Featured Honda Ns400

I test rode one of them at a dealer open day in '86. I had a 1000RX at the time and the Honda was a bit of a handling revelation. Getting back on the RX it felt like an elephant with clogs on.

 

What a great bike they were in their day and even still now.
A friend, Paul, bought one and an RD500LC in 2015, £7500 for the pair as proper barn finds, cobwebs, mouse nest in the airbox and all.
We rebuilt the NSR first, the tank, exhausts and frame needed work which is where I came in.
Paul did a great job once completed and I even saw it once at Squires ( motorbikers cafe).
Sadly Paul passed away before the RD got back out of the numerous baskets that he'd diligently loaded up months previous with the totally stripped bike.

 

Umm there were a bit of a discrepancy over ownership between the next wife to be and his two sons.
I could ask the sons next time I see them. Your bike didn't come from over Leeds way previously did it?
I also knew another lad called Darren who had one of these back in the day.

 

I had one new in 1988 , paid £2800 from Hallens in Cambridge , an E plate , so a late one. Even rode it two up and camping gear to Assen for the Grand Prix Loved it , never should have sold it

 

Legendary bike ! And in very nice condition.

 

Lovely bike!

 

I went to an importer once at Boxhill. They had imported a bunch of 400cc sports bikes from Japan, it would have been around 1999. I don't remember which of the big 4 they were. At that time I don't think there were 400 sports bikes for sale in the UK, often wondered what happened to them.

 

Suzuki made a RG400 for the Japanese home market to fit in with restrictions at the time. Similarly, Yamaha also made a version of the RD500 (RZV500) restricted to 60bhp but in other respects was higher spec than the model for other markets. IIRC the upper capacity limit for bikes at the time was 750cc. When I bought my ZX10 in 1988, supposedly restricted to the "gentleman's agreement" 125bhp, the bikes destined for Switzerland were 80bhp!

 

Yes I remember that 125 bhp agreement, I took a zzr1100 out a couple of years later, wow what a rocketship in its day.

 

I think it was Triumph, with their 1200 Daytona, who put the kibosh on the voluntary limit when it was launched with "around" 140bhp in the early '90's, then the Fireblade came along and rewrote the rule book with a "mere" 893cc and 115bhp giving litre+ beating performance in a bike (almost) the size of a 600. Every race track refugee just had to have one, me included.