Driving report Honda RC 211 V

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Driving report Honda RC 211 V
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Driving report Honda RC 211 V

The vacation flyer

The competition fights hard, “Doctor” Valentino Rossi put the Grand Prix in a holiday mood. MOTORRAD editor Werner “Mini” Koch basked in the world championship success on the Honda RC 211 V.

Last World Championship round in Valencia, at the same time the last appearance of Valentino Rossi on his brightly colored Honda V5. What the fun-loving Italian is performing here can only be described in part. If you sleep away from the start, as is so often the case, pound along in solidarity for a few laps, then the pace is tightened and one opponent after the other is swept away. Rossi in the lead, in the slipstream of Sete Gibernau, the Honda duo runs away. The master’s appearance comes out of the blue. The arena is raging. The daring rider claps his horse in insane leanings. The observer has the impression that the doctor rushes to victory for rounds without killing
to chat about an entertaining race afterwards.
Three days later, HRC asks to ride out on the Barcelona GP circuit
with Rossi’s RC 211 V, who in a hurry
the tire warmers from the skins-
be rolling. During the modest three test laps at the Circuito Catalunya, there isn’t much time to break in.
The engine barks, painfully loud,
aggressive ?? unique.
It’s crazy how this grenade hangs on the gas. No, not merciless and biting, but velvety soft, finely controllable, one to one. A quarter throttle means a quarter power, half throttle means half power. In every gear, at every speed, always. Which is the first small but subtle difference to the Ducati Desmosedici. Because there
there’s nothing to laugh about for gross motor skills. On the other hand, on the Honda, friendship is quickly made.
The driver leads, the Honda follows. One to one here too. Braking, despite the carbon discs, reliably without bickering, turning in exactly to the point and inclined positions, so casual and stable that you can be in the
first bend gently rumble with the knee pads over the curbs, the sticky tires whiz along a hand’s breadth next to the boundary line. The Ducati Desmosedici can also do such kindness.
Questions about the coordination of fork and shock absorber? No. Exceptionally tight and direct, with incredible stability and wonderfully delayed fork immersion when braking. Instead, the V5 Honda trembles and trembles in the bumpy curves of the slope, gentle comfort does not seem to suit the doctor, he rather relies on dry, honest transparency. And the total integration of the pilot into the motorcycle. This is achieved through a completely relaxed sitting posture, only a little more compact than on Honda’s series super sports bike CBR 600 RR, and smooth body contact with the machine. Tank, seat, handlebars, rests, each part conveys crystal clear information from the asphalt. brilliant.
The fear of the gruesome high performance gives way to the realization that this 990 engine paints black lines even with 8000 rpm and a gear higher does not harm. Especially since the
With the exquisite automatic gearshift, the gears can be inserted smoothly and without noticeable interruption. In a long arc to the home straight, throttle tight, and off to the post. Is that full throttle? It’s not, but still punches me
the RC 211 like a ball through the atmosphere. Only the checkered flag prevents me from fearlessly on the rooster
Clamp stop. Or was it the nerves after all? Regardless, one thing is for sure: lawning has never been as easy as with this one
Honda. How does the master think? “Entertaining and nice.” Well, nice is different, but where are the secrets of the RC 211 V??
The top results in one
brilliant concept with which the Japanese consistently exploit the regulations. Because what no one expected at the MotoGP premiere in 2002: Honda
constructed a five-cylinder racer for which the same weight limit (145
Kilograms) applies as for the four-cylinder, but with the smaller cylinder units it offers more speed and thus power reserves for the future. thanks
of the new five-in-three exhaust trumpets, the 2003 engine variant with even more torque and over 240 hp tears a hole in the top-class starting field. The topic of high performance is fading into the background and the technicians are increasingly tinkering with the development of power in the medium speed range and the much-praised driveability of the engine. The trick at Honda: In the individual gear steps, an electronically controlled servomotor opens the throttle valve only as far as it is needed
optimal acceleration is necessary. There are rumors of a power reduction of up to 60 hp in the first
both courses.
The electronic assistance is quite obvious at the start when Valentino Rossi clicks the three-stage switch on the left handlebar stub to position one, the start mode, and only switches to the desired, optimal engine control for racing at full speed. One thing is certain: as soon as the throttle is turned, the electronics get out and leave the command to the driver alone. But the engine electronics also help with braking. Two of the five cylinders are supplied with air via a bypass line, which increases the idle gas, reduces the braking effect of the engine and thus limits the tendency to ram to a minimum.
The finest electronics are powerless if the basic mechanics are not right. Which cannot be said about the Honda. The engineers are sure of their cause. So safe that, unlike the competition, they do without the adjustment options for the steering head angle and position of the pivot point on the chassis. Based on decades of experience, tried and tested key data was sorted out from the start, and a solid frame concept was created that spans the firmly screwed drive from front to back in an arched manner, thus resulting in a rigid overall structure.
At around 440 millimeters, the crankshaft of the high-mounted engine sits roughly at the same height as the swing arm bearing and the transmission output bearing. The input shaft is slightly below. However, this is sufficient to reduce the overall length of the unit to such an extent that no compromises are necessary when it comes to the installation position of the V5 engine
and therefore the voluminous water cooler can spread over the entire casing shaft without recesses for the manifold system.
The direction of rotation of the crankshaft is no secret, it rotates conventionally forward and thus contributes to stabilization. To the question of the
Ignition offset of the 75.5-degree V5 engine shrugged the friendly Japanese. The assumption: during
the pistons of the left cylinders at the front and rear as well as the right cylinders act on a common crank pin and ignite with a 360 degree offset,
the fifth cylinder, located in the center of the front cylinder bank, fires in an asymmetrical position that is ideal for balancing the masses and pushes its exhaust gases into the landscape through a single exhaust pipe. In 2004 it could well happen that the V5-Honda blows the doctor
UVacation mood is spoiled. Because he then drives on the Yamaha M1.

Technical data – Honda RC 211 V

Engine: water-cooled 75.5-degree V5 four-stroke engine, four valves per cylinder, actuated via bucket tappets, gear-driven camshafts, displacement 989 cm3, power approx. 240 hp, maximum speed approx. 14500 rpm, wet sump lubrication with heat exchanger, cylinder integrated in the vertically divided engine housing , freely programmable engine management, electronically controlled speed increase when braking, three maps freely selectable by the driver, five-in-three exhaust system, six-speed cassette transmission, dry clutch with mechanical anti-hopping system. Roller chain without O-rings. Chassis: Aluminum bridge frame, load-bearing motor, Showa upside-down fork, two-arm aluminum swing arm, spring strut progressively actuated via deflection lever, vehicle height adjustable. No adjustment for steering head angle and swing arm bearings, magnesium wheels, front 3.50 x 17 or 3.60 x 17, rear 6.50 x 16.50 inches.

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