OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

Unlike on the 500, where carbon fibre wheels were used at 50% of the races in the 1985 season, the NSR250 always employed aluminium Comstar wheels, for the simple reason that it was already right on the FIM minimum 90kg 250cc class weight limit just as it was, and according to Oguma-san it had actually to be ballasted at one stage during the season so as not to be underweight. This light weight was achieved by liberal use of magnesium not only for the engine cases, but also on various suspension components, as well as titanium fasteners and the carbon fibre bodywork. Also made in carbon fibre was the rear mudguard, an Oguma-san’s own design also fitted to the V4 500 not just to protect the engine from road dirt and stones, but also to prevent heat from the engine being prevented from dispersing by the turbulence of the wheel. It seemed a good idea, especially on the bigger bike where the engine filled the frame more. Like the 500, the 250 used OKI computerised ignition, Nikasil cylinders, needle roller big and little ends, and ball bearings for the crankshaft mains, in this case a three-bearing unit. The main bearings were reputed to be special lowfriction items which helped reduce internal friction. However they went about attaining it, Honda’s achievement in producing the NSR250, especially considering its pretty disastrous debut in modern 250cc racing in 1984 with the unsuccessful first RS250R, was a truly remarkable one. Though horsepower obviously varies according to specification, HRC boss (and future President of the Honda Motor Company) Takeo Fukui admitted to me later that they’d seen over 80bhp on the dyno from an NSR250 engine, albeit with an unacceptably narrow powerband. Presumably his engineers’ winter work would try to eradicate what I found to be the only really disconcerting aspect of riding an otherwise remarkable machine. Shutting off for the right-hander at the end of the pit straight, I noticed time and again that the Honda would keep running on. At first I thought my glove was catching the twistgrip, or that that itself was sticking. No sign of that, so into the pits and get the mechanics to inspect for sticking slides. Not that either, because on resuming, the four-stroking on the overrun was still there, combined with a surging feel as I fed the throttle open rounding the long right-hander. It didn’t seem to happen anywhere else, though there was a hint at the end of the back section, before the long back straight. Then it dawned on me: this was Freddie’s bike, right? And how did Mr Spencer ride? HARD! He entered a corner with the back wheel hovering a foot off the ground and the front tyre squirming, then sort of kicked them back into shape and slammed on the power, almost before he’d got into the turn. That’s how the NSR250 demanded to be ridden – hard, on the throttle all the time. But not all riders are a Fast Freddie, and I could think of a couple of the six lucky riders (Pons, Dominique Sarron, Mang, Baldé, Fukuda and Ricci) who were to ride further developed versions of this bike in 1986 who wouldn’t particularly have cared for that type of engine characteristic – it just wouldn’t have suited their riding style. Plus, it can’t be much fun to ride a bike that does that in the wet, where you have to be on and off the throttle all the time. It’s maybe no coincidence that Freddie’s two worst untroubled finishes on the NSR250 that season were both in the rain. But when all is said and done this was truly a most remarkable little bike in every way, as my ride at Suzuka showed me. For 1986, HRC foresaw that the selected six could expect to receive bikes which were 90% similar to the ’85 World Champion, but with altered engine characteristics to give more power at higher revs, now there was no need to keep the bike as close as possible in engine characteristics to the 500 anymore. Presumably this entailed revised cylinder porting as well as improved pipes to prevent the occasional problem with split exhausts that Honda encountered in their title-winning season – the right-hand pipe especially looked awkward, twisting round in a full circle before exiting from beneath the engine. “If these modifications push output up to over the 80bhp mark, the mind boggles at the sort of speeds these ’86 NSR250S will be capable of, although they’ll have to be fast to ward off the challenge of the new V-twin Yamaha,” I wrote prophetically after my Suzuka test ride. “Looks like it’s going to be a gripping season in the 250 class again – but I have a feeling Toni Mang will be world champion this time next year!” But no, the newyamaha was too good for the evo-nsr250 without Fast Freddie at the helm, and it was Carlos Lavado aboard this bike that madetoni Mang wait another year for his first Honda world title, in 1987. But two years earlier, in 1985, Freddie Spencer had given Honda its first-ever two-stroke 250-class World Championship in his dominant season on this motorcycle – in between winning the 500cc world crown in a unique double. Even 30 years on, it still seems a literally incredible achievement. No wonder Freddie insists it’s the best motorcycle he ever raced.

“IT’S MAYBE NO COINCIDENCE THAT FREDDIE’S TWO WORST UNTROUBLED FINISHES ON THE NSR250 THAT SEASON WERE BOTH IN THE RAIN.”