The Honda NSR125 is a '

sport bike A sports motorcycle, sports bike, or sport bike is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfort, ...

produced between 1988 and 2001 by

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

. The bike is powered by a

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

, RC-valve equipped,

single-cylinder engine A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, motorized bicycles, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, power tools ...

with a redline at 11,000 rpm. The name ''NSR125'' is taken from the

NSR500 1993 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix">1993 Japanese Grand Prix The Honda NSR500 is a road racing motorcycle created by HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) and debuted in 1984 for the Grand Prix motorcycle racing's 500 cc class. Honda won ten ...

GP bike.

History and development

There were two models of the NSR125; the JC20 produced between 1988 and 1994 and the JC22 ''Foxeye'' produced between 1994 and 2001. They are easily distinguished by the headlights. The JC20 had double round headlight, while the JC22 had a "foxeye" headlight hence the nickname. Following the success of the NS125 (an earlier model to the NSR), the NSR125 JC20 was designed and assembled by Honda Italia Industriale S.p.A. in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. Grimeca was contracted to produce the aluminium cast frame (2-piece, die-cast, bolt together construction), wheels and brake assemblies. The engine was manufactured by Gilardoni with

Dell'Orto Dell'Orto is an Italian company, headquartered in Cabiate, specialized in the construction of carburetors and electronic injection systems. The company was founded in 1933 as "Società anonima Gaetano Dell'Orto e figli" (Gaetano Dell’Orto and ...

supplying the

carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter) is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...

. Marzocchi supplied forks and suspension while Pagani provided instrumentation and lighting. The Grimeca rear wheel was 18 inch in diameter, while the front was 17 inch and shod in

Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is an Italian multinational tyre manufacturer based in the city of Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Borsa Italiana since 1922, is the 5th-largest tyre manufacturer, and is focused on the consumer pro ...

MT-45 tires. The NSR125 JC22 is mostly of Japanese manufacture, with the engine parts and other key elements of the running of the motorbike produced in Japan, it was then assembled in Italy and supplied to its mainly European market. Design changes saw the JC22 to receive a steel fuel tank and visual trim resembling the NR750. Although it is a common mistake to believe the NSR continued production until 2003. This is not the case as they ceased production in 2001 but had leftover stock until 2003/5. The NS125 which was available as an "F" naked, or "R" fully faired is commonly mistaken as an NSR of earlier production, although shares no real parts or design similarities. This model is most easily identifiable by its singular square headlight, rather than the earlier NSR's dual round headlights or the later NSR's "foxeye" design. {{Honda NSR125 Sport bikes Motorcycles introduced in 1988 Two-stroke motorcycles