the engine is a liquid cooled, , two-stroke which used honda's atac system (automatically controlled torque amplification chamber). however the atac equipped models were not available in the uk. the ns was honda's first attempt at the high end "125cc" sports bike market in italy; therefore it was built in atessa, italy and many of the parts used were made by well known italian brands such as dell'orto for the carburetor, marzocchi forks and single rear shock and grimeca wheels and front disk brake. honda, japan supplied the spec sheets and a few parts like the electrics, piston and barrel.