Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127529
BTEST H~ndaNll750 ; rather than excep tio na l, only do so in a way that is unique to the NR concept. The makers of Roll s-Royce motor cars woul d h ave in de nti fied with this ra tio na le, had they ever found themselves in a sim ilar positio n: adeq ua te rather tha n exceptio na l performance is such a civi lized, resp ons ible, posi tio n to ado p t, eh wha t? How else to exp la in that Honda has voluntaril y res tricted th e NR 750's engi ne o u tp ut to 125 bhp at 14,000 rpm at the mo st, and to just 100 bhp in several key markets lik e France, Germany and th e lik e? Speciall y since Kanezawa admits that 140bhp in full ysilenced form was possibl e (" but 135 bhp would hav e been easiest without any further expen se")? This is, of course, still a very acceptable horsepower figure (well, 125bhp is, anyway), but it's hardly enough to stand the NR750 on a pedestal, especially with that dr y weight figure alongside it. And especially considering that the endurance NR750 that raced at Le Mans in '87 scaled under 352 pounds with lights and a starter motor, yet delivered over 155 bhp at 15,000 rpm. Frankly, you justdon't get the thrill, the buzz, the kick 'riding th e NR750 that you feel en titled to expect from a bike with that exotic specification, that heritage, and that allure. Given th at the NR 750 roadster project leader, Mr. Isao Yamanaka, was previously in (Below) The 8-4-2-1-2 exhaust system is made of stainless steel and the heavily shrouded silencers are nestled in the seat tail . T he NR750 has a sidestand, but no centerstand. charge of the six-cylinder GLI500 Aspencad e and ST I 100 Pan -European tou ring ' mach ine develop ment, one begins to see ho w, if not accept why , Honda has fashioned the NR7 50 in this way. It is tota lly effective, ul traresponsive, revs into or bit - and is rat her bland. Hop on to the seat lined with specia lly selected nylon, th um b the starter and sm ile at the reassu ring d rone of the 9O-degreeV-4 engi ne (with 360-degree crank, just like th e RC30 wh ose flat engi ne note it so resembles), notch the lower of the six even ly and ra ther widely spaced gear ratios - and off you zap. Wh eelies? Well, hate to ad mit I was too self-conscious to really try, but might have been a ni ce way to break up th e monoton y of th at ocean-wide powerband. I mean - is 12,000 rpm wide, or no i? For a sports bike .. . T he NR750 will pull without transmission snatch from as low as 2000 rpm, thou gh th e power delivery becomes more urgent from abo u t 8000 rpm up to the 14,000 rev peak (with 15,000 red lin e and 16,OOO-plus-a-tad rev-limiter). But the torque figures say it all: at just 3000 rpm, there's already 33 lb.-ft. ava ilable, rising to 41 Ib.-ft at 7000 revs and peaking at 51 Ib.ft. at 11,500 rpm. Frankly, this makes your choice of gearbo x ratio pretty immaterial , yo u r o p tio n for the number of revs em p loyed an irrelevance. There is liquid po wer avail able wh enever you want it at practically an y point on the circu lar revcounter' s dial, (Left) Desp i te its conventional looking chassis. our tester says the NR 750 steers and handles bette r than any other roa d bike - ever. (Below) The front brakes consist of twin 12inch discs with four-piston calipers.