This Honda RS250 is not a road bike. It was never a road bike. It’s not a streetbike stripped of lights or a “race replica”: it was never meant to be used anywhere but the track. An over-the-counter GP250 machine from Honda, it is powered by a slightly undersquare 249cc two stroke v-twin and weights about as much as the average professional football player.
You probably already knew that already.
But this particular RS250 was ridden by Randy Renfrow, and maybe you’re not as familiar with him. Randy is an inductee of the AMA’s Hall of Fame and was a real grassroots racer, someone who could be fast on just about anything, a tough guy whose career was cut short by a crash in 2002 while riding a Honda RS250 at Daytona. Previously, he’d made a name racing against Ferracci 851’s on a cobbled-together Honda that used a v-twin from flat-track bike, VFR750 forks, and a replica RS500 frame. Basically it was a shoestring effort, but the team’s grit and Randy’s sheer determination saw them through.
From the original eBay listing: 1989 Honda RS250 for Sale
Ex-Randy Renfrow GP bike. Have some documentation from previous owner. Comes with spares: gearing, cylinder, gaskets, pistons, jets, needles… etc. Has programmable power valves to set RPM activation. Windscreen has a crack that was stitched up. Rear tire only has one race on it. Reason for selling is I am getting too old to be racing. I will deliver this in US or Canada.
Obviously, this is not some pristine example of the breed, but the scars are earned, not the result of being poorly treated. So is this bike worth more because of its provenance? Maybe to the right person: Randy was the kind of rider remembered and admired by racers. But hopefully the right buyer will emerge to buy this little smoker and thrash the living hell out of it on track. I’d imagine that’s what Randy would want.
-tad
This is not the laziest ad I have ever seen, but it’s close. “IF” this bike was once ridden by Renfrow, I would have many questions for this seller starting with it’s history. I was curious. What do you mean by ‘Some” documentation that this is Randy’s ex-250? If this belonged to Randy, are there pictures of this bike when he rode it before all the changes were made and the frame was polished? Do you have the stock pieces, like the rear wheel? If it’s not too much trouble, could you pull the bike out in the open and take some additional pictures of the bike (including whatever damage)? Do you have any race notes with the bike? What is the current condition of the overall bike and time on the motor?….Just little things.
Agreed. And what level of workmanship hides inside the motor and underneath the fairings when you see a “stitched up” windscreen? Who does something like that?
Yes, seller doesn´t have the best pictures and describtion. It is his shame, I think. This RS250 is not completely stock, but true is, that to find RS250 with original piecies, especially rims ,is nearly impossible. Many people are using NSR250 wheels, which are not same like RS250 wheels. The wheels that this bike has were quite common in that age in US and were used also in superbike class. But still this RS250 looks to be in fair condtion.
To find an RS 250 with stock wheels is not that hard if you know where to look. However, many bikes (250’s) of that era switched to Marvics or Morris mags, not spun aluminum PM’s which is what is on the rear of this this particular RS. PM wheels were mainly used on the superbikes like Muzzy’s Kawasaki’s, Team Hammer’s Valvoline Suzuki’s and others. As far as this bike being in “fair condition, how can you tell from this ad and it’s non-verifiable information? If you were selling something special, (which Randy’s bikes were) put the TV remote down, get off the couch and show some proof.
Slangbuster:
fair condition I mean not molested or basket condition. Many parts were polished,ok. Ofcourse hard to tell the condition of top end or crank, but there are many original details on the bike, so It was not crashed heavily or original spare parts were used again. Don´t know if you had noticed it, but this is not 89 model, which most important for me.