August 2005

The August 2005 Bike of the Month belongs to Hirano from Japan.

Hirano's MC28 started off as a stock and unmodified SP model which most people would be very happy with but not Hirano as he often enters weekend club races and wanted to improve performance while updating the looks of his NSR.

The first plan was to improve the tired suspension with a whole new one since Hirano planned to race this bike and use it as his weekend fun bike as well.

A complete front end from a late model RVF400 was found in used but very good condition for a fair price and was already modified to fit his MC28 which was an added bonus. He had the forks rebuilt and tuned up by a local race shop and the stock rear MC28 adjustable shock was also rebuilt as well and tuned up too for better performance.

The front wheel is a MC21 gold Magtek wheel while the rear is a RS250 Marchesini mag wheel fitted with a 160 wide tire. Tires are Dunlop GPR70SP tires. A NHK steering damper helps out too for one nice ride.

After some races and a lot of fun, it was getting time for an engine overhaul. Hirano got in touch with a top NSR tuning shop in Japan and had his engine completely overhauled. A brand new crank shaft was balanced and lightened. The case was cleaned up and a whole bunch of mods were done. This MC28 is fully derestricted with a HARC-PRO SP race pipe kit featuring stainless bodies and carbon fiber silencers. The stock MC28 credit card was replaced with a HRC000 card. An aftermarket speedometer was wired in to take care of the lost speedo with the HRC card.

Hirano decided to pull the oil pump on his MC28 as it was not a daily rider and more of his track weapon and weekend bike. The gearbox was replaced with a close ratio HRC gearbox. The carbs were rejetted and work with K&N power filters. Ignition was improved with a RS250 coil kit and all of this is kept cool by an oversized HRC triple core radiator.

More power brings the need for better braking so Hirano replaced the calipers with new Brembo cast calipers up front with special adapter brackets, sportier pads and steel braided lines all around. The front master cylinder is also from Brembo (Non radial type), the front discs are the standard and larger 296mm RVF400 discs. All this gives Hirano a whole lot more braking power. Other improvements which help for racing are the Tyga Performance rears sets and the Hurricane clip on handle bars which give better positioning for races and save some weight plus they look cool as well.

A rear seat from Silhouette Japan updates the looks a bit, screen comes from Magical Racing, the carbon fiber hugger fender is from JHA as well as the carbon look mirrors. Other goodies are the Yoshimura temp gauge, HID headlight kit, custom Rothmans colors EL backlight kit for the tachometer, fully polished frame and rear swingarm and chrome plated kick stand and kick arm. Hirano still has plans for other upgrades. WOW!!

Every month I try to feature a different NSR in this section. Above you can check out the featured Bike of the Month and past Bikes of the Month. Do you think your NSR belongs here ? Then send a few pictures and some information and maybe we can feature it here. Mail me here. Cheers !!