Frederic Levieux: NSR300 MC21 Rothmans
June 2017.
This month’s Bike of the Month comes from Frederic Levieux who is a long term motorcycle enthusiast with many exotic two strokes in his collection of 18 bikes including as Bimota V-Due and RGV250 back in his native France. He has been working in Thailand for a number of years and naturally wanted a project here so he managed to get hold of an MC21 NSR250SP. The bike was supplied with many new parts such as instruments, mirrors and various small fasteners etc. and even came with a Rothmans decal kit. On the flip side the NSR had obviously had quite a hard life and needed going through completely. Frederic was undeterred as he wanted a full restoration project and this fitted his requirements.
Soon after acquiring the bike, Frederic got in touch with us and visited us at TYGA Performance which is only about 40 km from where he lives and introduced himself and his project to us. Although he admired the modern styling of some of our latest projects, he wanted something more traditional looking and wanted a ‘sleeper’, looking standard but close up and underneath there would be a lot of modifications to make it perform better.
We sent Frederic a list of suggestions and tempting goodies to let him decide what to include in his project and we were pleased to see his list of requested parts was nearly as long! At the core of his wish list was the TYGA 300 big bore kit and being local he was able to bring his engine to us at TYGA Performance and have Matt rebuild it for him. Frederic stripped the whole bike down himself and cleaned up the frame and other chassis parts. Luckily many things including the front end, steps, exhaust and rear shock were replaced so this cut down his work load a bit. Nevertheless, it was a full on nuts and bolts restoration and he had to fit it in between managing a very responsible job and family commitments while in a foreign country so quite a challenge. When he was ready, he brought Matt the engine to rebuild with a new crankshaft and the 300 big bore kit combined with TYGA exhaust and carbon airbox lid to bring the motor up from around 42 to high 60s horsepower at the back wheel.
Now he had more power, he needed a better chassis and Frederic managed to source a CBR600 front end and RC45 brake rotors along with Brembo calipers to upgrade the front end. These were held in place by the TYGA triples and together with TYGA handlebars completed the front end. At the rear end, he installed the Ohlins rear shock. The rest of the chassis is more or less stock though he spent a long time cleaning up components to get them to how they look in the photos.
As you can see, the bodywork is stock and is all original Honda plastic though some panels needed repairing before painting. The paintwork was done by our paint sprayer K Pong who takes his time but does a good job. He was able to incorporate some of the stickers that Frederic was given with the bike, along with his own spray painted stripes and locally sourced graphics. The result is a very convincing stock looking MC21 SP.
Apart from the parts mentioned above, Frederic has also included a host of TYGA parts such as carbon generator cover and rear hugger along with race bobbins and the other parts in the list below.
Frederic will be returning to Europe this summer and is planning on taking his NSR with him. He even has a space allocated in his living room for it but I don’t think he has told his wife yet!
This 300cc Big Bore Kit is identical to the TPER-0007 300cc Big Bore Kit, but the standard 300cc heads and…
Constructed in stainless steel, TYGA Performance combine modern technology and traditional techniques to bring you the best in…
This high quality lightweight silencer ( 0.47kg) is made from CNC machined end caps joined by a carbon/Kevlar fiber…
Race Air Box Lid Carbon, MC21 The stock air box is restricted by the size of the inlet holes…
Generator/Front Sprocket Cover NSR250 This lightweight carbon component will make your engine look like it belongs in the GP paddock!Complete with…
TYGA Performance racing step kit assembly. Designed in-house by TYGA Performance using AutoCAD software, these CNC machine- made step…
Rear Hugger (Carbon), NSR250 MC21, Assy. Stylish design cleverly uses existing mounting points to mount securely and neatly to…
Triple Clamp Set, CNC Black, CBR600RR Forks to fit MC21 CNC machined TYGA lower triple clamp for the MC21 NSR250 to…
Top clamp nut machined from 7075 T6 aluminium. Light weight and good looking. Clear anodised for a long lasting finish. This…
Bracket, Rear Brake, 84mm Brembo Conversion, Silver, MC18/21. This is to fit the 84mm pitch rear caliper. Also available in black (TYLY-1084) Applicable…
Handlebar Set, Racing, Black, 48 mm. Designed and machined in house from aircraft grade aluminium, suitable for: - CBR600RR - NSR250 with CBR600RR…
Replace the heavy steel front wheel spacers and wheel bearing distance spacer with these lightweight 6061-T6 aluminium spacers. At 35%…
Replace the heavy steel rear wheel spacers and wheel bearing distance spacer with these lightweight 6061-T6 aluminium spacers. Lighter weight…
Bodywork mounting bolt with collar, CBR125R, CBR150R, CBR250R. CBR300R, M6 X14 mm. Has 8mm. wide and 4 mm deep collar.…
Kit includes: * HRC style stuffer for improved intake mixture flow. * Reed stopper lifter plates to increase intake…
Developed and tested with TYGA Performance, this Ohlins rear shock is a must for any rider who is serious about…
Bracket, Rear Shock, Ohlins Conversion, MC21/MC28. Consists of a bracket with foam to protect the reservoir, two hose clamps, and and…
All necessary seals and bearing to rebuild your NSR250SP/R waterpump. Please note that it is necessary to remove the clutch cover…
This NSK bearing is a high quality, direct replacement for OEM bearing 91024-KV3-003. Extensively tested and used on many TYGA engines.…
This NSK bearing is a high quality, direct replacement for OEM bearing 91022-KV3-003. Extensively tested and used on many TYGA engines.…
Crankshaft Bearing, Centre, NSR250 MC21/28 Genuine OEM KOYO main crankshaft bearing for your Honda NSR250 MC21/28. See also TYPP-0012SET for set consisting…