The Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

 NS500 is a 500cc Grand Prix

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...

 racing motorcycle of the early 1980s, powered by a two-stroke

Two-stroke cycle

A two-stroke engine is an internal combustion engine that completes the process cycle in one revolution of the crankshaft...

 V3 engine

V3 engine

The V3 engine is a V engine with three cylinders. A V engine with the usual two banks, one bank contains two cylinders, the other only one. A rare configuration, it has only been used for two-stroke racing motorcycles.The first example was by DKW in the 1960s....

. Created as a replacement for the innovative but unsuccessful four-stroke

Four-stroke cycle

A four-stroke engine, also known as four-cycle, is an internal combustion engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes—intake, compression, power, and exhaust—during two separate revolutions of the engine's crankshaft, and one single thermodynamic cycle.There are two...

 NR500

Honda NR

Honda's NR V-four motorcycle engine series started in 1979 with the 500cc NR500 Grand Prix racer that used oval pistons. This was followed during the 1980s by a 750cc endurance racer version known as the NR750. The oval piston concept allowed for eight valves per cylinder which generated more...

, the bike went against Honda's preference for four-stroke machines but proved very effective and quickly won the 1983 500cc World Championship

1983 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1983 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 35th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The 1983 battle for 500 cc supremacy between Honda's Freddie Spencer and Yamaha's Kenny Roberts would be one of the most dramatic seasons since the 1967 duel between Giacomo...

 with Freddie Spencer

Freddie Spencer

Freddie Spencer , known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former World Champion motorcycle racer. Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s.-Biography:...

 onboard. After a relatively short lifespan the bike was replaced by the even more successful two-stroke V4 engine

V4 engine

A V4 engine is a V form engine with four cylinders and three main bearings.-Automobile use:Lancia produced several narrow-angle V4 engines from the 1920s through 1960s for cars like the Lambda, Augusta, Artena, Aprilia, Ardea, Appia, and Fulvia....

 powered NSR500.