Honda NR750
The sexiest new bike of 1992 was not the phenomenal FireBlade, but Honda’s much less accomplished yet still achingly gorgeous NR750. The oval-pistoned V4’s drop-dead looks, long list of technical innovations and unapproached air of quality and exclusivity made even the brilliant Blade seem almost Ugly Betty.
Never mind that the NR500 four-stroke racebike that inspired the roadster had embarrassingly uncompetitive against the V4 two-strokes following its debut in 1979. Or that any theoretical advantage of oval pistons was irrelevant on a streetbike. More than a decade after abandoning the racer — whose unique twin-conrod piston arrangement had been designed to mimic a V8 — Honda launched the 32-valve, fuel-injected, staggeringly complex NR whose 125bhp max output made it the world’s most powerful production 750.
Unfortunately the NR weighed a hefty 222kg, and felt bland due to its seamless power delivery. But boy, was it stylish, with a snarly twin-headlamp fairing, and curvaceous, carbon-fibre reinforced tailpiece finished in the same lustrous red paint. Below the titanium-coated screen was a “floating” LCD speedo. Polished aluminium frame, single-sided swinger and sophisticated usd forks added to a spec almost as jaw-dropping as the £35,000 price tag.
