cool motorcycle. If I hadn’t just purchased a Fast by Ferracci ’97 Ducati European Homologated 916SPS SBK with all the Corse goodies, then I would have jumped on it and offered $8k starting. CA title means nothing to me.
Unless I’m missing something there’s no way to make an “offer” on that bike. Buy it now is your only choice.
well you could message the seller and throw offers ive done it before
this is the same seller that had the 95 aprilia rs 250 reggiani earlier in the yr…i believe he sold a similiar nsr 250 rothmans a couple yrs back for 9k that one didnt have the magtek rims and had chinese bodywork that was restored by speewerks in delaware
Since it’s derestricted and offering a 010 card, it’s pointless to use the miles as a selling point since running the card no longer accumulates miles on the odometer, also just food for thought, why would you need a re-build if it only had 10,906 miles on it? Unless it really doesn’t. Condition and by the looks of the make of the tires on it screams that it just got off the boat not too long ago.
just called the california highway patrol and gave them the vin # to the bike it has been registered in california for the last 6 yrs and holds a special construction title the title dosnt show what yr the bike is which would be good for both buyer and seller