NR500 Honda's Oval Piston Racer revisted...

[Busy Little Shop]

Takazumi Katayama says NR500 wide powerband made the bike easy to ride...


youtu.be/gkCbde6HR9U

Me and Takazumi at the 1980 Tokyo Motorcycle Show and just look what the factories put on displayed...

 

[Johndicezx9]

Got to see Freddie race it at Laguna in 1981... "easy to ride" did not equate to wins.

https://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1635959&postcount=9

https://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1642742&postcount=62

 

[2strokeYardSale]

What's with the external springs on the forks? Anti-dive of some sort?

 

[Busy Little Shop]

What's with the external springs on the forks? Anti-dive of some sort?

External spring offered quick rate changes and more oil volume inside the fork...

Anti dive wasn't lowering lap times... Honda learned use the way of a
bike pitches forward under braking to load up the front tire more,
squashing it onto the track and increasing the size of the contact
patch. This allowed the rider to further increase the braking forces,
further increasing the contact patch...