Bike Restoration Projects
Do you have a bike you've restored ...or had restored?
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No.1 Nick Taylor's
1988 NSR250
'Friends Reunited' -
Second time round the block
on a 1988 NSR250 2 stroke
For various reasons we all have items that we can’t part with and cling onto them under the premise that one day they might come in useful. However, more often than not, you soon forget them and life moves on and this is kind of what happened here.
Here’s a picture of my starting point, naively I thought it would still look like it did last time it was ridden back in 1997…. Dunno why I thought that – I sure as hell don’t look 26 anymore, nevertheless after a careful inspection it was still a viable “vanity” project and a route to reliving the latter days of my carefree youth.
QR Code for rebuild journey
As if starting a project weeks before covid / lock down occurred wasn’t enough, To complicate things further Honda only produced the NSR for the Japanese Domestic Market so even old favourites for vintage spare parts like David Silver or CSMNL drew a blank, however there is thriving following for stinky 2 stoke Hondas in the UK (NSR WORLD) who proved an invaluable resource pool for companies and individuals able to refurbish worn or corroded parts
The corroded Carbs were stripped down and vapour blasted before being rebuilt
Whilst the motor turned over and had reasonable if unequal compression it was very tired and lacking a qualified doctor in the house to perform full on engine surgery along with cosmetic makeover of the covers. And so it was outsourced and duly packed off to GT Performance engineering literally a few weeks before Boris announced lock down
Strip down clearly revealed one cylinder had a major problem. The crank was in equally bad condition and due to corrosion on and pitting had to be largely rebuilt along with all the seals and bearing being replaced.
When you live in Northern Europe corrosion is one of those gifts in life that just keeps on giving and so callipers were cerakoted and fully rebuilt by Powerhouse
Having had the engine rebuilt I had natural concerns about the 30yr old radiator. However, after watching Car SOS who went to West Mercia Radiators I had a quick chat with them about the recore, and it was the next best thing to an OEM factory replacement
Fast forward 4 years and countless hours later including teaching myself to paint panels I ended up here with its first MOT in 27 year
Out enjoying the sun and twisty lanes around the Cotswolds
...and here is Nick stealing the Kickback Show with his NSR 250
No.2 Steve Fox's
CB500/4
This CB500/4 hasn't always looked this good...let's rewind and read how Steve got to this stage in his own words...
'In Oct 2021 I saw an advert for a non-running heap of rust on the Isle of Wight. I collected the ‘old banger’ in a van.'
When my wife saw it she said – ‘what have you bought’
Steve's Concours winning bike...but see what it used to look like...
I was very soon on the case to try and get the old girl running, as I knew I had to get her running before I throw any money at it.
First mission was to run a compression test, and to my surprise it registered at 170 psi, so I knew at this point that I was onto a winner. I then started to clean the carbs and made my first purchase of many from David Silver’s which consisted of coils, condensers and points. The wiring loom was also burnt out, so I had to spend time repairing that coupled with a new rectifier, I managed to get the bike going with the exhaust off and a fuel donor tank.
Restoration had begun and the ‘Old Banger’ was going to be reborn. I proceeded to strip every part off the frame, the tank was so rusty inside and out and after lots of research on the web I decided to clean the inside of the tank with soda crystals and electrodes connected to a battery charger. I was amazed at the results and before long she was like a new pin, I cleaned all the rust off the outside of the tank too. I decide to change the bike to blue as I have always loved this colour. The tank then went off to be sprayed at Monkey Nuts, Reading.
I spent hours in my garage polishing every nut and bolt and anything that I could shine was soon shining like a diamond. Day after day I came into the house with a black face after hours of polishing. I then discovered a company in Alton who did all the chroming for me - Silver Bronze. Then the wheels, I wanted to lace them myself and called into a local charity shop enquiring about knitting needles – a few curious glances from the assistants! These were to use as a guide pointer when I checked the lacing was even. I purchased the spokes from Central Wheels in Birmingham.
The first time my new oven was used in my newly fitted kitchen was to ‘bake’ the head so that I could remove the valve guide seals, my wife was not too impressed!!
Over a 2-year period and hours of perseverance the ‘Old Banger’ came back to life and gives me a great sense of pride and joy every time I ride her. Even the wheels going round and catching the sunlight makes me smile.
In July 2024 the Old Banger won HOC Best in Show at Sammy Millers Museum.
Then in April 2025 I was blown away at the Kickback Show in Malvern to win Honda Best Classic in show - and at the same event, I was awarded The Best Original Classic Bike Winner.
I am extremely proud of my achievements.
Steve Fox
And finally...here's Steve admiring his bike captured on our HOC pull-down Banner at our Sammy Miller Classic Show...in fact he's even cleaning the pic of his bike 🙂
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