Unwrapping a Crate-Fresh Honda NSR500V Grand Prix Bike
The auction record for a Japanese motorcycle belongs to this £220,000 Honda NSR500V Grand Prix bike
A beautiful example of Honda’s mid-1990s privateer Grand Prix racer, the NSR500V, has just sold at auction for a staggering $267,607 or £220,434 at today’s exchange rate.
The sale of the bike, overseen by Iconic Motorcycle Auctions in California, means the unstarted NSR becomes the most valuable Japanese motorcycle sold at auction, stealing the crown from another Honda with GP DNA, a £177,035 RC213V-S which was sold in 2021.
The bike, which has been in storage for an estimated 20 years, was purchased directly from HRC, and adding to the kudos of this machine is the fact that it is serial number 001 of 20 examples built worldwide.
The NSR500V was Honda’s attempt to create a more cost-effective racing bike than the NSR500 V4 that was used by the factory teams. Producing less power than the V4 (around 140bhp compared to the 190bhp of the V4) the 500V was cheaper and also significantly easier to ride than its much wilder sibling, and with the right rider on the bike and at a favourable circuit, the V-twin could compete with V4 and achieve surprising results.
It’s also unique because, unlike the V4 which was leased to racing teams, the NSR500V could be bought over the counter by racers and collectors. That means it offers people a rare opportunity to actually own a piece of GP racing history - or in this case an un-used piece of GP engineering!
And if you’re thinking that the sale of bikes like this must be rare, not so fast. Another NSR500V was sold late last year, this time it was one formerly belonging to the well-known club racer on the UK scene, Stuart Sutherland, who raced it with notable success at venues such as Cadwell Park. That bike changed hands for significantly less than this un-ridden one, topping out at £98,900 in October 2024.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
