Have a look at the picture below. Do you know what this is ? If so, you will know about the motorcycle I will talk about…
This is 1 piston of a V4 configured 750cc Japanese bike. That’s right… 1 piston with 8 valves ->4 pistons X 8 valves = 32 valves in total…Now add fuel injection in the late 80s…Is there a bit of technology in this one ?Is this a demonstration of the Japanese technical achievements coupled with a rare moment of creativity, passion, or even madness ? What you get, is the most exclusive serial production motorbike ever produced by Honda. The NR750:
This model available on eBay in France has covered just 53 km. The starting price is 55.000 EUR but similar bikes have been on the market for double that ! Curious about its sound ?
Listen to this:
Given the fact that the bike is basically new, it is most definitely targeted at a collector who will keep it, just as it is now. I am not that type, if I had this in my garage, or let me re-phrase that mmmhhh…if I had a huge bank account and I could afford to buy this masterpiece, I’d ride it regularly. Despite how precious a sport bike is, it was nevertheless developed to be ridden…Well, anyway, that won’t be my problem as I will never be able to afford one…and anyway I am a motorbike, not an art collector nor an ruthless investor…
In terms of styling, the best bit for me, is the tail unit:
Even though tank a and its endurance style fuel caps, look pretty cool too:
Well, whichever way you will look at this Honda, whichever perspective you will take, there will be plenty of details that will continue to amaze you. This motorbike should be at the MoMa in New York…or better, it should be in my garage 🙂
Let us know what you think, and if one of you will actually buy this, please drop us a note with a picture of the bike in the room where it will be displayed,
thank you.
Honda NR 750 “work of Japanese art” in France
Claudio
A worthy RSBFS posting. I remember when these were being developed. It took so long for Honda to get them to market, the press began saying NR stood for Not Ready.
I don’t think his bike was not meant to be ridden. It was a display of high tech and a springboard for future projects. Imagine taking it in for service! Or the nightmare of someone backing into it in a parking lot…
Wow! Now there is a truly unique opportunity. That’s my favorite bike to visit at the Barber Museum.
NR750 – thy name is unobtanium 🙁
Assuming this is a French-spec NR, it is even more rare than the “usual” ED-spec NR (but probably not as rare as the UK-spec NR). However, the France-only RC41 was horsepower-limited, if that makes any difference to a bike that is unlikely ever to be ridden in anger…
–Vin
Honda at their finest, still amazing technonology- Soichiro would be proud!
Back in 2002 I had an opportunity to purchase one from Malaysia for a mere $22 500 US . It had light cosmetic damage . The catch was it was a JDM model . Upon talking to a well versed gentleman in the UK , who used to prep them , I was informed they needed about 10 K of $$ to de-restrict them . Even so , it would have been a bargain had I been able to pull it off . I had unfortunately too much money tied up in RC30s then to do anything about it ……. And again that is why good old hindsight is 20/20 !
This one is out of reach for me, to say the least, awesome development project. Guess it did not work out, seems to be a dead idea.
Honda’s turned out some wild bikes looking to legitimize new technology for racing. I wish there was more at stake in today’s racing so that they might keep the ideas coming!
Slightly cheesy (but fun) promotional video:
http://youtu.be/avhlQx10m-E