Ron Grant’s Honda NSR150RR
In 1995 a buddy and I went to Thailand for two weeks. We found that in Chiang Mai we could rent motorcycles, although most of the available ones were scooters. A few were small ‘real’ motorcycles though, and having a long history with two- strokes, I rented what looked like a mini Honda racing bike. On the winding, almost traffic-free back roads, this little terror, which turned out to be only a 109cc single water-cooled machine, was a fantastic ride.
I was seduced, and I found that Honda made an even bigger, 150cc bike, the NSR150RR. At the time, all motorcycles sold in Thailand had to be between 100 and 150cc; the market was protected against imports with high tariffs; and all the bikes were locally made. This ensured they t were not flooded with the multitude of o 50cc tiddlers available from outside countries. c I was so impressed that in spite of o the restrictive Australian laws against ‘ ‘non-certified’ imports, I decided to go back in i 1998 armed with cash (that’s Baht) and get g a new one off the dealer’s floor. There was w a small loophole that allowed one to import i a bike if one signed that it was only for f racing, so I got my import permit.
Well, 20+ years have passed, and this has h always been the fun motor in my stable, s just the thing for a quick fang on our o back roads. After 22,000 kilometres it quit on me at 5000rpm inn top gear. After a minute's rest it would start up again, run for a klick, then quit. I had to do this 10 times to get back home. I found it would run perfectly for a short time with a brand new spark plug, then the quitting started all over again. The spark was still evident, but from the centre electrode to the side, and that new plug was now useless. It was not until I pulled the cylinder off that I saw the result of what I believe is called a ‘partial seizure’, with many scratches on both piston and cylinder wall. It turned out that the villain was the foam air-filter element that broke up with age and gradually got swallowed into the engine. Luckily, I still had a few friends in Thailand, and after a false start was able to get a correct new piston to fit my re-nikasilled cylinder.
Back in the 1970s in Canada my regular bike for years was my 250cc Bultaco Metralla, also a two-stroke. The NSR seems to provide similar performance: both bikes could just manage 100mph under good conditions. Now with the recent rebuild, and my advancing age, I am hoping this NSR will be my go-to two-stroke for as long as I need a performance ride.