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Honda RC213V-S in the driving report

MotoGP for the road

The number of units of the Honda RC213V-S is small, but the price is high. You have to bring 200,000 euros. In return you get an extraordinary motorcycle. Race kit included for fun on the racetrack.

There are moments when even seasoned testers get wet hands. For example, when with the hoarse bark of a V4 with a 360-degree crankshaft, Honda’s MotoGP replica R.C213V-S comes to life – one of 250 built – and the project manager Hiroshi Unuki warns that it doesn’t crash, while all the Honda mechanics are already taking a stand with stopwatches on the pit wall. A crash would not only break the bank account, but also the test, for which only a handpicked crowd of journalists came. After all, two of the precious 200,000 euros with a race kit are available in a street suit and only one with a black carbon panel and a race kit.

Honda RC213V-S in the driving report

MotoGP for the road

Driving experience and dynamics of a MotoGP bike

But the V4 growls impatiently, the dry clutch grinds audibly behind its magnesium cover when stationary. Well then: first gear – and off you go. The legs must be bent properly, the pegs sit high. With a loooong slipping clutch, the first gear has a long gear ratio, the Honda RC213V-S goes out to the Valencia circuit. “The focus was not on reproducing top performance, but on delivering the driving experience, the dynamics of a MotoGP motorcycle,” said Unuki-San at the briefing the evening before. So it was left in favor of the durability of the filigree unit at 159 hp in road trim. This is probably why the automatic gearshift only works when upshifting. Then let’s see whether the big words are followed by appropriate deeds.

Darn it is easy!

In addition to an eight-stage traction control with gyro sensors and the three-stage adjustable motor brake, the electronics have three performance modes: stage one with open power, mode two with around eleven percent less pressure and a clearly castrated, actually superfluous third traineeship. Level two, which feels like a well-tuned 600, is set at the beginning. But the manageable performance jerks into the background and gives way to astonishment. Targeted first corner, and nothing to you, the Honda throws itself into the first corner and is upright again just as quickly. Next corner, same game. Hardly thought of the curve, the Honda RC213V-S already works in an inclined position. Darn it is easy! Already on the first cautious laps, the MotoGP offshoot indicates that there is actually a lot of MotoGP in its chassis genes. Second turn, but now with a full shower, power mode 1. And now there is a lot of music in the hut. From 8000 rpm the V4 turns angrily upwards. With such regularity that you suddenly get tangled in the limiter. Neither rough performance peaks nor undue vibrations or mechanical noises signal the approaching limit.

He hangs on the gas with smooth directness, the cassette transmission and the automatic gearshift deliver buttery gear changes, fantastic. But above all, the Honda RC213V-S is now developing its dynamism. It allows outrageously late braking points without missing the tight line. Then release the brake, bend it down a little more casually and pull the bow a little tighter, straighten up slightly and out of the corner with full sails. It works with such ease that it would never occur in your life that you were sitting on a 1000 meter. Memories of the first contact with one of the blessed 250cc production racers come back to life. The RC213V-S is incredibly narrow and compact. Nothing distracts the pilot from concentrating on the perfect turning or braking point. After all the full-bodied announcements, great things have been expected from the Honda RC213V-S in terms of handling – and it does not disappoint.

159 hp can rock tremendously

She turns in with enchanting ease, literally taking her driver by the hand when it comes to bend deeper. In the course of the curve, no line selection seems too daring in order not to be implemented. Madness! Anyone who has ever harbored skepticism as to whether 159 hp can rock: They can, quite tremendously even. Almost logical with the Honda RC213V-S weighing just 170 kilograms dry. Although it is less due to the low weight. Rather, it is also a matter of where weight has been saved and where what remains has been concentrated. Forged magnesium wheels reduce the gyroscopic forces, the aluminum tank extends deep under the seat, which as a feather-light monocoque saves a lot of weight at the rear, as does the titanium exhaust system.

In addition, there is the enormous precision of this handcrafted gem. The frame and swing arm are manually TIG welded, and high-precision milled parts are manufactured for the swing arm and steering head bearings, which reduces tolerances to a minimum and is simply not feasible in large-scale production. All of this adds up to an incredibly sensitive, light-footed, harmonious whole. In which, however, the street motorcycle shines through. Because the spring elements of the RC213V-S are surprisingly soft. The mighty ABS-free brake calipers bite into the 5.5 millimeter thick 320 discs comparatively tame, and the roadworthy Bridgestone RS10 lacks a bit of crispness after a few fast laps. But you can feel that there’s much more to the Honda RC213V-S. How much is impressively demonstrated by the RC equipped with the 12,000 euro race kit.

Another ten kilos less

Open titanium exhausts, large intake opening, plus kit control unit and wiring harness, sharp brake pads and Bridgestone slicks file another ten kilos off the MotoGP offshoot and unleash it completely. The V4 now turns up to 14,000 rpm and thus 2000 rpm higher and delivers 215 hp. They catapult the Honda RC213V-S from one bend to the next, dry as dust and with huge MotoGP tubes. She changes course in a flash, and you are extremely grateful for this quick reaction. Perhaps it can best be described as follows: If a well-made superbike reacts to steering commands in the blink of an eye, the Honda implements them together with the driver as soon as the driver shifts his body slightly. The brakes now grip brutally and finely dosed, and despite the unchanged chassis setup, the Honda RC213V-S is ultra-precise and highly concentrated when cutting its radii thanks to the stiffer slicks. There is so much potential here for fast lap times that the desire for more power does not arise at all. The fork literally soaks up the bumps when turning at the end of the home straight. A big movie theater. When braking, the V4 blurts out of the two exhausts, gently wags the rear, and when accelerating, the traction control intervenes sensitively.

Technical data RC213V-S

Honda

Rank and slim: 170 kilos of dry weight in the street regalia (factory specification) are sensational, 160 with a race kit only two over the current MotoGP limit – and that with a starter!

Honda RC213V-S [with racing kit]

engine

Water-cooled four-cylinder, four-stroke 90-degree V-engine, two overhead, gear-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, rocker arms, wet sump lubrication, injection, 12 V battery, hydraulically operated multi-plate dry clutch (anti-hopping), six-speed gearbox, O- Ring chain, secondary ratio 2.471.

Boron x stroke
81.0 x 48.5 mm

Displacement
1000 cc

Compression ratio
13.0: 1

rated capacity
117.0 kW (159 hp) at 11,000 rpm 

[158.0 kW (215 PS) at 13,000 rpm]

Max. Torque
102 [118] Nm at 10,500 rpm

landing gear

Bridge frame made of aluminum, upside-down fork, Ø 43 mm, hydraulic steering damper, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, two-arm swing arm with aluminum beams, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, double disc brake at the front, Ø 320 mm, Four-piston fixed calipers, rear disc brake, Ø 220 mm, two-piston fixed calipers, traction control.

Forged magnesium wheels
3.50 x 17; 6.00 x 17 

tires
120/70 ZR 17; 190/55 ZR 17

Dimensions + weights

Wheelbase 1465 mm
Steering head angle 65.4 degrees
Trail 105 mm
Suspension travel f / h 130/130 mm
Seat height 830 mm
Dry weight 170 [160] kg
Tank capacity 16.3 liters.

guarantee
two years

Service intervals
12,000 km

Colors
Red, white, blue

price
188,000 [200,000] euros

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