Bikes For Sale
Two of ‘Fast’ Freddie Spencer’s World Championship-winning Honda machines are up for sale. These bikes will only be sold as a matched pair, one that won the 1985 250cc Championship, and the 1983 Championship-winning NS500 triple.
The 250 is small and relatively underpowered, but Spencer knew how to get the best from the little machine. ‘The secret of course is keeping the momentum up because it doesn’t have the power to drive out of the corner.’ The 500 on the other hand has gobs of power–delivered violently in a narrow powerband–that enabled Spencer to spin the rear tire and get the bike turned in mid-corner by managing the slide.
"You cannot say the 500 is fun to ride, although it is very satisfying if you get things right" Spencer said at the time. Summing up both bikes Spencer said ‘It is harder to run a consistently fast race all the way through with the 500 because of the sheer physical effort required, whereas the 250 is in fact more intense as far as competition goes even if, physically, it is more relaxed and I am able to loosen up a bit.’
Freddie first rode the NS250RW in March ‘85 at Daytona. Essentially half of the NSR500’s Vee-four, the 250cc engine was tipped a little further forward so that the reed valves could feed the engine directly to the crankcases. It has one twin-choke carburetor sitting on top of the gearbox, similar to the NSR500.
It was a special one-off similar to the 500 and very different from the production Honda 250. The frame was similar to the 500 with twin-spar extruded aluminum tubes running from the steering head to the swing arm. The engine hung on fabricated arms welded to the main spars. Rear suspension was by Honda Pro-Link, and the rear brake was carbon-fiber.
Spencer’s breathtaking skills, honed to perfection his entire life on the dirt tracks of America, gave him an intuitive machine control that put every other rider of the time in the shade. At the pinnacle of his powers could Spencer have beaten Valentino Rossi? We’ll never know. But these two motorcycles have such heritage, and mark such a remarkable achievement, that hopefully they will end up on public display somewhere and not just tucked away in a private collection.
The price for the Spencer bikes is 1 million USD.
You can see more pictures and get additional information at: Freddie-Spencers-NS500-NSR250
