Riding the NSR500
Given the NSR500’S Reputation as a horsepower-laden handful even for the world’s very best riders, it seems strange to recall that journalists occasionally got to ride it too. Back in the era of the notoriously vicious two-strokes, when the only traction control came via the pilot’s right wrist, an end-of-season test of a titlewinning race bike was a treat for a few hacks lucky enough to be involved.
in fact, the once peaky two-stroke engines had been civilised by the time i managed to work my way on to some guest lists in the early 1990s and even these hugely powerful and light bikes were surprisingly easy to ride, albeit not at the pace of their regular pilot. Firing these compact, 130-kg missiles out of turns with their rear slicks smoking would have been another thing entirely. But provided their wheels stayed in line, their power-bands were sufficiently broad and their fuelling so sweet that most were a delight to ride.
that is not to say that that the mighty NSR500, in particular, was not seriously intimidating. My first date with honda’s v4 legend came in 1996 at eastern Creek (now Sydney Motorsport park), a circuit i had never seen before, after i had flown half-way round the world for five laps on the 200-hp rocket-ship that Mick Doohan had just ridden to his third straight championship.
Doohan’s nSR even had an instant reminder that these things can bite: the then novelty of a rear brake lever alongside the clutch lever, because his injured right leg meant he could not use a conventional foot-operated lever. Crew Chief Jerry Burgess pointed it out in the pit-lane as he showed me round the nSR’s minimalist cockpit before i set off, before adding, ‘if you crash it, you’d better get up and run!’
the regular pilot also offered some pre-flight advice, but it was not easy to take. the v4’s ability to pull hard from below 9,000 rpm was barely relevant, Doohan told me before i set off, because that was not how he rode it. ‘Keep up the revs, it’s more controllable if you spin it up at 10,000 rpm. if it spins the rear wheel at 8,000 rpm, you’ll be over the bars before you know it.’ er, thanks, Mick, i’ll bear that in mind...
even when upright, the nSR was mind-blowing, especially down the Creek’s front straight. the acceleration pinned me in the seat as the honda screamed forwards, its front end constantly feeling light, the revs building so fast through the gears that it was as much as my left foot could do to keep stamping down quickly enough as the v4 screamed to 12,000 rpm through the gears.
thankfully, the ultra-light, 130-kg nSR’s chassis was as brilliant as its engine and the bike stopped, turned, and cornered with staggering control and precision. Compared to any fast road bike, the v4 was absurdly compact and manoeuvrable. i rode it as hard as i dared, hard enough to make plenty of good street bikes twitch and slide, yet the honda felt totally untroubled.
Four years later, at the end of the 2000 season, alex Criville was honda’s freshly deposed champion and i had the very different experience of piloting his still no 1-plated nSR around a soaking twin Rings Motegi. Despite the weather, the bike was sufficiently rideable to be fun, but that was misleading. this was the year in which the re-tuned v4 had initially been too peaky for Criville and his new teammate, valentino Rossi, and honda’s mid-season revamp had come too late to prevent the title from being lost to Suzuki’s Kenny Roberts Jr.
a year later, Rossi mastered the nSR500 to win his first 500cc championship and the chance to ride that final two-stroke title winner after the season’s last round at Jerez was an unforgettable thrill. the fact that valentino is tall by top racer standards meant that i immediately felt more comfortable on this nSR than on its predecessors. My five laps of a dry, near-deserted Jerez on that amazing yellow v4 were an absolute blast.
the honda screamed round feeling not just sensationally fast and outrageously light, but improbably controllable. it seemed other-worldly in a way that subsequent four-stroke MotoGp bikes, despite being even more rapid, just could not match. in this job i sometimes get asked what is the best bike i have ever ridden. For both riding excitement and purity of engineering — not to mention its track record and sheer all-conquering speed — that last of the illustrious nSR500 line takes some beating.