The Honda RC213V-S has made its public debut ride in Japan near the Asama Hill Climb. Honda states that the RC213V-S is the closest thing near to a MotoGP motorcycle. This road legal Moto GP bike was announced back in 2012 when Honda revealed its intentions to build a road legal counterpart for its MotoGP motorcycles.
Dave Hancock from Honda Europe states that: ,,It is so close(to a Moto GP model); chassis, swinging arm, wheels, suspension, crankcases, fuel tank, tank cover, throttle bodies and seat unit are absolutely the same as what Marquez rides. OK, it hasn’t got pneumatic valves and the special gearbox, and some internal parts are different. The con rods are a different material, and the pistons are a different design because it’s a road bike. If we built it as a race engine you’d be constantly checking it over.”
The engine that powers the RC213V-S is a 90 degree V4 and Honda claims that can deliver around 210bhp. In comparison with the MotoGP bikes the crankcases are made from aluminum instead of magnesium. The exhaust system of the RC213V-S is manufactured exclusively from titanium.
Frame and swing arm are the same as in the motorcycle ridden by Marquez. Suspension and breaking systems are also technologies borrowed from MotoGP. The Honda RC213V-S uses Öhlins gas pressurized forks while the breaking system is provided by Brembo.
As for electronics, the Honda RC213V-S uses a Showa quick shifter and a MotoGP electronic steering dumper. All available information can be found on the HRC display unit from the cockpit.
The Honda RC213V-S’s bodywork is made from carbon fiber and everything is finished and assembled by hand. Of course, being a road legal machine the front fairing houses the headlight while the side panels host the turn signals. An interesting aspect sits behind the mirrors as they are mounted directly on the handlebar lever guards.
We can now only wait and see how the RC213V-S compares against Yamaha’s new R1