Honda NSR500: Greatest Grand Prix Machine of All Time

[@gt7500]

I still believe the 1980's & 1990's were the "high water mark" of Japanese Motorcycle production. Both in racing machines and production machines.

[@deathtomorons9388]

Japanese machines still dominate motorcycle racing. The new Age of motorsports will begin with Yamaha's Hydrogen powered Internal combustion Engine. Already been made and used in a Toyota. Electric cars for motorsports are a big no from my side.

[@space_cowboy007]

same for cars really

[@gt7500]

@@deathtomorons9388 Except for BMW, DUCATI, APRILIA. Again, the Japanese don't put 1/2the effort they did in the past.

[@dougiequick1]

For 4 stroke production however THESE are the glory days...sucks we in the US never got to buy street versions of the 500 two strokes replica ish racers....What a RIP! Maybe the best is yet to come though with direct injected 2 stroke tech that has been proven capable. ..even it you got no more power out of the deal at all if everything else was equal but the weight savings? 150hp 300llb street bike would with all the rider aids to keep one alive? Could be a dream come true!! Except how could anyone stop all the anus brains from putting aftermarket chambers on and defeating the environmental tech on them which could just be awful for the sport Im afraid

[@alexman8800]

Rothmans v Marlboro. Honda v Yamaha. NSR v YZR. Those were the years I fell in love with 500cc and 250cc world series.

[@nigelfaulkner5449]

I love 2strokes. The sound, the smell, and the kick up the backside when you hit the power-band and ride it to the max.

[@MegaLitefoot]

I saw Freddie win both the 250cc and 500cc GP at Mugello when I was stationed in Italy back in 1985. Amazing watching these guys carve through corners nearly laying the bike on it's side all while the front wheel is off the ground!

[@ianmangham4570]

Awesome, you lucky bugger 😎🙋

[@MegaLitefoot]

@@ianmangham4570 Thanks. Interestingly enough, same year (1985), the Group B rally races were at their apex. Would have loved to see the Lancia Delta S4 in action. I view it as the NSR500 of rally cars.

[@spooge33]

Watched him do the same at Daytona that year.

[@gt7500]

A historic year!

[@BillyTzENDURO]

There is something missing in the video.... oh yea! Some 2 stroke sound!!

[@sergioleone3583]

Doohan will always be my bike GP guy. The Rothmans Honda NSR500s of the early 90s were the best looking race bikes ever, in my book. Even better looking than some of the MV Agusta bikes from the 60s.

[@firdausahsin3898]

This 2 stroke bike is a monster

[@gregmenego2200]

Yep....fortunately I was born in time to appreciate all of this.

[@micksterboone4517]

I miss watching the 500's ridden at the limit.

[@Fmontes]

GOD I loved this. I remember as a kid going to the newsstand to buy a Cycle News to get the fastest info on results on worldwide moto racing. I lived Freddie's double world championships from GP to GP that season, and remember all the press about the new V4.

[@dublion7]

Me too. Freddie was always my hero. I didn’t realize how young he was at the time. I was just a kid myself.

[@AndroidJdm]

I love Honda. Even though i currently have a Yamaha, my heart is set on a Honda. You can see the passion behind them. Passion is what creates amazing machines.

[@voornaam3191]

And amazing machines create great passion. Great passion always results in lots of kids. And lots of kids talk a lot. Talking is important when you have something important to say. So I talk a lot. Blah blah blah blah blaaaaah!

[@cowboythomas5904]

They lost the passion when the corporate pricks took over around the same time they helped try to kill two strokes and look at Honda now lol happy to see them not doing good!

[@ruahinesrider]

What a great bike 🏍️.I rode one my mate owned after he stepped up from 250NSR to 500NSR & the 500 was scary fun,I was shaking when I got off.

[@KJ_XCV]

This made me tear up. Just the history of this bike! Freddie Spencer to Valentino Rossi. It takes a champion to tame the beast and it has been graced by so many greats. Legend.

[@stripervince1]

I wish we could go back to, 1990-4 ish. When the golden age with Rainey Doohan schwantz koscinski Spencer Lawson gardner. Loved those days

[@danoiddano6891]

I wish honda would make a replica of that bike that you could use as track bike. I wouldn’t need but about 5 minutes on it and I would be set. It would be beer thirty after that 😁

[@skyak4493]

@@danoiddano6891 It would only take only take 2 minutes to kill you. The NSR500 had 170hp but only 2500rpm of power band.

[@skyak4493]

I used to love renting the VHS tapes of races and playing them in slow motion to watch the flicker of light under the rear tire going into a turn the flick to dragging a elbow through the corner, to getting back on the pipe at the exit sliding crossed up in a wheelie at over 100mph. And they did it without electronic toque control! Even at the time it was a brutal spectacle with top ridders trying to hold onto point leads ridding with broken bones.

[@skyak4493]

I still have my 86 VFR750 -flat plane crank V4 with scissor gear valvetrain if you are up for a project. 122 hp is not impressive today, but the sound while doing it has never been beaten.

[@danoiddano6891]

@@skyak4493 you’re probably right, but what a way to go 😜

[@Hassy]

2 STROKE POWER!

[@guskelman3058]

This uncaged beast sported a 500cc v4 2stroke that was capable of 190 peak hp. That's just goddamn insane.

[@MrMairu555]

And, on average, weighed just 135kg (297lbs).

[@KHANAGE1311]

Doohan's Repsol Honda just might be the most iconic bike of all time. I remember reading an article back in the day saying Doohan's team had cracked to 200hp mark. From a bike weighing just 130kg. 🤯

[@pinslayer4579]

Amazing machine..... Took even more amazing men to ride it in competition. Truly was an age of super heros. Moto GP is still remarkable but software seems dominant over rider skill nowadays.

[@skyak4493]

I recall a race where a bump cut a sensor wire to the traction control of the leader -he went down 2 corners later.... 500GP 170hp, and only 2500rpm of powerband.

[@QuantumSphereBand]

I've had 2 strokes. I've never been the same since.....

[@kbeta]

what longbow said but also.. 2strokes where banned cuz they were also much cheaper and easy to buy/maintain.. some two strokes are almost bulletproof! a friend's DT200 fired up with 6th try after it was exposed in the rain and weather for 10 years.. my point is.. companies' service garages where not making much from 2-stroke engines..

[@jimlyon7276]

@K. beta - ALL fair comment but what Honda are keen to forget is that even a "racing God" like Mike Hailwood on THE legendary Honda 250-6 was being regularly beaten by Phil Read on a RD 56 which was ONLY a parallel twin cylinder 2 stroke with disc valves. Having run out of 4 stroke technology & not too keen on being regularly humiliated on the race track Honda pulled out of racing. Decades L8R those Honda mechanics had become senior management & started throwing their weight around on the F.I.M. "behind closed doors". No doubt Honda love to claim "the rest is history" but in my book it's political manipulation! - But even despite their bias even Honda had to start building 2 strokes to win races!

[@RachaelSA]

I love 2 strokes and still have a few, they are not cheap, easy or reliable, their engines need a rebuild every 20 000 to 30 000km's and if you want it to run properly you have to change carb settings every other day. I love them, but you own them to look at and for the nostalgia, cause they no longer for riding.

[@josko2658]

@@RachaelSA i have 6 2stroke bikes in my garage. Usually there is always work needed on the bikes, but these are dirtbikes. i had a dt that i never needed to do any maintenance on and vespas from the 60s that just keep on runing. you dont need to jet to much, winter and summer if you ride in the same spot.

[@RachaelSA]

@@josko2658 Yes, I agree with that, and I guess I wasn't really clear on what I meant. I was talking about proper racing 2 strokes, like the ones in the video, not mopeds, scooters and lawn mowers. I have two TZR250 3MAs that I wouldn't dream of riding like I used to, and both have already had 2 or 3 engine rebuilds and I don't think either have done over 50 000km's and with how scarce and expensive the parts are, I wouldn't risk it.

[@josko2658]

@@RachaelSA im with you! Race bikes needs alot of maintenance, to bad they stopped making 2 stroke race bikes(cant even get a smoker mower anymore😃). When we used to race mx we did the top end after every race weekend and the bottom end atleast once per season. Now i do top end after 100 hours and thats like a year of riding, and i dont bother with the bottom if its not shot. Good thing if you have a 2stroke the rebuild is pretty easy to do yourself. I hate rebuilding 4strokes. Well keep riding your vintage bikes, they really deserves to be ridden. I cant, had a crash and now I'm fresh of operation table with a knee reconstruction. Much better to rebuild bike engines and much cheaper too

[@TheFokker03]

oh for the two stroke sound!

[@bikezonly]

NSR500 before the Big Bang = The Beast

[@gregmenego2200]

Honda took on the 2stroke challenge reluctantly after trying with oval piston 4 strokes but was just to complicated. They entered the famous NS 500 and the rest is history.

[@aleramone23]

two strokes baby! best cycles ever

[@canadianleb1]

I had a chance to ride one of these catapult! It was the scariest, unpredictable powerband ever !

[@yordyiam]

All those gorgeous bikes in one line at the end of this vid! Is this Gods garage?

[@evofreak1304]

I want one of these bikes , pure 2 stroke art

[@MrWeasel1984]

couldn't agree more. bring back the strokers

[@abuzafarsami]

All time Great !! Two Thumbs Up . . . 2-strokes Rock . . .

[@HypermaxZ]

Awesome! Wish I was born a little earlier....

[@lordatum8139]

HypermaxZ Ban cigarettes bring back 2 strokes.

[@user-zx1ir7jt4c]

Rothman's is a cigarette company

[@ianmangham4570]

@@lordatum8139 bollocks ,it's my choice to kill myself slowly with tobacco and a little weed inside 😄

[@lordatum8139]

@@ianmangham4570 Smoke weed, but not tobacco.

[@lordatum8139]

@@user-zx1ir7jt4c Yeah they just love smoke

[@vigneshwaran7437]

Honda motorcycles have unique characteristics.

[@steakmeal74]

Legendary

[@MuffDiver71]

God, I wish I could ride one.

[@stanian2]

No one can deny it, even me being a Yamaha supporter.

[@grassicesar]

Lástima que ya no quedan mas de éstas...

[@bootsmanaa]

2 stroke injection is coming (ktm) lets hope it wil be a fresh breath for 2stroke bikes.

[@193322009]

"MR. JAPAN . . . BRING BACK THE TWO STROKERS"

[@Kneedragon1962]

+bootsmanaa LOL. 2-stroke injection that can pass clean air regs has been coming for 30+ years. It's still .... (yawn) ....

[@bootsmanaa]

+Kneedragon1962 yes but it seems exc 300 is going to have to finally make them for regulations. so hopefully it will do something witht the rest hopefully?

[@Kneedragon1962]

bootsmanaa Yeah, good luck to them. I don't personally have a problem with them. I prefer 4s, but both have some good features. I wish you could make an engine that had all the best features of both, but you can't.

[@bootsmanaa]

+Kneedragon1962 best features of both? electric then? ;P

[@HighLiner15]

Legend 🏍🏁

[@mrb2917]

How do you make this video and include no engine sounds? HOW

[@TheKitchenTechnician]

I like how they don’t mention how the fuel tank on the bottom and expansion chambers on the top was a complete disaster.

[@deathtomorons9388]

Now does that even matter?? Thus bike was the King of the 2 stroke era.

[@danielssonsgarage]

Disaster how?

[@jimccc9467]

Personally, I thought the Marlboro yzr500s were better looking, the Honda did make crazy hp. I remember when Eddie pulled surprise go to Honda move and won championship on the Honda also.

[@blowgoats666]

Interesting they don't show any of the hundreds of highsides those brutal machines caused in the beginning.

[@veedee4860]

Jimmy Hoffa highsideing a NSR500? Now you're just being silly.

[@dougiequick1]

The sad beyond all comprension thing was not being able to buy a street legal version of this bike....what a burn! Honda races an awesome two stroke then all you can get off the showroom floor is a dog heavy VF

[@luckharold]

Beautiful bikes two stroke. I love, I have.

[@akasakakv9523]

at 03:29 no 7 is the 250cc Honda RC166 Right

[@petrblazek9507]

Honda not lking 2 strokes yet created the number 1 bike ever.

[@quartusbuys6831]

Honda loathed 2 strokes but yet built the best 2 strokes.

[@ianmangham4570]

Nsr400 awesome bike

[@hdidane00]

Mick doohan greatest of all Time.

[@gt7500]

He had it easy! Rainey and Lawson would of spanked him!

[@deathtomorons9388]

@@gt7500 In fiction everything is possible. Winning for 6 consecutive years is what Mick did.

[@gt7500]

@@deathtomorons9388 who did he have as competition? ... exactly!

[@gt7500]

Those were the years when WSBK was better than GP.

[@DK1102]

Nobody has duplicated Spencer's 250/500 double because you aren't allowed to multi-class anymore

[@pangpengmaster]

I have a question. If they put the exhaust system under the tank, then where is the fuel storage? My question sounds stupid but I'm so curious about this. Thanks

[@Adishahful]

Fariz Adnan dkt coverset blkg bro.. perasan x, ada tombol

[@AvocaSingleTrack]

Modern 2 Stroke Snow mobiles (ETEC) have better emissions, better gas mileage, less weight and more power than 4 stroke . So it can be done, it's just a matter of if "they" wana do it. 2 Strokes are so much easier and cheaper to fix. If you can change a tire or change disc brakes, you can change a piston, rings and top end on a 2 stroke. It's slightly more complicated than changing a tire. Another thing is that 2 strokes have a much lower center of gravity, so when you go to lay it over in a turn, it lays over much easier because there is very little weight above you ankles. Nothing up high, no cams, no valves

[@haydenandreoli5816]

Mity fine machine she was indeed.

[@andromeda7892]

desmosedici might be getting close in the next couple years

[@GiuseppeTrovato79]

Honda NSR 500 The Top Bike !

[@monkeyintensity1]

dear Honda/Santa , can I please have one of these motors to put into a motocross chassis . Or a go kart , micro car , ride on mower......

[@Kneedragon1962]

+monkeyintensity1 There was a funny story from the early 80s. I can't quite remember who, but we had a 500 racer who retired and formed a team, was a team owner in about '83. They found an old square 4 Suzuki motor, like Barry Sheene had raced. He had a dirtbike frame made for it, for his own amusement. It frightened him so bad he wouldn't let anybody else ride it. It sat in the corner for 15 years and rotted away...

[@skyak4493]

@@Kneedragon1962 I know for certain that none of these commenters cheering and begging for 2stroke 500s has ever ridden one or anything with 150+hp and only 2500rpm of powerband. It's impossible, they are still alive!

[@Kneedragon1962]

@@skyak4493 Jello skyak. Simon Crafer is part of the MotoGP commentary team, and Simon has not only raced 500s, he's won several grand prix races on them. That said, I don't recall Simon crying for the return of the good old days... Simon would tell you a YZR500 is a viscous animal, and if you can get the setup exactly right, it becomes possible to do some remarkable things on it, but that setup has to be spot on. Simon's problem was he could get the setup exactly right about 2 or 3 GP out of ten, and that's not quite good enough. When it was right, Simon was a bit of a revelation on that bike. Not many people beat Mick Doohan in his prime, but Crafer was one of them.

[@farandymizan6837]

2:02 Today FIM not allowed racer race for 2 class category, such as Moto2&Moto3 and GP&Moto2 #MotoGP #Dorna

[@touristguy87]

Winning the WC is one thing, winning races another. What was its winning percentage?

[@wendellfugate4088]

NSR's are my fave bikes on the planet. From 50cc to 500cc. Seems to me that you may have mentioned the importance of the team changing the angle of the crankshaft and cylinders as well as fettling the flywheel in order to make the bikes more controllable.

[@MrMairu555]

You'd need an hour long documentary, at the very least, to cover the development and evolution of the NSR500. Two hours if you were to go back to the NR500 and NS500 origins, and also include the NSR500V towards the end!

[@dr.hugog.hackenbush9443]

When they changed over to the "big bang" firing order to make the bikes more contollable for the tire technology of the time.

[@klesarhr-bz5of]

2:10 not quite true, Anton Mang won the both, 250 and 350 titles in the same year 1981. on his Kawasaki

[@SuperColouredPencil]

Honda know how to make bikes, love my RVF :D

[@girishs1755]

I like this loominum haanda

[@olivertoeknuckleiii2093]

I wish thenFIM would revert back to a “prototype” rules package once again! We should allow 500cc two-strokes to race against the mighty 1000’s, and also to allow small displacement turbo’s or supercharged bikes into the class! With todays fuel injection and ECU tech, these small-displacement machines could be tamed, and would pave the way for NEW street bike tech!

[@marmoot]

Doohan 1997 Repsol NSR500V4 is the best ever!

[@hunghuge12]

I know about emissions and all that bollox but couldn't they just make a few of these a year? It's not going to kill the planet in the kind of numbers they would sell and the people who want some fun can have it.

[@TheDazzler420]

Doesn't M1 also have same wins?

[@triplemotor]

GREATEST BIKE EVER.....

[@stripervince1]

2 strokes rule. period

[@cdreery7304]

They don’t have torque!

[@stripervince1]

@@cdreery7304 they rule

[@MrBioniclefan1]

I would love to see street legal version of the NSR-500

[@skyak4493]

No such thing. You would need emissions controls nearly the size of the bike and a torque control system to keep riders from killing themselves.

[@skyak4493]

You could equip an electric bike with the same torque capability but if you programed it to behave like these 500GPs it would kill you in minutes.

[@dr.hugog.hackenbush9443]

Where there is a will there is a way. Id love to shoehorn a TZ750 engine into a R6 rolling frame. Just need muneh. Lots of muneh...

[@scorpion251970]

She was special

[@kimconda7492]

But why many people hate honda more than they love yamaha...why?

[@gregmenego2200]

Why does Honda outsell Yam?

[@gt7500]

Forget the electric motorcycle, let's have at least one two stroke Class. Or make it so the 2T will be competitive with the 600cc motorcycles. Maybe a 350 cc?

[@chrisglover2697]

We stole one of these as teenagers best two stroke bike ever made for the road

[@ZaherruddinShaik]

Yamaha xzz 550cc blk,blu col my youngest brother in 1990.i am🏍️🏍️🔚🌻🌸..

[@vinnyozorio1782]

A pity they didn"t make a road going version.. Yamaha and Suzuki did.

[@jimccc9467]

NSR400 triple was as close as they got.

[@Mystipaoniz]

NSR truly are three iconic letters in the world of GP. Not only in GP, in the world of motorbikes as a whole! If i see these three letters in this particular order, i think of the bike. I used to dream about the NSR50 my friend had. The one, orange and black. While i had a 1983 Yamaha DT50 ^^ (which i loved dearly btw!) But then...I saw a NSR 125 for sale. I talked about it with my father, and the most awesome and totally unexpected thing happened : when i said i had to pass the exam to get my license to ride, he just casually replied : "then why don't you do it?". I was nearly shocked! (in retrospective, i think he said that because...i think it was like kinda him having the bike too ^^ My father was a child in his mind. haha) The NSR is the reason why i became a motorbike rider and why i love them so much! I felt like a GP rider on it! I learned a lot on this bike! Gosh i loved this bike! It was beautiful, powerful! On small twisty road in the belgian Ardennes, it could put to shame lots of bigger bikes. Ok now sorry not sorry about the story i told you. I'm that emotional about the NSR. ^^ Ho, and Mick Doohan was so great to watch! I love that guy! The colour schemes of the 500 were always beautiful! Saw the GP bikes several times in the flesh in the "salon de l'auto et de la moto" in Bruxelles when i was young and i was in awe at the beasts. TLDR : NSR 500? Phoque YEAHH!

[@Deeegeeee]

Yes Indeed!!

[@stinkingfishguitars1362]

Honda sorry not even close.. Between the wars Norton won the Isle of Man Senior TT race ten times and, between 1930 and 1937, won 78 out of 92 Grand Prix races. Of the nine Isle of Man Senior TTs (500cc) between 1931 and 1939, Norton won seven. Add in the pre war and post war successes and you'll learn just why they were named The Unapproachable Norton.. I love my 2 strokes but love history as well..

[@bearcatracing007]

Considering the Inaugural Grand prix season wasn't till 1949 that means Norton misses out. Oh well, nice try.

[@kbeta]

not only! 2strokes have a very wide range of max horsepower and torque compared to the 4-strokes.. if you race 2 same bikes with (for example 400cc)...the one two stroke and the other four stroke.. same hp same weight etc. 2stroke ALWAYS win! what a shame they dont make 2-stroke engine anymore :-/

[@cdreery7304]

Bullshit!

[@cdreery7304]

They do have a lot more horsepower but not torque.

[@dr.hugog.hackenbush9443]

I want to street ride one.

[@pazen]

i own one of the last NSR150 produced and 4 stroke Yamaha R15, felt like throwing the R15 away......

[@afoxvilla4491]

beast

[@tinolino58]

Please! The biggest budget produced good technology and won races. Its not the genius team, it’s just the biggest effort. Do you get it? It’s money!

[@SPOOKSTR]

I race the NSR's baby brother....the RS125.

[@raiterimatias1394]

En Español?

[@marso813]

I would take a Yamaha OW69 over the NSR any day. NSR does 190? The OW did 206mph at Daytona in 83 with the KING on the real beast. It even had to be detuned for Kenny to handle. Sadly Yamaha only used it for two years.

[@philhashey9651]

Undefeated in competition

[@AugustusPolly-g7x]

Price Haven

[@MrWeasel1984]

what are you talking about?

[@variascustoms8013]

2 stroke is the best

[@MarjaLaukka-c8g]

Roberta Camp

[@Lynxtro]

theyre not comparable, nsr has a 2 stroke engine, the r6 has a 4 stroke

[@友紀大塚]

2 stroke My hot times

[@grahamreeve5209]

So basically the most wins, well as long as you don't count MV that is.

[@suninmoon4601]

The NSR500 was a great bike. But these greatest of all time productions are nauseating. Unworthy of the NSR. iIt doesn't need any of this over-hyped nonsense. Honda should know better :/

[@angela.8673]

best bike in GTA SA

[@TheeXtremeegnigma44]

185HP a 12000 tr/min 2T

[@lukebrennan5780]

in a Doohan chat in his place with his 6 winning bikes, he mentions the range was 9k through to 12300. He also says they dropped the power down in the next year to make it more rideable. Incredible.

[@WHEELSTAND1976]

Fuck yea!! All hail the king!

[@vigneshwaran7437]

Nobody can understand rc213v except Marquez. And he's injured now. There's no great riders to control Honda's agressive rc213v. And people hyping their favorite brands😂. They don't know what honda really is. Nobody

[@dankerpoetra2800]

That have motorcycle Rossi VR46 , You must to Valentino Rossi

[@markwinchester3005]

200mph in 1993!!?? Jeez just think if 2 strokes had been allowed to continue to progress. Its conceivable they'd be breaking 220mph on the straights by now 30yrs later.

[@Pertamax7-HD]

Super 2 Stroker V4 :yt:

[@GenaAbdulmateen-t9g]

Hermiston Meadows

[@anrodsrc1664]

The sweet smell of a burnt 2t smoke.....