Honda has been a front-runner in the two wheeled racing scene. Right from the 60's when it was a 2 stroke Vs 4 stroke showdown, Honda blew its competition away with outrageous multiple cylinder low capacity engines with high outputs. The RC166 had a 250cc inline six cylinder engine which revved upto 22,000 rpm and had a one-of a kind 7 speed gearbox.
The quest for higher output engines gave rise to the NR500 which had oval pistons, EIGHT connecting rods and two spark plugs per cylinder. Soichiro Honda personally appointed a team to develop this bike to beat the High output two strokes in the 500cc class of racing. As the attempt became a disaster, Honda took the conventional route by developing a two stroke racer and decimating the competition with The NS and NSR series of GP machinery.
Honda Machinery became more and more powerful as the years passed, the engines using a "Screamer" firing order (with a 180 degree crank) which produced Enormous power but made riding it a pain. The enormous power took a toll on the tires and made the bike less stable on braking (Conventional clutches and steel brakes boy!). Though Honda brought in a Big bang NSR for the 1994 season on Mick Doohan's request, majority of the Honda machinery used the Screamer order.
Honda dominated the 990cc four stroke era with the RC211V with Valentino Rossi on board, but failed to win a championship after his departure until Nicky Hayden won it in 2006. Honda failed to win a championship in the 800cc era with their troubled RC212V which had endless issues- The engine was aggressive, the chassis had chatter issues and the lack of front end feel made it hard to ride on the tracks. Though they used the radical Seamless Shift Gearbox which no one on the grid used, Honda's efforts were fulfilled in 2011 when Casey Stoner won it on board the 1000cc RC213V.
The RC213V won another couple of championships with Marc Marquez on the saddle. A competitive machine with a competitive and motivated rider has been Honda's deadliest combination. But even a competitive rider cannot help when the bike has issues to deal with. Honda's progress in the premier class had its fair share of absolute highs to rock-bottom lows, right from the disastrous NR500 to the ultra competitive NS-NSR series of machinery to the RCV series, Honda has struggled and found success whenever the bike performed well.
RELATED ARTICLE: Honda NSR 500- The Dominant Force In The Two Stroke Era
The 2014 RC213V redefined the term "dominance" in racing. The machine won 13 races out of 18 with Eleven consecutive wins. Everyone expected the same kind of performance with the 2015 iteration of the machine but it wasn't. The Chassis didn't give the Golden boy enough confidence, the engine was very aggressive and the character was masked by the tropical conditions of Sepang, Malaysia where they had the final test before sealing the engines for the season. Honda tried changing the exhaust and intake manifolds, tried a new swingarm but nothing worked for the Japanese factory. Marc Marquez switched back to the older 2014 chassis before the Dutch TT, before which he had three DNFs to his name and ruining his championship.
2016 marks the new era of controlled electronics, where all manufacturers use the same array of electronic sensors and software to govern the engine and the bike. Fitting the control electronics on a Honda is literally like fitting Civilian avionics equipment on a fighter jet. Will the absence of sophisticated electronics and failure to tame the overly aggressive engine ruin Honda's hopes of winning the championship in 2016? Only time will tell.
By: Suraj
*** The Honda RC166
The quest for higher output engines gave rise to the NR500 which had oval pistons, EIGHT connecting rods and two spark plugs per cylinder. Soichiro Honda personally appointed a team to develop this bike to beat the High output two strokes in the 500cc class of racing. As the attempt became a disaster, Honda took the conventional route by developing a two stroke racer and decimating the competition with The NS and NSR series of GP machinery.
*** The Honda NR500- a Revolution gone wrong.
Honda Machinery became more and more powerful as the years passed, the engines using a "Screamer" firing order (with a 180 degree crank) which produced Enormous power but made riding it a pain. The enormous power took a toll on the tires and made the bike less stable on braking (Conventional clutches and steel brakes boy!). Though Honda brought in a Big bang NSR for the 1994 season on Mick Doohan's request, majority of the Honda machinery used the Screamer order.
*** The Firebreathing 2 stroker- The NSR500
Honda dominated the 990cc four stroke era with the RC211V with Valentino Rossi on board, but failed to win a championship after his departure until Nicky Hayden won it in 2006. Honda failed to win a championship in the 800cc era with their troubled RC212V which had endless issues- The engine was aggressive, the chassis had chatter issues and the lack of front end feel made it hard to ride on the tracks. Though they used the radical Seamless Shift Gearbox which no one on the grid used, Honda's efforts were fulfilled in 2011 when Casey Stoner won it on board the 1000cc RC213V.
The RC213V won another couple of championships with Marc Marquez on the saddle. A competitive machine with a competitive and motivated rider has been Honda's deadliest combination. But even a competitive rider cannot help when the bike has issues to deal with. Honda's progress in the premier class had its fair share of absolute highs to rock-bottom lows, right from the disastrous NR500 to the ultra competitive NS-NSR series of machinery to the RCV series, Honda has struggled and found success whenever the bike performed well.
RELATED ARTICLE: Honda NSR 500- The Dominant Force In The Two Stroke Era
The 2014 RC213V redefined the term "dominance" in racing. The machine won 13 races out of 18 with Eleven consecutive wins. Everyone expected the same kind of performance with the 2015 iteration of the machine but it wasn't. The Chassis didn't give the Golden boy enough confidence, the engine was very aggressive and the character was masked by the tropical conditions of Sepang, Malaysia where they had the final test before sealing the engines for the season. Honda tried changing the exhaust and intake manifolds, tried a new swingarm but nothing worked for the Japanese factory. Marc Marquez switched back to the older 2014 chassis before the Dutch TT, before which he had three DNFs to his name and ruining his championship.
2016 marks the new era of controlled electronics, where all manufacturers use the same array of electronic sensors and software to govern the engine and the bike. Fitting the control electronics on a Honda is literally like fitting Civilian avionics equipment on a fighter jet. Will the absence of sophisticated electronics and failure to tame the overly aggressive engine ruin Honda's hopes of winning the championship in 2016? Only time will tell.
By: Suraj