Type vs. No. in Honda Parts Catalogues

[JZH]

I'm sure this is one of those things that would make perfect sense if only I could read Japanese, but I have always wondered why the paint schemes are identified as "No. 1", "No. 2, etc., but within the catalogue the part descriptions refer to "Type 1", Type 2", etc. This would not be all that interesting, except that the numbers are usually not the same...

For example, my VFR400RN's paint scheme corresponds to the photo in the front of the cataloge labeled "No. 8", but within the body of the catalogue the painted parts relating to my bike are referred to as "Type9". Just the other day I was looking for part numbers and confused Type 8 with No. 8, but since none of the parts I was looking at were available anyway, there wasn't any harm done!

Type 9 corresponds to No. 8
Type 8 corresponds to No. 7
Type 7 corresponds to No. 6
Type 6 corresponds to No. 5
Type 5 corresponds to No. 4
Type 4 corresponds to No. 3
Type 2 corresponds to No. 2
Type 1 corresponds to No. 1
(There is no Type 3.)

Can anyone explain why Honda did this?

Cheers,

[Neosophist]

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=33259

Interesting you say that as this thread where somebdoy has scanned alll the parts books has wrote in pen that No 8 is type 9.

I see that you wrote in that too.

some guy Jay3 is right when he says that they are just called photos 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 not "type"

I dont have a parts book to hand but have to go to the bikeshop the weekend to get some tyres and what not so can have a look see if it says anything about why there is no type 3.

[JZH]

I've been looking at some parts for another JDM Honda recently and stumbled upon the Type/No. problem again...

And again, the *Type* noted next to the part number in the Parts Catalogue does not correlate with the "No." shown under each picture in the front. In this particular case, it isn't even close: The 1999 NC39 had two different tank designs, two with Honda wings on the tank (No.1 and No.2) and one with stripes and "HONDA" on the tank (No.3), yet the part numbers for the tank decals for the 1999 models clearly shows the striped ones as being *TYPE1*.

This is frustrating, because I have most of the Honda Parts Catalogues, and most of the Honda Brochures, for the NC and MC grey models and I still cannot figure out the "system" Honda is using. (And embarassing, too, because I now see that I've got erroneous "Type" designations all over my web pages... )

(I'm also still puzzled by the J, 2J, 3J, 4J thing, not to mention the "IIIN-IV" thing...Does anyone know any friendly Japanese-readers who could translate some Honda catalogue pages for us? I'm sure this is all fully explained there!)

Ciao,

[Neosophist]

I've been looking at some parts for another JDM Honda recently and stumbled upon the Type/No. problem again...

And again, the *Type* noted next to the part number in the Parts Catalogue does not correlate with the "No." shown under each picture in the front. In this particular case, it isn't even close: The 1999 NC39 had two different tank designs, two with Honda wings on the tank (No.1 and No.2) and one with stripes and "HONDA" on the tank (No.3), yet the part numbers for the tank decals for the 1999 models clearly shows the striped ones as being *TYPE1*.

This is frustrating, because I have most of the Honda Parts Catalogues, and most of the Honda Brochures, for the NC and MC grey models and I still cannot figure out the "system" Honda is using. (And embarassing, too, because I now see that I've got erroneous "Type" designations all over my web pages... )

(I'm also still puzzled by the J, 2J, 3J, 4J thing, not to mention the "IIIN-IV" thing...Does anyone know any friendly Japanese-readers who could translate some Honda catalogue pages for us? I'm sure this is all fully explained there!)

Ciao,

Wow completely forgot about this, never did go to that bikeshop yet either.

The letter thing is easy, it's the year.

For example

VFR400RG (1986) NC21
VFR400RH (1987) NC24
VFR400RH-II (1987) NC24
VFR400RJ-III (1988) NC24

VFR400RK (1989) NC30

The G/H/J/K/L etc after the VFR400R model indicates the model year. The -II -III in the case of the NC24 indicates the different revision of the bikes.

RH-II is a revision 2 for 1987 model, Ie something was changes.

NC30

VFR400RIII-K 1989
VFR400RIII-K-II (1989) revision 2.

I dont belive it means paint colors, just something was changed, like the VFR400RIII-K / K2 (3rd gen vfr aka nc30) K and K/2 probably had some differences, like the generator being changed etc.

Then you got the

VFR400RIII-L 1990 bike avaiable in 3 colours.. you need to look at the paint sticket to give you the base code

IE NH196 is the white bike, NH177 is the black bike and NH1 is the red/black one

There was only 1 revision of this bike

Then you get the the VFR400RIII-N (1992?) which was made in four different revisions

VFR400RIII-N / / NII / NIII / NIV

again you need to look at the paintcode sticker to determine your colour.. theres never more than one scheme avaialble with the same base-code for each year.

It just dawned on me that while I believe the Nx is a revision level it could also be a build spec, Ie for different parts of Japan as some have their different regulatiions.. I remember seeing somethign written about it in the parts manual now I think about it, next time I have a parts book on hand ill see what it says.

Its either revision level (somethings were changed) or different build spec.




I hope thats explained clear.

Any picture of mentioned catalogues?

[Davez29]

Hi, this reminds of a thread that was put up a while back asking the difference tween the nc35 R and R-II and the T and T-II and too a lesser extent the nc29 R and R-II. In all cases the main difference (j2) was a change in the speedo and in the case of the nc35 a change of wiring in the speedo also. What that difference was was not concluded but for me the only evidence I could come up with was apart from the parts book was a reference in the nc29 owners manual mentioning a 80km speed light, maybe this was an optional extra but was either dropped or not taken up as I have never seen an nc29 with this light incorporated into any nc29 speedo I have looked at.

[JZH]

Wow completely forgot about this, never did go to that bikeshop yet either.

The letter thing is easy, it's the year.

For example

VFR400RG (1986) NC21
VFR400RH (1987) NC24
VFR400RH-II (1987) NC24
VFR400RJ-III (1988) NC24

VFR400RK (1989) NC30

The G/H/J/K/L etc after the VFR400R model indicates the model year. The -II -III in the case of the NC24 indicates the different revision of the bikes.

RH-II is a revision 2 for 1987 model, Ie something was changes.

NC30

VFR400RIII-K 1989
VFR400RIII-K-II (1989) revision 2.

I dont belive it means paint colors, just something was changed, like the VFR400RIII-K / K2 (3rd gen vfr aka nc30) K and K/2 probably had some differences, like the generator being changed etc.

Then you got the

VFR400RIII-L 1990 bike avaiable in 3 colours.. you need to look at the paint sticket to give you the base code

IE NH196 is the white bike, NH177 is the black bike and NH1 is the red/black one

There was only 1 revision of this bike

Then you get the the VFR400RIII-N (1992?) which was made in four different revisions

VFR400RIII-N / / NII / NIII / NIV

again you need to look at the paintcode sticker to determine your colour.. theres never more than one scheme avaialble with the same base-code for each year.

It just dawned on me that while I believe the Nx is a revision level it could also be a build spec, Ie for different parts of Japan as some have their different regulatiions.. I remember seeing somethign written about it in the parts manual now I think about it, next time I have a parts book on hand ill see what it says.

Its either revision level (somethings were changed) or different build spec.

I hope thats explained clear.

Any picture of mentioned catalogues?

Sure, I can scan whatever you want.

But let's not confuse the issues more than they already are. Honda Model Year codes are easy to understand; my web page on VINs explains them fairly well, (I think!): http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/BVINSystem.htm

The "J" in the Model Year code refers to the 1988 Model Year, and this is also used on the Paint Code sticker under the seat. However the J, 2J, 3J and 4J I'm referring to above is something else. It first makes its appearance in the NC30 Parts Cataloge on the Serial Numbers page:



There is some Japanese language at the top of the third column that probably explains it quite clearly...but I cannot read Japanese, unfortunately!

The J, 2J, 3J and 4J in the third column appear to correspond to the N, N-II, N-III and N-IV in the first column (in the case of the 1992 Model Year). Interestingly, the NC24 Parts Catalogue does use the "-II" and "-III", but does not use the "J" thing at all, and the NC39 Parts Catalogue uses the "Js", but not the Roman Numerals. Sometime between 1996 and 1999 Honda appears to have discontinued the use of Roman Numerals...

But even if the Js are the same as the old Roman Numerals, I still don't really know what they stand for. On the NC30, for example, I have one of the last versions, the Type 9 (No. 8), 1992 (N) r/w/b version. But is it an RIIIN-III (3J) or is it an RIIIN-IV (4J)? The Paint Code sticker just says "RIII N"... The only difference I have ever seen in the parts catalogue between the two versions is, as Durka Durka points out, something to do with the speedometer--perhaps this had to do with the speed restriction? (My bike definitely has it, but it does not have the separate indicator light shown as pars 24-25 in the diagram below.) Within the speedometer microfiche, the J is grouped with the 3J, and the 2J with the 4J, which does seem to correspond with there being two different verisions--not related to the age of the bike.



Unless my bike has had that light removed, then, I suppose it must be a VFR400RIII-N-III (3J)... The wiring sub-harness shown as no. 13 in that diagram is also different for the 2J and 4J versions, so next time I pull the top fairing I suppose I can have a look for two "extra" female bullets and then I will know for sure!

Ciao,

[Neosophist]

Ah im with you now... from the parts boook... thats super easy hah.　

Its the build area codes. I touched on it above about different parts of Japan having slightly different regulations, which is why even though its a JDM bike it has different build areas..

as written here 　タイプ記号 is the area type code, J, 2J etc

http://www.cmsnl.com/help/faq/14_honda/

cmsnl already covered it near the bottom of their page.

I can search for what parts of Japan match up to what if you need more detailed info

What do the Honda Motorcycle area codes stand for?
Sometimes an area code is specified in the parts lists. Below is an overview of the area codes that we know of:

ASIA HONDA EA
AUSTRALIA 2U
AUSTRALIA U
AUSTRALIA U (MILE)
AUSTRALIA U,2U
AUSTRALIA U/A
AUSTRALIA U/B
AUSTRALIA U/C
AUSTRALIA U/D
AUSTRALIA/MELBOURNE UM
AUSTRALIAN AGRIC UA
AUSTRALIAN AGRIC UB
AUSTRALIAN POST.MIN. UY
AUSTRIA 2AR
AUSTRIA AR
BELGIUM 2B
BELGIUM B
BELGIUM BH
BELGIUM VB
BRAZIL BR
BURKINA FASO BU
CALIFORNIA AC
CAMBODJA KH
CANADA 2CM
CANADA C
CANADA CA
CANADA CM
CANADA CM/A
CANADA CM/B
CANADA CM/C
CANADA CM/D
DENMARK DE
EGYPT EG
ENGLAND 2E
ENGLAND E
ENGLAND E/A
ENGLAND E/B
ENGLAND E/C
ENGLAND E/D
ENGLAND E2
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES 2ED
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES 2ED/A
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES 2ED/B
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES 2ED/C
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES 2ED/D
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES 3ED
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES ED
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES ED/A
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES ED/B
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES ED/C
EUROPEAN DIR.SALES ED/D
FINLAND 2FI
FINLAND FI
FRANCE 2F
FRANCE F
FRANCE F/A
FRANCE F/B
FRANCE F/C
FRANCE F/D
FRANCE F2
GEN.EXP. (SPANISH) 1L
GENERAL D
GENERAL EXPORT 1K
GENERAL EXPORT 1M
GENERAL EXPORT 2DK
GENERAL EXPORT 2K
GENERAL EXPORT 2M
GENERAL EXPORT 4K
GENERAL EXPORT 5DK
GENERAL EXPORT 5DM
GENERAL EXPORT 6DK
GENERAL EXPORT 6DM
GENERAL EXPORT 7DK
GENERAL EXPORT 7DM
GENERAL EXPORT 8DK
GENERAL EXPORT 8DM
GENERAL EXPORT D
GENERAL EXPORT D-III
GENERAL EXPORT D-V
GENERAL EXPORT D1
GENERAL EXPORT D2
GENERAL EXPORT D3
GENERAL EXPORT D3K
GENERAL EXPORT D3M
GENERAL EXPORT D4
GENERAL EXPORT D5
GENERAL EXPORT DII
GENERAL EXPORT DK
GENERAL EXPORT DK/A
GENERAL EXPORT DK/B
GENERAL EXPORT DK/DM
GENERAL EXPORT DK1
GENERAL EXPORT DM
GENERAL EXPORT DS
GENERAL EXPORT DW
GENERAL EXPORT ED
GENERAL EXPORT SK
GENERAL EXPORT SM
GENERAL EXPORT D1
GENERAL EXPORT D2
GENERAL EXPORT 1 D1K
GENERAL EXPORT 1 D1M
GENERAL EXPORT 2 2K
GENERAL EXPORT 3 D3
GENERAL EXPORT 3 D3K
GENERAL EXPORT 3 D3M
GENERAL EXPORT 4 D4K
GENERAL EXPORT 4 D4M
GENERAL EXPORT 5 D5
GENERAL EXPORT 5 D5K
GENERAL EXPORT 5 D5M
GENERAL EXPORT 6 D6
GENERAL EXPORT 6 D6K
GENERAL EXPORT 6 D6M
GENERAL EXPORT 7 D7
GENERAL EXPORT 7 D7K
GENERAL EXPORT 7 D7M
GENERAL EXPORT 8 D8
GENERAL EXPORT 8 D8K
GENERAL EXPORT 8 D8M
GENERAL EXPORT 9 D9K
GENERAL EXPORT I D-I
GENERAL EXPORT I D-I
GENERAL EXPORT II D2
GENERAL EXPORT III D-III
GERMANY 1G
GERMANY 2G
GERMANY 3G
GERMANY G
GERMANY G1
GERMANY G2
GERMANY YC
GREAT BRITTAIN GB
GREECE GR
HONGKONG HK
INDIA ID
INDONESIA IN
IRAQ IA
IRELAND IL
IRELAND IL
ITALY 2IT
ITALY I
ITALY IT
JAPAN 2J
JAPAN 2JP
JAPAN 3J
JAPAN 4J
JAPAN J
JAPAN JP
JAPAN YA,YB
KOREA KO
KT.KU undefined
LATIN AMERICA L
LATIN AMERICA LA
MALAYSIA MA
MEXICO 2MX
MEXICO 3MX
MEXICO MX
MOROCCO MO
NETHERLAND 2H
NETHERLAND H
NETHERLAND H/A
NETHERLAND H/B
NETHERLAND H/C
NETHERLAND H/D
NEW ZEALAND NL
NEW ZEALAND NZ
NEWCALEDONIA NC
NIGERIA NR
NIGERIA NR-III
NIGERIA NR-V
NIGERIA NR5
NORTHERN EUROPE ND
NORTHERN EUROPE YG
NORWAY 2N
NORWAY N
PAKISTAN PA
PAPUA NEWGUINEA PN
PARAGUAY PG
PORTUGAL 2ED
PORTUGAL 2PO
PORTUGAL PO
SINGAPORE SI
SOUTH AFRICA SA
SOUTH AFRICA 3 SA3
SOUTH AFRICA 5 SA5
SPAIN 2SP
SPAIN SP
SRI LANKA SL
SRI LANKA SL/A
SWEDEN SD
SWITZERLAND 2SW
SWITZERLAND SW
SWITZERLAND SW2
SWITZERLAND-2 SW-2
TAIWAN undefined
THAILAND 2TH
THAILAND TH
USA A
USA R 1969
USA R 1970
VENEZUELA VZ
WASHINGTON POLICE AW
unknown 1U
unknown 3U
unknown 4U
unknown IC
unknown UA
unknown Y

[JZH]

Thanks, yes, the Area Codes explain it. I had noticed the J and 2J before, but didn't realise that different areas of Japan had different equipment requirements (e.g., the speed warning light). I've got it pretty much figured out now. But I had to change all of my 400cc Model Info pages!

NC21/24: http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/Bv ... -rj-mi.htm

NC23: http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/Bcbr400r-rr-mi.htm

NC29: http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/Bcbr400rr-mi.htm

NC30: http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/Bvfr400r-mi.htm

NC35: http://www.vsource.org/VFR-RVF_files/Brvf400r-mi.htm

In short, the "Type" designations are (relatively) meaningless and should not be used. When referring to the different OEM paint schemes it only makes sense to use the "No." designations. (But there are some paint schemes--at least one, anyway--for which there are no "No." illustrations in the Honda Parts Catalogues...)

Ciao,