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HRC refuse to reveal the reason for the RCV’s lack of pace but could it be age-old habits? Honda rightfully believe in creating engines with minimal internal friction and they like low-inertia crankshafts, which pick up revs quickly but can also cause usability problems. In the past HRC improved the rideability of its NSR500 two-stroke GP bike and RC45 superbike by adding weight to the crankshaft to increase controllability. Perhaps that’s the small internal modification Honda made before Sepang. Honda also turned the NSR into an unbeatable force in 1992 by equipping it with the first bigbang engine to calm power delivery. Now they are the only major manufacturer in Moto GP without a big-bang engine.