On the move with the Honda NR 750

Posted on by admin

Menus

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

On the move with the Honda NR 750

On the move with the Honda NR 750

On the move with the Honda NR 750

On the move with the Honda NR 750

15th photos

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Alan Cathcart

1/15
The 32-valve is a technical masterpiece that only Honda has mastered

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

2/15
The NR doesn’t sound like a normal four-stroke, somehow a lot more snappy

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

3/15
The brake cylinder, one of the few mass-produced parts, was lovingly hidden.

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

4/15
Harald Thurner – owner of two Honda NR 750s.

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

5/15
Honda NR 750

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

6/15
Digital speedometer from the early 90s, impressive workmanship, carbon air ducts

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

7/15
Top processing: Honda has even lovingly embossed the abbreviation “NR” on the rubber grips

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

8/15
With choke: The oval piston engine already has a modern injection system, but still uses a traditional cold start aid

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

9/15
Premiere: It was not the Ducati 916 that was the first in series to carry the two mufflers under the seat. It was the Honda

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

10/15
Supersport outfit: fork and shock absorber are both fully adjustable, not a matter of course 25 years ago

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

11/15
The entire bodywork consists of perfectly processed carbon laminate and costs a small fortune

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

12/15
Beefy lines, polished frame, thick 16-inch front wheel, single-sided swing arm

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

13/15
Long-distance optics: reminiscent of the quick tank systems of the oval piston racer NR 750

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

14/15
Crazy: self-folding side stand cover.

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Arturo Rivas

15/15
Noble: central nut, retaining ring, brake caliper support

On the move with the Honda NR 750

Oval piston motorcycle

Content of

Honda has probably never made any money with the Honda NR 750. Many still today consider the elaborately built oval-piston motorcycle to be completely crazy. Might be. For us it is the moving proof of great Japanese engineering.

When the Honda in Le Castellet in autumn 1991 NR 750 was presented for the first time in Europe, the world press caught its breath. Oval piston engine, V4 cylinder, 32 valves, incredibly loving workmanship – such an accumulation of superlatives has never been seen combined in one machine. The sheer unreasonableness, technology for an end in itself. Yes, today you can even say that this technical masterpiece was beyond its time. And even Honda itself was to blame. Almost at the same time, the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer presented the new Fireblade 900, with an incredible 200 kilograms full of fuel, around a hundredweight lighter than the NR and with 128 hp even three hp more. There is no doubt: the original Blade completely stole the show from NR a good 25 years ago. At that time, no distinction was made between a utility motorcycle for the street and a show bike, best for the private museum. The in-line four-cylinder machine found over 3,000 buyers in the first year, while only 14 of the NR were sold in Germany.

Buy complete article

On the move with the Honda NR 750

On the move with the Honda NR 750
Oval piston motorcycle

I finally have a NR!

The V4, which was only built 300 times, sold so slowly that in the end only 60,000 marks were called for it. A price that is not even enough today in euros to purchase a well-preserved copy. My old friend Harry, who now runs a motorcycle yard near Wurzburg, owns two of them. “You have to visit me, I finally have an NR!” “A Honda NR 750, this sensational oval-piston motorcycle?” “Exactly, you don’t believe how clean it can be! I have an open one that was built for Finland. ”Harry actually wants to let me drive. That’s a nice thing, because the 50 kilometers that Honda dealer Herbert Stauch let me drive with his private machine at the time have long faded.

Video about the Honda NR 750

Two NR, almost in new condition

Harry is a real motorcycle enthusiast. Regular readers of our magazine will remember the Target MV Agusta, which he painstakingly rebuilt some time ago. Or the restoration of various MV models. In his small private museum there are some sparkling clean restored or even completely original gems that only connoisseurs can own. And Harry puts two (!) Honda NR 750s in the yard and is visibly happy about my speechlessness. I would not have expected this. Two NR, virtually in new condition, one with 1,000 kilometers on the clock, the other with 4,300. We talk shop. “The processing is still sensational today. Carbon parts, paintwork, screws, nuts: At that time, Honda was still setting the standard. Just look at the handlebar grips, even the rubber says NO. “

It even says NR on the handlebar grips

Technically, the engine was based on the long-distance racing machine Honda NR 750 with around 160 hp. But the idea about that
Oval pistons came to the Honda engineers as early as the 1970s. In order to be able to survive in the 500 World Championship with a four-stroke engine against the four-cylinder two-stroke engine, a V8 engine would actually have been necessary. The regulations allowed a maximum of four cylinders. So the Honda guys each merged two pistons into an oval, achieved insane speeds of up to 20,000 revs and accommodated eight valves and two spark plugs per combustion chamber. Crazy? Crazy! And not really successful. Because in addition to the very special engine, the Honda racing engineers also designed a monocoque chassis made of sheet aluminum. The mechanics were able to screw on the NR 500 relatively easily by pulling the monocoque forward. But the pilots probably didn’t have much fun with the V4.

The engine revs up effortlessly

It was even crazier to transfer the crazy technology to a production motorcycle. The eight titanium connecting rods alone, the pistons and cylinders manufactured almost individually, the piston rings, the technology of which is still a mystery to this day – none of which is really comprehensible. Except maybe that the brand just wanted to show what it can do. After all, the Honda people gave themselves the monocoque and put the Honda NR 750 on a beautifully welded aluminum bridge frame, which was even highly polished as standard. And now it just stands there in a yard in Franconia, starts after two or three attempts and hisses loudly from the underseat exhaust. The engine revs up effortlessly as Harry warms it up. “Four and a half liters of oil, we’ll let it warm up for a while before you drive.” The gears of the camshaft drives are singing, the throttles get wilder, the tachometer needle twitches. That doesn’t sound like a normal four-stroke, somehow more snappy, evil. I drive off.

It’s amazing how light as a feather the 32-valve engine revs up

The NR is heavy, the first gear is long, the flywheel mass feels zero. With the clutch slipping, I roll carefully out of Harry’s village. Didn’t Harry shout something to me about “first tires” and “it never turned a corner”? I feel euphoria coupled with deep worries. Euphoria because I actually drive a Honda NR 750. Worry because the load does what it wants. A 16-inch front wheel with 130 tires has never worked. And it’s discouraging when a 25-year-old tire is added to the small front wheel, the outside temperature is only four degrees and the roads in the Hohenlohe province are dusty. In curves, a thick, strong arm wants to wring the noble handlebars out of my hand. And the solid piston calipers at the front were and are of course ABS-free. But the engine is awesome. It responds creamily to every little movement of the throttle. Climbing up the speed ladder with almost no vibration, but increasingly threatening. From 5,000 rpm, there is real pressure, from 10,000 rpm the NR literally fires from the two tailpipes under the seat hump. It’s amazing how light as a feather and limitlessly the 32-valve engine revs up.

How does the Honda NR 750 do it?

The red area begins at 15,000 rpm, and the V4 easily shakes it out of its sleeve. Even most of today’s super sports cars shy away from such speed orgies. How does the NR do that? With a stroke of 42 millimeters, it moves its pistons just as little up and down as a current Yamaha YZF-R6. And can therefore turn just as high as the 600. The cold weather unfortunately throws a spanner in the works this time. We decide to take a trip together with new tires next spring. Harry and I, with two Honda NR 750s. Crazy? Crazy!

Harald Thurner’s opinion on the Honda NR 750


Arturo Rivas

Harald Thurner is the owner of the two Honda NR 750s.

Harald Thurner – owner of two Honda NR 750s

The Honda engine is unique. How it revs up and hangs on the gas, the torque development – for me the ideal motorcycle engine. Very few copies can be bought here, the 300 machines built have long since landed in the hands of collectors operating around the world. There’s no part on the Honda that hasn’t been treated in a very special way. From the vapor-coated window to the side stand cover. Back then, Honda was way ahead.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *