View Full Version : 3 cylinder Honda?
Yo Folks am wondering if anyone has some info,
Well in pub t'other night a local Chippenham bloke was talking about his bikes and mentioned that he had once ridden a 3 cylinder litre ? Honda with full fairings and was, he thought, a bike capable of raceing which had been 'repossessed' from the owner [went bankrupt or somat] and was in Checkers/Chequers ?? bike shop in the town but wasn't for sale as was being retrieved by Honda factory themselves. He knew the owner of shop and that is how he got to ride it.
I think ?? he said this was over 20 years ago or more.
He never saw it again and I'd never heard of such an engine/bike within my postage stamp knowledge ;D
I have tried everyones friend Google to no avail so apart from Honda themselves does anyone here know anything about it ??????
Almost certain I'll see the guy again to ask him any questions as he is also interested to know more himself because, like I said, he'd never seen the like since.
Over to you...............
silly_simon
28-06-11, 12:13 PM
The only thing I can find mate is this :)
Honda MVX250F 2-stroke triple :o They were about in the early 80's I believe
http://www.perthstreetbikes.com/97702/MVX250F_trico.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Motorcycles-Honda-MVX250F-Engine_01.JPG
HERE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_MVX250F) Is some info from wikipedia [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Chequers in the nam. Used to go there for my bike requirements and natter to Roland behind the service counter. I used to get free coffee! Never saw a 3 cylinder though.... ;)
470four
28-06-11, 12:28 PM
NS400 also a vee triple? ;)
I always thought the NSR500 was the biggest triple they did. As 470four says that was a V too......
silly_simon
28-06-11, 04:28 PM
Si
the NSR500 was a V4 :D according to wiki
Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_NSR500)
silly_simon
28-06-11, 04:31 PM
NS400 also a vee triple? ;)
I think it was probably one of those in question that was at Chequer's :)
Mark_Able
28-06-11, 08:35 PM
NS400 also a vee triple? ;)
I think it was probably one of those in question that was at Chequer's :)
Yep, nearly bought one back in the day. NS400R V3 stroker. There were bigger triples, but not made by Honda. Biggest triple stroker I know of is Suzuki GT750 kettle. There were triple four strokes though. Didn't Yamaha make big four stroke triple...? :-?
simongpz
28-06-11, 08:46 PM
kawasaki did the kh 500 and 750 2 stroke triples thay were know to be abit user unfreindly due to mad power bands
NS400 also a vee triple? ;)
I think it was probably one of those in question that was at Chequer's :)
Yep, nearly bought one back in the day. NS400R V3 stroker. There were bigger triples, but not made by Honda. Biggest triple stroker I know of is Suzuki GT750 kettle. There were triple four strokes though. Didn't Yamaha make big four stroke triple...? :-?
The XS750 was a 4 stroke triple - shaftie as well.
I used to have a Yamaha Fazer 450 triple, but only when the damp would get into No.4 plug cap.
470four
29-06-11, 09:10 AM
kawasaki did the kh 500 and 750 2 stroke triples thay were know to be abit user unfreindly due to mad power bands
Always wanted a H1/H2... built a RD490DX when I was like 19, RD250DX frame, Powervalve forks with a YZ490 MX engine, carb, exhaust etc... Even with road gearing it would throttle-wheelie in the bottom three gears, mad as a box of frogs. :D
470four
29-06-11, 09:17 AM
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/santav10/Bikes/New%20Santa%20V10/Motorcycles/221886_7591157537_629662537_425419_3638_n.jpg
:D
Great stuff guys..Thanky yo :)
He was certain it was 1000cc though :-? I'll ask him asap again if it was an NS400 and see what he says.
Honda did make an NSR500 triple, but it was a GP bike, didn't Freddie Spencer win his first title on one of those? - sweet handling if I recall, but a bit down on power compared with the 4-cylinder Yamahas and Suzukis of the time (early 80s) - they went to a V4 around 84-85 I think.
The NS400R is the only road-going triple that I can recall Honda making, there was one in Pro-Bike in Newbury recently, along with a few other classic stinkwheels (RG500 for £9999 anyone?)
Yep, the XS750/850s were triples, but they were Yamahas, Suzuki's GT750 kettle was a triple, as were their GT380 and 550 stinkwheels, and of course there was the range of Kawasaki stroker triples of 250, 350, 400, 500 and 750cc over the years.
Could it have been a Laverda? They made big four stroke triples in the 70s and early 80s (Jota, Mirage etc) The Jota was proddy-raced in the late 70s I think, and Spondon did make a chassis for them, a mate of mine in Northampton actually has one of those...
aha !! Then Si was right with a triple NSR500 and now Scotty saying it was a GP bike. Now I wonder if there was an actual 'road' bike replica of that and that was what the guy rode or ,perhaps, he has made a mistake and it was the NS400R after all ?
He certainly discounted Laverda Jota because I asked if it was one of those faired [a friend had one and I remembered it being a triple litre bike]. Yamaha,Suzuki ?? he definitely discounted it being anything other than a Honda.
Thankyou :)
As scotty says was it a Laverda or a Kawasaki??? Don't recall Honda making a big triple.
Vee4 Gaz
08-07-11, 01:17 PM
I'm wondering if it was a VF1000R V4 Race rep which came out around the same time as a NS400R. V-triple, V-four easy mistake to make and it was 20 years ago??
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l156/garythebiker/Bikes/Vf1000r.jpg
Hmmm, possible for the inarticulate maybe - VF = V-Four and could also stand for V-Free, a triple innit? ;) ;) ;)
Well talked to him again last night.
It was 1983 -it wasn't any of the bikes you have all mentioned of which he is absolutely certain as I mentioned them all to him..... was hoping it was Vee4 Gazs suggestion a VF1000R but not available until March 1984 but could Honda have been experimenting earlier ?
The shop owner-Trevor Chequer [?sp.] and now deceased- had this repossessed [apparently due to some insurance non payment] all white triple 1000cc bike waiting for Honda [hq in London] to come and collect.
He isn't sure if any employees are still around to ask but he knew that nobody at the time had ever seen a bike like it. He has looked through his collection of bike books and has never found any references to such an engine--as has been said Laverda is probably the only 3 cyl litre manufacturer then as no others produced this type of engine.
I did ask once again whether it was a Jota engine in the frame but he didn't believe so unless someone altered the stamp on the engine :-/
The very experienced guy I know from Phoenix was luckily there too so plenty of possibles were thrown in the mix but all were discounted.
I have continued to search the web but found nothing so I must conclude that unless Honda is approached directly the full answer may now never be known but even then it would be unknown to current Honda people and would only be in archive info they may have. :(
Maybe Jaydee could put a big bore kit onto this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_MVX250F
Honda two-stroke triple - only 250cc though, but sold in 1983
aha !! Then Si was right with a triple NSR500 and now Scotty saying it was a GP bike. Now I wonder if there was an actual 'road' bike replica of that and that was what the guy rode or ,perhaps, he has made a mistake and it was the NS400R after all ?
He certainly discounted Laverda Jota because I asked if it was one of those faired [a friend had one and I remembered it being a triple litre bike]. Yamaha,Suzuki ?? he definitely discounted it being anything other than a Honda.
Thankyou :)
There was a road bike replica Col. I only know because I nearly bought one years ago from Elliott motorcycles in Cricklade. It was blue and in Benetton livery. It was very nice but decided against it as a commuter ;D Wish I had bought it because it would be worth a fortune now!!
Si
the NSR500 was a V4 :D according to wiki
Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_NSR500)
Interesting Si! Pre 84 they were Triples and then moved onto V4's. I didnt know that! :)
Honda's big drive in the early 80s was for V4s, they deemed it the way forward - compact and narrow, and it took them a couple of goes to get it right, which they finally managed with the VFR750 of 1986. Prior to them going to the Vees in 1983 (VF750S (or F, I can't recall), their large capacity road bikes were the CB900F and the CBX 1000 which had four and six cylinders respectively - as they'd have been well on the way to developing the V4s by then I can't really envisage them messing around with a large capacity triple for the road, and there was certainly nothing whatsoever in the press about a triple, rumoured or otherwise...
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