I know of a 1993 rs125 for sale for about 3k and was wondering if it's worth it to buy one. I did some track days this year and am getting my race license next season to compete in a local 300 series. I am just a beginner, but ever since I found out about the honda rs125s I've been constantly batting the idea of getting one. My big worry with the nx4 model years is that parts seem really hard to find. I was looking for cranks and all I could find are vhm cranks for 1995+ years. So my question is one, are parts available and I'm looking in the wrong place and two, is 3k a fair asking price for the bike?
93' would be a NF4. Not the nx4. That is 1995 til 2009. The crank are available for around 1k or a guy in Ohio named Steve Massey rebuilds the for 3 or 4 hundred.
Let' try that again. The nx4 cranks are available and rebuildable. Parts are also reasonably available. I have no experience with the nf4 but finding parts is half the fun.
NX4 cranks are not available. Steve is in California now and can rebuild used ones. Or expensive VHM which can be rebuilt. I wouldn't get a '93 unless you want to tinker a lot and not ride it a lot. Spend a little extra and get newer model. Matt
I agree with Matt above, for around the same money or slightly more, you can get the newer bike which is better.
Thanks for the replies, I guess I'll wait for a 95+. Sucks that these old GP 2 strokes are going extinct because no more parts are being produced.
Not entirely an expert on the subject, but I'm about 1 season in front of you. Raced a 250 for several seasons and have really had a blast. Relatively (to racing) dirt cheap, lots of fun and you'll really learn how to carry corner speed because you have to. At the end of the day, though, it's lipstick on a pig. I spared no expense on my 250 and at my local tracks, I'm easily 10-15 seconds off of the previous owner's times on my new-to-me RS125. Will I be faster on the 125 that the 250? Lord I hope so, but if the goal is to go fast in a turn, the 250/300 bikes are not the way to do it, compared to a 125. I just received the email from Steve to ship my spare crank off this week. Depending on parts needed, roughly $300 shipped back to me FYI. Don't know where you are located, but here in South Fl if you race an entire season, you may put 350-500 miles on the motor. It's not like the old days where guys raced them all day. That's ONE top end per season and close to 3 SEASONS on a crank, baring unforeseen events. It will be the same amount of track time as your 250. There will be a limited amount of races you'll be able to "race up" due to speed discrepancies with the 250. I'm not discouraging you from the 250, again I had an absolute blast. At the end of the day, however, I wanted a small, light bike that would carry massive corner speed and make the weekend enjoyable. I lost that last part this year chasing points in a separate class unrelated to the 250 . I'm fortunate to have an org down here that puts 250/300/R3/390/GP in the same race, scored separately. Still out there supporting the little bike effort and will be on track with my former cohorts, just scored differently, which doesn't matter to me anymore. I paid $5000 for my 2000 with a really good spares package, including a new-in-box crank. Wiseco pistons are available. Good luck in your search, and if nothing comes available in your time frame, pick up a cheap 250 already race prepped and get out there. You can always sell it.
I actually have a race ninja 300. I sold my street zx6r to get a ninja 300 with the purpose of racing only (can't afford street and race right now). It's fully race ready and fully done minus and engine mods. But the thought of a GP chassis on small light weight bike has me thinking I may have made a mistake. Not that I'd be any faster on the 125 lol. The only silver lining I can think of is that I have 3 years to qualify for the MotoAmerica junior cup (I can dream can't I ).
How tall are you and how much do you weigh? The benefit of running your 300, vs. the 125, is having a bunch of other people on like equipment to compete against. When my son was coming up, fortunately, there seemed to always be at least 5 and sometimes 10 other 125's to run with, but now you don't see them that often. Running that 125 will cost more time and money vs. running the 300. I personally think you would be better to invest in a school like YCRS and run the 300.
You're totally right, it's just that the fact that it's a cool bike and has GP heritage I want one. I know running cost will be higher but having a purposefully designed race bike would be awesome. So far my race build on my ninja 300 has totaled about $6500 including the bike so not too bad. But I figured I could run a season or 2 for the same price on the 125 if I found the right deal. With the cost spread out over a long period of time I'd be fine with spending more in the long run. What I really need is track time, so I have decided to get a season pass with either of my 2 local track day orgs and go to the track every weekend next season and race on the weekends that I can. I think I would be fine on either bike since I'm a lanky 6' 150lbs. The 125 would probably be a tighter fit. I'm going to keep the 300 but if I saw the right deal on a rs125 I would probably buy it knowing I would regret it if I did not. Tldr: I want one because it because my heart wants one
Parts for the NX4 are not hard to find, at least that's my experience. Using TSO,TSR, or RSC, then most items are still available - cranks, ECU, water pump cover, and a few minor are also still "obtainable". What people forget is that lots of parts on the NSF 250 are either the same, or interchangeable for the NX4 - wheels, suspension, brakes, swingarm, tach, gearbox, clutch, and controls are all the same or they fit on the NX4.
I know where a low mileage (few hundred miles since brand new) 2004 is available, lemme know if you are interested...
For a really awesome bike, I know it is a lot of money, but you can get brand new Honda NSF250R for $14,995 from RS Cycles. That's about the same as we paid for Moriwaki's in 2010, and these NSF's were originally $28K from Honda.
Yeah I'm aware of the nsf250r but that's definitely too much money. Plus the maintenance schedule is the same as a rs125. As a recent college graduate and new employee I don't think I could afford them, even used. If I was going to spend that much money I might opt for a kramer. These non mainstream race bikes are definitely more interesting to me than production racers.
