HONDA NSR250 TIMELINE

1983 MVX250: The three-cylinder MVX was the NSR’S grandad. The MVX had ATAC, an early powervalve system. Downfall was the not-so-good VT250 chassis.

1985 NS250R MC11: Honda's first V-twin stroker had Astralite wheels, nicasil barrels and an alloy frame: 45hp@9500rpm and awesome looking!

1987 NSR250 MC16: The first ever NSR. Everything was new. Initially only available in red, a blue version was released after six months. It had threespoke wheels, a box section alloy frame and swingarm, was 20kg less than the MC11 and had RC exhaust valves. 1988 NSR250R MC18: Completely revised from its earlier brothers. It had high swept, six-spoke wheels. The MC18 is considered the closest of the NSRS to the RS250 racer; also available as a Rothmans special edition, with lightweight magnesium wheels. 1990 NSR250 ¬MC21: The bike tested here took the world by storm in 1990. It used the PGMIII ECU from the RC30 with TPS and GPS to give the ECU optimum control over ignition and the powervalves. It also had a new frame and the famous Gull Arm swingarm. Both wheels were 17in and the rear 4.5in wide. SP versions were released in Cabin Racing colours (Nobu Aoki in All Japan raced for the team) and had a dry clutch (as fitted to our test bike) and a close ratio gearbox. An SE version was introduced in 1991 with different wheels.

1994 NSR250R MC28: Similar in spec to the MC21, but with the single-sided swingarm. It also had PGMIV, activated by a ‘Smart Card’. Each plastic card offered different levels of performance mapping. In reality, it was a clever system marketed by the Japanese, but really was designed to restrict the bike to meet strict Japanese pollution laws. It was heavier and slower than the MC21. The NSR continued unchanged until 1999.