In 1987, the Japanese maker launched the Honda NSR250R, a two-stroke street-legal road-oriented sports machine manufactured by Honda over four distinct generations until 1999. The bike was derived from the popular NS250R MC11 motorcycle.
All the bikes were powered by the same 249cc liquid-cooled reed-valve inducted V-twin two-stroke engine, fitted with the Honda RC-valve power valve system with nikasil-sulfur lined cylinder bores.
Without sharing any mechanical parts, the NSR motorcycles were built in the image of the RS250R production race machines, also called the NSR250. The appearance of the NSR250R models was more in style with competitors from Yamaha and Aprilia.
The Honda NSR250R received some modifications over the years, including a single-sided swingarm for better accommodation of the exhaust system, a redesigned full fairing, a small windscreen, new wheels with an eight-spoke design on the rear, and a six-spoke design on the front.
The aluminum wheels were fitted with two-piston calipers and two discs on the front, while the rear wheel was fitted with a single disc and a single-piston caliper, offering strong stopping power.
For suspension, the bike had a 41 mm semi-adjustable telescopic air-valve fork on the front and a non-adjustable Pro-Link shock absorber on the rear, delivering excellent suspension performance and handling.
For power, the Honda NSR250R had a 249cc two-stroke liquid-cooled V-twin engine held by an aluminum tube-type frame, delivering a power output of 40 hp at 9,000 rpm and 32 Nm (24 lb-ft) torque with a peak force at 8,000 rpm.