Aboard the Nr Express

ABOARD THE NR EXPRESS

RIDING IMPRESSION

Techno-excess or the ultimate streetbike?

ALAN CATHCART

FINALLY, AFTER YEARS OF HYperbole, there is action. Honda's long-anticipated NR750, known by unbelievers as the “Never-Ready 750,” finally has arrived. And it is as stunning as all the pre-production hype has suggested it would be, even if it does offer slightly less performance than expected.

Why the long delay in the bike’s introduction? Don’t blame the engineers. They probably could havebeen ready years ago, but had to Sipatiently for the better part of a decade while Honda’s bean counters, image analysts, marketing mafia and head honchos all grappled with this thorny question: Should Honda bring oval-piston technology to the masses, and if so, when, where and at what cost?

Now, with those questions apparently answered, the result of the process is the most gorgeous, seductive piece of Oriental two-wheeled splendor ever seen.

We finally caught up with a real, live running version of the bike at a one-day test session at Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France. As Cycle Worlds representative, I was one of 16 journalists afforded a test ride on the NR, presently the most expensive streetbike to reach series production.

For this bike, the term “series production” needs qualification. Honda will build three a day for as long as it takes to satisfy the orders filed during the one calendar year the model will be on sale from October 21, 1991. Then, NR750 production will forever cease. To insure the ordering party’s good intent, Honda requires that each order be accompanied by a 25 percent deposit against the bike’s selling price—at current rates of exchange, about $67,000. Each bike will thus be built to specific order, on a first-come, first-served basis. None are bound for the U.S., because American Honda considers the potential sales volume too small to be worth the considerable expense of the model’s parts and service support.

Those U.S. riders with the money and the desire, however, surely will find a way. When they do, they’ll twist the throttle of the most sophisticated four-stroke engine ever sold to the public, on two wheels or four. The NR750 is so refined that it provides only one clue to the special heritage of its engine. That clue is that the engine will spin smoothly up to its 16,000-rpm-plus rev limit without as much as a hiccup. Indeed, so straightforward is the feel of the engine that if you rode the NR without looking at the white-faced tachometer positioned in the center of its dash, you just might conclude that it is merely a more luxurious, slightly sanitized update of an RC30.

Like the RC30, the NR’s engine is a 90-degree V-Four with a 360-degree crank, so it has the RC30’s flat exhaust note, heavily muffled by a stainless-steel 8-into-4-into-2-into-1into-2 exhaust system. Like the conventional V-Four, it has a mile-wide powerband and an ultra-flat torque curve, peaking at 11,500 rpm with 50.6 foot-pounds. The NR makes power from off-idle, with no less than 32.5 foot-pounds of torque available at 3000 rpm, and 40 footpounds at 7000 rpm.

This ultra-linear, ultra-smooth delivery is also ultra-deceptive, even though Honda’s engineers have designed a couple of blips into the power curve to emphasize its progression. The reduced friction of the oval-piston design, coupled with a short stroke and surprisingly high 1 1.7:1 compression ratio, means engine revs rise quickly. Even as the tach needle nears the 15,000-rpm redline, there’s no sign of strain or effort, just liquid revs, effortlessly delivered. Redline means time to shift, and that's when you discover the gearbox ratios are a little wide, but very evenly spaced. Gearbox action is impeccable, the large-diameter clutch smooth in action and takeup.

But if the NR’s torque production is impressive, its horsepower output isn’t, at least not compared with what could have been. Honda’s brass restricted the NR’s output to 125 bhp at 14,000 rpm. and in some countries, to a mere 100 bhp. That’s still a lot of horses, but their power is minimized by the fact that the bike weighs a claimed 490 pounds dry. or well over 550 pounds gassed up and ready to roll. Clearly, the NR is intended not as a hard-edged race replica, but as a well-rounded performance motorcycle offering a superior combination of speed and comfort. According to engine designer Suguru Kanazawa. Honda could easily have obtained 140 bhp from the 32-valve engine, but opted for reduced output in favor of increased ridability. Indeed, rumors are that the NR750 oval-piston endurance racer of 1987 pumped out some 1 60 bhp.

So, when after more than a decade of hope and anticipation, the pursuer of the oval-piston grail finally climbs aboard the NR and thumbs the starter button, the initial reaction may be one of disappointment. Acceleration is smart, but not spectacular. Forward progress is, however, aided by extraordinary throttle response. The reaction of the engine to throttle movement is absolutely instant and completely controllable. Only riders of fuel-injected Ducatis or Bimotas will have experienced the same degree of responsiveness allied with a lightness of touch. Amazingly, the NR is the first Japanese 750 ever to be fitted with electronic fuel injection and a corresponding enginemanagement system. Comparing this system with the jerky, low-rpm power delivery of commonplace flat-slide carbs is like stacking Pavarotti up against the singers in my local pub: They all sing, but only one does it properly.

Unfortunately, that wonderful throttle response doesn't help the bike’s top speed. Honda claims 163 mph in Japanese testing, but at the end of the Mistrale straight at Paul Ricard, I would barely see 155 mph on the ultra-legible LCD digital speedometer tucked beneath the titanium-tinted windscreen.

While the Honda may be a bit down on top speed, and may be a bit on the porky side, its-suspension is simply outstanding. ‘The meaty 45mm upside-down Showa fork is responsive and precise, with outstanding compliance even when exposed to the massive braking potential of the 12.2-inch floating front discs. The extra safety margin these offer in road terms is considerable, but not to the point of oversensitivity. In spite of the bike's weight, the power of its brakes and the excellence of its suspension make it feel like a 360pound Superbike. Simply magic. I have never ridden a streetbike with better suspension.

Though the NR brakes, rides and steers impeccably, there’s no getting away from the fact that this is a big bike. Spirited riding, of the type invited by the bike's racetrack introduction, quickly reveals the NR’s limited ground clearance, a problem caused by the bodywork’s ample girth. The metal feelers on the folding footrests might be longer than usual to discourage riders from ruining the high-tech, big-bucks paint job and the carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic fairing, but it was ridiculously easy to ground them in fast sweeping curves. Partly as a function of its weight and mass, and perhaps partly a function of its wide, very rounded front-tire profile, getting the NR from side-to-side in a tight chicane requires considerable rider effort. Though it wears a currently unfashionable 16-inch front wheel, the tire on that wheel has the same rolling circumference as a 17-incher with a lower aspect ratio. The result is a larger contact patch, but without the sometimes-too-easy flickability of the smaller wheel.

But again, this isn’t a racebike, and the way the rider fits the bike testifies to the intent of its designers. You sit in the NR750 rather than atop it, as on the RC30, with correspondingly less weight on your forearms and shoulders. The NR’s riding position may just be one of the best thoughtout and most relaxing riding positions of any recent sportbike, with an ideal handlebar-to-seat-to-footpeg relationship.

And this seems fitting. For the NR750 isn't the ne plus ultra performance bike most pundits expected the oval-piston concept to produce. What it is, forgetting that astronomical price tag for a moment, is the ultimate real-world motorcycle. It’s comfortable and handles superbly, brakes as well as a Superbike and is extremely satisfying to ride. The styling is sensational and unlikely to become dated, even by the next millennium. But most importantly, anyone who steps up to the NR’s hefty buy-in price will have the satisfaction of knowing that underneath that highclass skin lies the cutting edge of four-stroke engine technology.

As such, the NR750, while no bargain, maybe isn’t such a bad deal after all.