feb01

FEBRUARY 2001

The February 2001 Bike of the Month belongs to Chris from Kentucky in the United States. He rides a beautifully custom painted 1990 NSR 250R.

Chris had originally lived in Japan a few years back. That is where he got his first look at this NSR. The place was Iwakuni, in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Chris bought the bike from the original owner who happened to be a good friend of his.

When Chris bought the bike from his friend in Japan in 1992 it was in a combination of the standard colors of red/white and blue/white with some minor repainting by Chris. The bike had Ethos Design racing chambers and a few other accessories. The front wheel was painted red to give this NSR a distinctive look.

After a few more years in Japan, Chris returned to the States with his Family and of course his beloved NSR in 1994. The bike was registered for the street and then it happened !! The bike was stolen and nearly destroyed. Three weeks later the bike was returned to him with over 5000 dollars in damage.

But that did not discourage him, even after the insurance company decide to write off the bike. After some persuasion and persistence, Chris bought the bike back from the insurance agents and decided to rebuild the bike himself. There was no way Chris was going to let this NSR disappear forever.

First thing was to replace the destroyed bodywork with all new bodywork from a shop in California. A used gas tank in good condition was located and the whole bike was disassembled, inspected, cleaned up and prepared for a complete refinishing.

Chris is a fan of GP racing and especially a big fan of Australia's five time World Champion Mick Doohan. The colors of this bike are based on his helmet design.

A lot of hard work went into the design of the bike. The bodywork was finished in a flawless white top coat. After that the graphics were cut out by hand and carefully applied, all new decals from a SP model and last a clear coat was perfectly applied for that wet look. Other extras were a wind screen borrowed from another sport bike, flush mounted front turn signals and new mirrors. The front and rear tires are Metzler MEZ3's.

The original Ethos Design race pipes were missing so Chris found himself a nice set of Jha race pipes with Aluminum silencers. This got the bike running again. It was derestricted with a Blue Fox limiter cut. This allowed for a nice starting point to begin with the final tuning and setting that would follow. The oil pump was removed and now runs premix.

Chris wanted to improve the performance of his machine even more, so he added a KISS racing airbox, K&N air filters, a full HRC carb setting kit plus the heads and exhaust ports were polished. Future plans include a engine overhaul and a balanced crank shaft in the spring time.

The bike in the garage getting ready to go for the spring, Chris is still doing some final touches on the bike which will include an original wind screen and some quick release fasteners for the bodywork.

Other extras for this NSR are polished rear sets from Coerce which allow more clearance for the giant Jha pipes and improve the riding position. Stainless steel braided brake lines improve braking along with a steering stabilizer from Daytona.

A view from the riders position. All new gauges were purchased for the bike as well as the hand grips were safety wired. Look carefully and you can see the missing ignition switch which was damaged by the thieves. Future plans include a new switch and a new screen.

Don't forget to check out Chris's bike in Guest Bikes. There you can see the original colors before it was stolen and a picture of him doing some serious knee action on the back roads of Japan. Most people would have said good-bye to this bike, but thanks to Chris another NSR was saved.

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 !!