Honda's Rarest Motorcycle Was Too Advanced For Its Time

Honda’s NR750 is described as a masterpiece of ambition and engineering obsession: a rare four-stroke motorcycle built to compete with the dominant two-stroke Grand Prix racers. The project relied on an unusual oval-piston design to make the engine’s valve area competitive while working within a four-cylinder limit. That approach was created over more than a decade and pushed Honda to use aerospace-grade materials and extremely complex components. The early racing phase was plagued by failures tied to sealing oval piston rings and managing heat from a dense valvetrain, earning the effort the nickname “Never Ready.” By the early 1990s, Honda produced a street-legal version, but the cost and complexity prevented mass replication. Hagerty estimates pricing from $60,000 to $220,000 depending on condition.