Honda NSR500
Encyclopedia
The Honda NSR500 is a race motorcycle
from the Honda
NSR series
. It was created by HRC (Honda Racing Corporation
) and debuted in 1984
for the Grand Prix motorcycle racing
's 500 cc class. Honda won ten 500cc World Championships with the NSR500 from 1984 to present, six in a row 1994
to 1999
. With more than 100 wins to its credit, the NSR500 is the most dominant force in modern Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The 1989
NSR500 that won Honda's third 500 World Championship with Eddie Lawson
exemplifies the overwhelming power, acceleration and raw speed that has always been synonymous with Honda's 500 cc two-stroke V4.
triple, NSR500 debuted in 1984 for the Grand Prix motorcycle racing's 500 cc class. Building on lessons learned from its three-cylinder predecessor, the new V4 used a single crankshaft, making it lighter and more compact than its dual-crankshaft adversaries. Though tormented by unorthodox chassis technology in its first season, the NSR500 evolved to clinch Honda's second 500 cc GP title in 1985
. Opening the V-angle to 112 degrees in 1987
made room for a quartet of 36 mm Keihin carburetors between the cylinders where they could be fed more cool air. The new arrangement also let the engine exhale more efficiently through its four artfully intertwined expansion chambers. By year's end, Honda won a third 500 World Championship.
, the NSR500 got a stiffer, twin-spar aluminum chassis and various engine changes. More improvements gave the 1989 NSR500 upwards of 165 hp at 12,000 rpm — essentially doubling the output of the 1966 Honda RC181
Grand Prix four-stroke. Capable of well over 190 mi/h, the 1989 bikes had more top speed and acceleration than anything else on the track. To contain all that muscle, the stiffer, twin-spar aluminum chassis used a curved, gull-wing-type swingarm to accommodate more efficient expansion chambers. The result was an unforgiving, but brutally fast, package that earned Honda a fourth 500 cc World Championship in 1989.
led to a new aluminum chassis patterned on the successful RVF750 endurance racer. Honda unveiled a revolutionary idea with a 1992
V4 that was timed to fire all four cylinders within 65-70 degrees of crankshaft rotation — the so-called "Big-Bang
" engine. Along with a balance shaft that neutralized the single crankshaft engine's gyroscopic effects, the 1992 NSR500 was a breakthrough. Emphasizing acceleration over sheer speed, Doohan used this engine to win five of the first seven 500 Grand Prix races of 1992. Although a badly broken leg denied Doohan's bid for the 1992 World Championship, he would not be denied for long. Beginning in 1994
, Doohan and the NSR500 won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. Winning 12 of 15 races in 1997
, he broke a single-season win record that was set in 1972
. Combining for 54 total 500 Grand Prix wins, no man and machine in modern history had dominated the 500 World Championship so thoroughly. From around 1997, the NSR500 again featured the older "Screamer" engine in some factory racers, with Mick Doohan preferring the higher outright power of this design despite it being much more difficult to harness.
in 1999
and again with Valentino Rossi
in 2001
. Regulations for the World Championship motorcycle road racing 500 cc class were changed drastically for the 2002 season
with four-stroke engines being allowed to grow up to 990 cc and up to six cylinders. The name of the class was changed to MotoGP and was limited to race prototypes only. Because of these changes, Honda introduced the RC211V
in 2002 to race alongside the NSR500. The larger displacement RC211V and other four-stroke bikes dominated the series and the NSR500 was eventually phased out of the class along with all other two-stroke motorcycles.
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
from the Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
NSR series
Honda NSR series
Honda NSR is a designation that applies to two types of two-stroke motorcycles from Honda. The NSR designation was used by Honda for both their factory Grand Prix racing machines built by the Honda Racing Corporation subdivision, and for the race replica motorcycles produced mainly for the...
. It was created by HRC (Honda Racing Corporation
Honda Racing Corporation
Honda Racing Corporation is a division of the Honda Motor Company formed in 1982. The company combines participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of high potential racing machines. Its racing activities are an important source for the creation of leading edge...
) and debuted in 1984
1984 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1984 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 36th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:Defending champion Freddie Spencer was the pre-season favorite to win the championship however, teething problems with Honda's new V4 and early season injuries squelched his hopes...
for the Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...
's 500 cc class. Honda won ten 500cc World Championships with the NSR500 from 1984 to present, six in a row 1994
1994 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1994 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 46th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:1994 was the year in which Honda's Mick Doohan began to stamp his authority on the Grand Prix world. Honda's Longtime sponsor Rothmans left Honda to join Williams Renault in...
to 1999
1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 51st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The dominant reign of Honda's Mick Doohan came to an end with serious injuries suffered in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. In his absence, his Honda team-mate Àlex Crivillé...
. With more than 100 wins to its credit, the NSR500 is the most dominant force in modern Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The 1989
1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 41st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:Defending champion Eddie Lawson stunned most observers by switching from the Yamaha to Honda in the offseason then proceeded to win the championship, becoming the first man to win...
NSR500 that won Honda's third 500 World Championship with Eddie Lawson
Eddie Lawson
Eddie Lawson is a former four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. His penchant for not crashing & consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie".-Biography:...
exemplifies the overwhelming power, acceleration and raw speed that has always been synonymous with Honda's 500 cc two-stroke V4.
1984 - 1987
Designed to succeed Honda's first two-stroke Grand Prix racer, the NS500Honda NS500
The Honda NS500 is a 500cc Grand Prix racing motorcycle of the early 1980s, powered by a two-stroke V3 engine. Created as a replacement for the innovative but unsuccessful four-stroke NR500, the bike went against Honda's preference for four-stroke machines but proved very effective and quickly won...
triple, NSR500 debuted in 1984 for the Grand Prix motorcycle racing's 500 cc class. Building on lessons learned from its three-cylinder predecessor, the new V4 used a single crankshaft, making it lighter and more compact than its dual-crankshaft adversaries. Though tormented by unorthodox chassis technology in its first season, the NSR500 evolved to clinch Honda's second 500 cc GP title in 1985
1985 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1985 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 37th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:Honda's Freddie Spencer gave a dominating performance becoming the first man to win the 250 and 500 championships in the same year. Defending champion Eddie Lawson finished in...
. Opening the V-angle to 112 degrees in 1987
1987 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1987 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 39th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:Wayne Gardner became Australia's first-ever 500cc World Champion in a season that saw him score points in every Grand Prix. Randy Mamola would finish second yet again, one point...
made room for a quartet of 36 mm Keihin carburetors between the cylinders where they could be fed more cool air. The new arrangement also let the engine exhale more efficiently through its four artfully intertwined expansion chambers. By year's end, Honda won a third 500 World Championship.
1988-1989
Entirely redesigned for 19881988 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1988 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 40th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:Eddie Lawson would recapture the championship from Wayne Gardner in a season that witnessed several fierce duels. Two newcomers joined the Grand Prix circuit with Americans Wayne...
, the NSR500 got a stiffer, twin-spar aluminum chassis and various engine changes. More improvements gave the 1989 NSR500 upwards of 165 hp at 12,000 rpm — essentially doubling the output of the 1966 Honda RC181
Honda RC181
The Honda RC181 was a race motorcycle built by Honda which raced in the 500cc class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing in the 1966 and 1967 seasons. The bike debuted in 1966 and won 5 out of 9 races that season, 3 with Mike Hailwood and 2 with Jim Redman. Hailowood finished second in the championship...
Grand Prix four-stroke. Capable of well over 190 mi/h, the 1989 bikes had more top speed and acceleration than anything else on the track. To contain all that muscle, the stiffer, twin-spar aluminum chassis used a curved, gull-wing-type swingarm to accommodate more efficient expansion chambers. The result was an unforgiving, but brutally fast, package that earned Honda a fourth 500 cc World Championship in 1989.
1990-1998
Though the 499 cc V-4 could produce more than 200 hp, chassis development, sophisticated engine management and an Australian named Mick Doohan made the NSR500 a legend in the 1990s. Extensive testing in 19911991 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1991 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 43rd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The beginning of the 1990s marked a golden age for Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The rivalry between Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz was in full flow while Mick Doohan started to...
led to a new aluminum chassis patterned on the successful RVF750 endurance racer. Honda unveiled a revolutionary idea with a 1992
1992 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1992 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 44th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:1992 was a year marked by injuries to several riders, most notably Mick Doohan. The Rothmans Honda rider had won five of the first seven races and seemed ready to win his first...
V4 that was timed to fire all four cylinders within 65-70 degrees of crankshaft rotation — the so-called "Big-Bang
Big-bang firing order
A big bang engine is an unconventional motorcycle engine designed so that most of the power strokes occur simultaneously or in close succession. This is achieved by changing the ignition timing; sometimes in combination with a change in crankpin angle. The goal is to change the power delivery...
" engine. Along with a balance shaft that neutralized the single crankshaft engine's gyroscopic effects, the 1992 NSR500 was a breakthrough. Emphasizing acceleration over sheer speed, Doohan used this engine to win five of the first seven 500 Grand Prix races of 1992. Although a badly broken leg denied Doohan's bid for the 1992 World Championship, he would not be denied for long. Beginning in 1994
1994 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1994 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 46th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:1994 was the year in which Honda's Mick Doohan began to stamp his authority on the Grand Prix world. Honda's Longtime sponsor Rothmans left Honda to join Williams Renault in...
, Doohan and the NSR500 won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. Winning 12 of 15 races in 1997
1997 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1997 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 49th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:A fourth world championship in a row for Honda's Mick Doohan with another dominating performance. He broke Giacomo Agostini's record for victories in one season with 12 wins. It...
, he broke a single-season win record that was set in 1972
1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 24th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of twelve Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc...
. Combining for 54 total 500 Grand Prix wins, no man and machine in modern history had dominated the 500 World Championship so thoroughly. From around 1997, the NSR500 again featured the older "Screamer" engine in some factory racers, with Mick Doohan preferring the higher outright power of this design despite it being much more difficult to harness.
1999-2002
Constant development and ever-increasing sophistication sharpened the NSR500's edge, earning Honda two more 500 World Championships, with Àlex CrivilléAlex Criville
Àlex Crivillé is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1992 he became the first Spaniard to win a 500cc Grand Prix and, in 1999 he became the first Spaniard to win the 500cc World Championship....
in 1999
1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 51st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The dominant reign of Honda's Mick Doohan came to an end with serious injuries suffered in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. In his absence, his Honda team-mate Àlex Crivillé...
and again with Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi, , is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.Following his father, Graziano Rossi,...
in 2001
2001 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
This article recaps the 2001 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.-Season summary:2001 was the end of the 500 cc era in Grand Prix motorcycle racing; in 2002 the premier class would be renamed MotoGP and dominated by 4-stroke 990 cc machines. However, 2001 was the beginning of another era, that of...
. Regulations for the World Championship motorcycle road racing 500 cc class were changed drastically for the 2002 season
2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 54th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season consist of 16 races, which started with the Japanese Grand Prix on 7 April and ended with the Valencian Community Grand Prix on 3 November....
with four-stroke engines being allowed to grow up to 990 cc and up to six cylinders. The name of the class was changed to MotoGP and was limited to race prototypes only. Because of these changes, Honda introduced the RC211V
Honda RC211V
The Honda RC211V was developed in 2001 by HRC to replace the Honda NSR500 because regulations for the World Championship motorcycle road racing class were changed drastically for the 2002 season. Two-stroke engines were as before limited to and 4 cylinders, but four-stroke engines were allowed...
in 2002 to race alongside the NSR500. The larger displacement RC211V and other four-stroke bikes dominated the series and the NSR500 was eventually phased out of the class along with all other two-stroke motorcycles.
Championships won
Riders World Championships won with the NSR500:- 1985 Freddie SpencerFreddie SpencerFreddie Spencer , known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former World Champion motorcycle racer. Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s.-Biography:...
- 1987 Wayne GardnerWayne GardnerWayne Michael Gardner OAM is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was winning the 1987 500 cc Motorcycle World Championship, becoming the first Australian to win motorcycling's premier class...
- 1989 Eddie LawsonEddie LawsonEddie Lawson is a former four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. His penchant for not crashing & consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie".-Biography:...
- 1994 Mick Doohan
- 1995 Mick Doohan
- 1996 Mick Doohan
- 1997 Mick Doohan
- 1998 Mick Doohan
- 1999 Alex CrivilleAlex CrivilleÀlex Crivillé is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1992 he became the first Spaniard to win a 500cc Grand Prix and, in 1999 he became the first Spaniard to win the 500cc World Championship....
- 2001 Valentino RossiValentino RossiValentino Rossi, , is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.Following his father, Graziano Rossi,...
External links
- NSR500 Heritage official Honda page for heritage info on the NSR500
- History of the NSR500 from Superbike Planet