Magical Machines: Honda’s Legendary Race Bikes

Honda started off with small-capacity racers that included the likes of the RC71, a 250-cc twin, the RC111 50-cc single, and the RC113, a 50-cc twin with a nine-speed gearbox. These were the early race machines that helped Honda establish itself in racing

The RC142 was the first Honda race machine to be put to test at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy in 1959. The bike was powered by a 125-cc twincylinder motor that produced 18 PS at 13,000 rpm. It also featured a six-speed gearbox. The RC142 was actually a last-minute motorcycle as Honda had taken an RC141 to the TT. When the engineers saw that the RC141 was not as competitive as they had hoped, they decided to change the head and go for a four-valve configuration. Parts were flown in from Japan and were fitted just in time for the races and then the magic happened. The bike did not win any races but Honda went on to take sixth, seventh, eighth and 11th places and also the team prize. Prior to 1965, Honda had won the championships in all the classes. In 1965, the company decided to step up their game and participate in the premier class with the 500-cc racing bike the RC181. In 1966, the company entered the championship with the RC181 ridden by Jim Redman. The RC181 featured a simple engine comprising an in-line four air-cooled motor with DOHC and four-valves/cylinder. However, it produced over 85 PS at 12,000 rpm. It boasted of a top speed of over 260 km/h and weighed just 151 kg (dry). It won the first two rounds in 1966. During the third round, however, Jim Redman crashed out and retired for the season. Mike Hailwood was brought in to replace Redman and he went on to win three more races, earning valuable points to give Honda the Constructor’s title. The RC181 was the beginning of greater things to come.

With the smaller classes taken care of with the RC149, Honda moved on to the more potent and radical RC166. Honda’s focus now was on taking the 250-cc class by storm. They already had the potent RC163 and RC164; however, for 1966 the RC166 was brought in and it instantly showed its superiority by winning the first eight races of the season. For the ninth round, which was at the Isle of Man, Honda introduced a more powerful version of the bike. This sixcylinder, DOHC, four-valve/cylinder racer got a shot in the arm as it was now revving higher and producing more power. The output at the time was over 60 PS at a staggering 18,000 rpm. It had a seven-speed gearbox and weighed just 112 kg. With a top speed of over 240 km/h from a puny 250-cc motor, the RC166 was on its way to glory. Mike Hailwood was the rider who won all the 10 races with the RC166, winning the championship and also helping Honda win the Constructor’s title.

By 1966, Honda was dominant in the smaller class; however, many manufacturers went for two-stroke bikes which were beating Honda on the track. So, to counter this, Honda introduced their 125-cc class race bike the RC149, it was powered by a five-cylinder 125-cc DOHC motor that had four-valves/cylinder and produced over 34 PS at a mind-boggling 20,500 rpm. It weighed a mere 85 kg and had a top speed of over 200 km/h. It also featured an eight-speed gearbox. This bike helped the company Luigi Taveri, Honda’s two-time world champion was piloting the RC149 in 1966, when he won five of the nine races, winning the title and also getting Honda their Constructors crown back . The RC149 was

also the last Honda 125 racing bike.

This new racer was more like a technological experiment than a competitive race bike. It showed Honda’s forward thinking as it took things to a new level. It was developed for Honda’s return to the premier class in 1979, but did not do as well as the company had hoped. The V4 DOHC, liquid-cooled engine featured oval pistons, two connecting rods per piston and eight valves/cylinder. It was more like a V8 in disguise. It also featured a monocoque frame and new materials but despite its futuristic design, it never won a GP. It produced over 115 PS at 19,000 rpm, almost twice the rpm of a two-stroke motor producing 100 PS. It was a technical piece of art but was outsmarted by the two-stroke racers of the time.

With the NR500 not getting the desired results, Honda took the challenge of honing their skills in Motocross, winning the 500cc world championship. This was a breakthrough for the company as they moved their focus to the two-stroke engine from the championship winning RC500M. This gave birth to the NS500, a bike that saw Honda adopt a two-stroke engine in order to prove their mettle. The NS500 featured a liquid-cooled, two-stroke, 112° V3 motor that produced 127.5 PS at 11,000 rpm. This was the machine the company was waiting for and, after making its début in 1982, the NS500, piloted by Freddie Spencer, became the first Honda to win a premier-class race in 15 years. It was a big milestone for the company. In 1983, the NS500 helped

Honda win the Constructor’s title by a two points.

If Honda learned anything from the NS500, it was to stick to two-strokes and be the champions. In 1984, the NSR500 arrived with quite a unique layout. It had its expansion chambers where the tank should have been and the tank where the expansion chambers should have been. Unique or strange didn’t matter as the NSR500 was surely quite potent. The bike had a massive power advantage over its rivals, despite the problems with the chassis and the unique configuration. In 1983, Spencer won three races even after having numerous troubles throughout the season. Next year, Honda worked extensively on the NSR500, improving it by leaps and bounds. This was the bike that gave Honda a new identity as it went on to win the rider’s and constructor’s championship in 1984, giving Honda a massive reason to celebrate. The NSR500 was employed on the track for almost two decades, ridden by great riders like Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi. The bike let Honda win nine riders’ titles and 10 constructor’s titles. It was also the last two-stroke motorcycle to win both the premier-class titles.

In 2002, the Premier class was renamed MotoGP and new four-stroke racers were introduced. However, the grid also consisted of two-stroke machines. This was really a nervous time for many riders who were still getting used to their new machines. Rossi, who was riding the NSR500 in 2001, moved to the new RC211V in 2002 and immediately he won the championship on the new four-stroke machine. The RC211V was the result of Honda’s extensive experience in GP racing as it featured a V5 that had a displacement of 990 cc that produced over 200 PS and weighed just less than 150 kg. This RC was an instant hit at the track in the hands of Rossi. The RC211V also helped the late Nicky Hayden win his first and only MotoGP championship in 2006. It truly was a brilliant piece of engineering on the MotoGP grid.

As MotoGP went from 990- to 800-cc and then to 1,000-cc bikes, Honda too developed superb machines. Their RC212V, which was a V4 MotoGP machine, wasn’t performing as expected initially, but it managed to win the 2011 championship with master rider Casey Stoner. However, it was Honda’s RC213V that is the current champion. The bike was introduced in 2012 with an engine capacity of 1,000 cc and, in the hands of a young Spaniard called Marc Márquez, went on to win four championships in six years, including the 2017 championship.