Category: Honda

Honda RC213V-S to race at the Isle of Man this year

Post author By Sameer Kumar
Post date May 25, 2016

Honda's street-legal MotoGP-replica, the RC213V-S has a mere 159bhp in stock form. Add a £10,000 race kit though, and power goes up to 200+ bhp, which should be probably be useful around the Isle of Man circuit…

Bruce Anstey, from New Zealand, will race a Honda RC213V-S at the Isle of Man this year. The Valvoline Racing by Padgett’s Motorcycles team has confirmed that Bruce will have a race-prepared version of the exotic V4 for the RST Superbike and PokerStars Senior TT races. Anstey has yet to test the machine but will practice on it, along with the superbike-spec Fireblade that he rode to his first six-lap Superbike race victory last year. "It's always been my dream to ride a MotoGP bike at the TT and this is as close as I will ever get. Clive is the only person in the world who could put something like this together and he hasn’t just pulled a bike out of the crate and said we are racing it. Clive and the team have done a lot of work to the bike to make it ready for the TT," says Bruce.

While the standard RC213V-S only has a mere 159 horsepower, that figure goes up to more than 200bhp with a £10,000 race kit fitted, which includes a titanium exhaust and a special ECU. "The RCV should be an absolute weapon because it has loads of power but it feels as nimble as a 600. It should be stable too as it’s over two inches longer than a Fireblade but is still really small and compact. I am really looking forward to seeing how it handles through the quick corners because it will be able to turn so fast!" says Anstey. "I love Bruce to bits and I wanted to give him the best motorcycle in the world to ride. That’s what this bike is all about," adds Clive Padgett, team boss at Valvoline Racing by Padgetts Motorcycles.

Preparing the RCV213V-S for the world’s toughest motorcycle race will be a challenge for Clive Padgett and his Valvoline-backed squad. "It has been a very difficult project to pull together. We have had to beef the bike up for the TT course and we can’t get anything off the shelf, so everything has had to be made bespoke. Things like the wheels, the K-Tech forks, the rear shocks, the brakes and the radiator guards have all had to be specially made," says Clive. Well, we're sure the bike will do very well at the IoM TT this year – we wish Bruce, and his super-exotic Honda, all the best!
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Aldo Drudi's Burasca 1200 is the world's coolest VFR1200F-based custom

Post author By Sameer Kumar
Post date May 19, 2016

Based on the VFR1200F, the Burasca 1200 looks fabulous!

Aldo Drudi, the man responsible for designing Valentino Rossi's helmets, has now moved up from helmets to designing a full motorcycle, and it's just brilliant. Drudi, in collaboration with Air Garage and Honda Italia, has created the Burasca 1200, which is based on a Honda VFR1200F. The aim was to showcase Italian creativity and design flair, coupled with Japanese precision engineering and build quality. Mission accomplished!

With the Burasca, Drudi and team have completely and radically modified a VFR1200, making it sportier and more aggressive. The bike gets an Öhlins NIX 30 fork and Öhlins TTX GP 36 monoshock at the rear, both being fully adjustable in every which way possible. With lightweight aluminium wheels from Fast Mec, extensive use of carbonfibre and titanium, and an Akrapovic exhaust system, weight has been reduced by 30 kilos. The bike's low-slung stance at the front, along with single round headlamp, give it a nice hint of subdued menace, and its carbon-gray / gray-gold matte paintjob, with small bits of red trim and black anodized wheels, is just perfect.

The Burasca's 1237cc Honda V4 remains stock, with 180bhp, 6-speed transmission and shaft-drive. Suspension has been upgraded with Öhlins units at both ends but the chassis remains unchanged. Brakes have also been upgraded, with twin 320mm discs up front, and Nissin monobloc radial-mount 4-piston calipers. Kerb weight is 240kg. Yes, we love this bike!
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Honda UK shows two new Fireblade specials at Silverstone

Post author By Sameer Kumar
Post date April 13, 2016

2016 special edition Honda Fireblade CBR1000RR

Until the all-new Fireblade comes along in 2017, these two specials will have to do

Last week, Honda UK unveiled two new CBR1000RR Fireblade specials at the opening round of the 2016 MCE British Superbike Championship, at Silverstone. Honda Racing’s BSB riders, Dan Linfoot and Jason O’Halloran rode a parade lap around the Silverstone circuit, on the new TT Special and Black Edition Fireblades.

‘What a fitting setting in which to celebrate these bikes – Silverstone at the start of race season. The current generation Fireblade has been with us for the best part of a decade and keeps on surprising,’ said Nick Campolucci, Head of Motorcycles at Honda UK. ‘The Black special is a no-nonsense Fireblade, reflecting the Honda mantra behind the bike – that you don’t always need all the bells and whistles to enjoy the ride and to obtain peak performance on-track,’ he added.

‘The TT Special is an acknowledgement of the incredible success that continues to be achieved with the Fireblade, at the Isle of Man. John McGuinness smashed the TT lap record last year and it’s doubly apt that we launch this bike today, in the same time that John was awarded the prestigious Segrave Trophy by the Royal Automobile Club,’ said Campolucci. The TT Fireblade, with its TT tri-color paintjob, comes packed with race-inspired extras including a MotoGP-style Akrapovic exhaust, limited edition black Gilles FX levers with Honda Racing etching, and Gilles MotoGP lever guard. It also features Gilles TCA chain adjusters – including paddock stand lifters – and crash pads, as well as Galfer stainless laser-cut wave discs. The TT Fireblade is priced at £16,999 OTR in the UK.

Meanwhile, the Black Edition adds a host of dark refinement to Honda’s popular CBR1000RR Fireblade machine. It features a special edition smoked screen (27mm higher than standard), Gilles brake leavers with Honda etching and Galfer front wavy discs. Also fitted as standard to the Black Edition is a Honda colour-matched seat cowl and carbon fibre hugger. The Black Edition is priced at £12,199 OTR.

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The Top 10 bikes we'd like to see at EICMA this year

Post author By Sameer Kumar
Post date March 22, 2016

Motorcycling flights of fancy…

During an idle weekend, with no real motorcycles to ride (yeah, well, such is life…), fantasising about various 'dream bikes' is sometimes the only recourse. Of course, most motorcycle manufacturers already have a huge assortment of some magnificent high-performance machines in their line-up, but that doesn't stop us from letting our imagination run wild. So, here's a list of the Top 10 motorcycles that we'd love to see at the EICMA this year.

Sometimes, 200bhp just isn't enough, right? So bring on the supercharged 290bhp ZX-14R in 2017

1. Supercharged Kawasaki ZX-14R
Sure, the Kawasaki ZX-14R already packs a 200bhp punch and isn't exactly slow. Still, a supercharged version with about 280-290bhp from its boosted inline-four should be even more fun to ride. We already love the 14R's all-around practicality, plush seat and all-day riding comfort (which the H2/H2R doesn't have), and a supercharger will just make it that much more exotic, fast and desirable. That, and a single-sided swingarm, matt-black paint, and the world's first laser headlamps on a production motorcycle should make it perfect!

Time for a lighter, sharper, turbocharged Suzuki GSX-R1100 Hayabusa

2. Turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa GSX-R1100 Turbo
Time for a major revamp for the Hayabusa, and we'd like the new one to be powered by an all-new 1100cc turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine. With modern electronics and a turbo, an 1100cc turbocharged inline-six should easily be able to produce more than 250bhp, which should be enough for most people. Plus, we'd like the current Hayabusa's bulbous, Zeppelin-type styling to be replaced with slim, sharp, modern lines. Keep it as light as possible (180kg or thereabouts would be perfect), give it fully adjustable active suspension and make it sound really, really good. Bring the dark side of Japan.
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Randy's Cafe XR600

Post author By Morgan Gales
Post date February 16, 2016

Amber Hiles

Randy’s Cafe XR600 right side profile

Thumper: A four-stroke, single cylinder motorcycle.

Honda’s XR600 is a unique and awesome motorcycle. Unique like a family of rednecks, that is. Honda has made a handful of real similar thumpers, all a little different, but sharing the same basic DNA. The 600 was the big boy in this class, putting out just about too much power for the trails, being too big and heavy to jump, and still being just a little too tall and uncomfy for highway use. It’s always been known as THE baja bike, but hasn’t had too many places that it fits in quite as well.

Choosing this style of bike for a full cafe conversion is no new concept, and no small task. The stock bike is too tall, with a clunky tail section and gearing that is entirely too low. However the narrow frame, lightweight and torquey engine, and natural steering dynamics point the way to an awesome tracker/ cafe bike once the work is done.

Randy Rothlisberger

Randy riding a Honda thumper back in his hayday

Randy is one of those rare gems that possesses both incredible talent and humility. I met him out on the Hot Bike Tour in South Dakota last summer, at Klock Werks, where he works part-time as a fabricator. When he rode up on this bike, I nearly dropped my helmet. Being 6’4″ I have always had a soft spot for large displacement thumpers and the way they fit me. Being a hooligan, I have always drooled over torque monster that is that engine in that lightweight frame.

I don’t even remember what I said when I walked up to him, something along the lines of “Wha– Did yo– Is this your– XR600?! Ohmahgerdddd I love it,”

To which he responded, “Oh yeah, I like it. I built it in my garage with some parts I had lying around. Actually rides pretty nice!”

Amber Hiles

Randy Rothlisberger in his home garage

You bet your sweet Honda that this thing rides pretty nice. The forks and brakes up front are Buell XB9R parts that have been machined to fit. The inverted forks lower the front end (a key part of the cafe conversion on this bike) as well as vastly improve the handling in the twisties. A massive disc brake on the front wheel gives this bike pro-street level stopping power, which it now has the rubber and suspension to handle. A rear wheel off of a Kawasaki Ninja 250 fit after a little bit of machining, but does wonders as far as giving the bike that pure street stance. The engine has more than enough power stock, but the airbox was removed and replaced with a K&N filter to help get that open triangle under the seat.

Sara Liberte

Randy’s Cafe XR600 rear view

The exhaust pipe was fabricated at home using the factory headers and a muffler from Cone Engineering. A gas tank from a vintage Honda XL250 had it’s tunnel modified to fit the later model frame and the paint was all done in-house by Randy with some old paint that of course, he had laying around the shop. That wicked cafe seat is an aftermarket custom piece designed for a Honda 125. He used an old Klock Werks H-D fender with a few modifications on the rear and wired up a Trail Tech Vapor electronic speedo/ tach with a hand fabbed mounting system that he also made in his garage.

Amber Hiles

Randy’s Cafe XR600 front left side

When we asked him for a few words about his bike, he listed all of the parts that he put on there and gave us this brilliantly Randy description:

“Starts easy (kick only) lights work well(no battery) handles quick and solid, brakes like nothing you’ve ever ridden (one finger advised first ride), have seen over 95mph with more to go (via GPS) and could easily pull taller gearing. Comfortable enough that you’ll go looking for curves ( I’m thinking it could own Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills!) Took me about 3 mo to build at my garage at home.”

Amber Hiles

Randy’s Cafe XR600 front right side

You don’t see a lot of build like this because there aren’t a lot of people like Randy. And if there are, they aren’t out there posting their bikes up on the web, they’re out hitting the twisties and building these machines to ride.

Randy Rothlisberger, you’re our type of guy. Making something incredible out of what you’ve got and riding the absolute crap out of it, even if you do live in South Dakota and have all that perfectly snowy riding weather (not).

Amber Hiles

Randy’s Cafe XR600 right side detail

Amber Hiles

Randy’s Cafe XR600 right side profile

Amber Hiles

Randy’s Cafe XR600 left side profile

As much as we wish we could give you a website to support this epic dude, we love that he doesn’t have one. This was one of the first projects for Amber Hiles as the new Photographer/ Media Guru over at Klock Werks and we couldn’t be more stoked with what she turned out, given the snowy South Dakota conditions. Head over to KustomBaggers.com to see more work from them and the other awesome people at Klock Werks.

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Sacha Lakic Announces Blacktrack Motors

Post author By staff
Post date February 5, 2016

Blacktrack Motors

The new BT-01 from Blacktrack Motors – left side profile

Blacktrack Motors’ raison d’être is to create pure café racers . The process involves taking classic motorcycles, stripping them to the bare essentials and bringing them up to date with contemporary design and components. Built for riders that are disillusioned with modern motorcycle design, but want more safety, efficiency and reliability than older motorcycles offer. Not concept motorcycles, but practical machines, designed for daily use on the ruban noir.

Motorcycles that are built with passion—and fueled by emotion.

Each Blacktrack Motors series will be built on a carefully selected vintage platform, and produced in limited numbers. Our flagship model is the BT-01, based on the Honda CX500, that will soon be available to order on the website: www.blacktrackmotors.com

Blacktrack Motors

The new BT-01 from Blacktrack Motors, Honda CX500 custom

Each BT-01 will start out as a hand-picked, 80s-model Honda CX500—treated to a thorough overhaul before any other work commences. As with the prototype, it will then be stripped of all superfluous bits, and redesigned to be more compact. And, most importantly, it’ll be made significantly lighter, thanks to all-new carbon fiber bodywork.

An arsenal of top-shelf components bring the BT-01’s performance and handling up to date. Highlights include Öhlins suspension, Brembo brakes, Mikuni carbs and a full stainless steel exhaust system. Clip on handlebars, rear set foot controls and a solo seat configuration all hint at its uncompromising nature.

Its blueprint was created when Blacktrack designer and founder, Sacha Lakic, found a CX500 in pieces at a friend’s garage – and transformed it into a sleek, modernized café racer.

The bike has been featured all over the web, and been recognized as one of the best customs of 2015. The response was phenomenal, and Lakic soon found himself pressured to produce more of the same.

Blacktrack Motors

The new BT-01 from Blacktrack Motors, street legal custom CX500 from Sacha Lakic

Blacktrack Motors

The new BT-01 from Blacktrack Motors, full performance retro cafe built

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Praëm SP3 shows what a Honda RC51 can become with a bit of French engineering

Post author By Sameer Kumar
Post date January 14, 2016

Based on the Honda VTR1000 RC51 SP2, The Praëm SP3 is a work of art and could fetch as much as €145,000 when it goes up for auction in Paris later this year

Based in Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse (about 40km from Paris), Praëm was set up in 2014 by two brothers, Sylvain, a former BMW Motorrad designer, and Florent, a prototypist and former aeronautical mechanic in the French army. With Praëm, the brothers aim to create hand-built motorcycles using chassis and engines from legendary sportsbikes of the past, but with styling updates and extensive technical and mechanical improvements. Their first project is the Praëm SP3, which is based on a Honda VTR1000 RC51 SP2, the bike with which Colin Edwards won the World Superbikes championship back in the year 2000.

'All the HRC expertise is there, but as a stock bike, the RC51 SP2 had downsides compared to the factory racebike. The brakes and suspension were not as good as the rest of the machine, and with the fuel tank covering the rear cylinder, there were overheating problems,' say Sylvain and Florent. 'The Praëm philosophy requires to not damage the original performances of the machine, therefore we kept the stock RC51's racing geometry and improved everything around it. In order to solve braking and suspension problems, the SP3 powertrain has been assembled from the best parts available on the market, like ultra-light carbon wheels, radial brakes with carbon-ceramic discs, as well as the best Öhlins suspension,' they add.

The brothers Praëm wanted to make a high-performance GT out of the RC51 and the SP3 has been designed accordingly. 'The goal is not to make a pure race bike or a confortable touring bike, but a vehicle that can live in between this two worlds. It could be an Aston Martin DB9 for example, fast and powerful, but timeless and elegant as well,' the brothers say. 'Each surface is treated depending on its type of use, and all the mechanical and structural elements are blacked out. Brushed aluminium or stainless steel define the ergonomic and aerodynamic surfaces, whereas the coloured bits are ornamental features. Unlike its RC51 SP2 ancestor, the cutout in the SP3 tank prevents the rear cylinder from overheating,' they add.
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2016 Honda NM4

Post author By Motorcycle Cruiser
Post date January 1, 2016

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£150,000 Honda RC213V-S finds first customer in the UK

Post author By Sameer Kumar
Post date December 24, 2015

Manchester-based Honda dealer, John Brown buys the world’s first Honda RC213V-S

Earlier this week, Honda delivered their very first MotoGP-bike-for-the-street, the £150,000 RC213V-S, to a customer in the UK. John Brown, who owns and runs a Honda dealership in Manchester, and whose motorcycle collection already includes an RC30, VTR1000 SP1 and SP2, CBR900RR Fireblade and VF1000F, is now first guy in the world to own an RC213V-S. ‘It is a truly amazing opportunity to own a piece of HRC racing history. As soon as it went on sale I registered my interest on the website, and when I received the call from Honda to say my order was accepted it was a very special day for me,’ says John. ‘I joined my family business as a 17-year old and have been a Honda dealer ever since. My dealership has been one of the top-three in the UK for many years and the bike will be great with my existing collection,’ he adds.

Honda claim that the RC213V-S is the closest a customer can come to owning and riding the RC213V MotoGP machine ridden by the likes of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. The bike is hand-built in a specialist area of Honda’s factory in Kumamoto, Japan, and those interested in buying one can register their interest on www.rc213v-s.com

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Honda Gold Wing Street Tracker

Post author By Morgan Gales
Post date December 10, 2015

When Osmar found this bike it was on it’s way to the junkpile, but Gold Wings are resilient machines. The goal was to build a bike like nobody had ever seen before. To take a Gold Wing and transform it into a bike capable of not only turning heads, but turning corners at high speeds as well. A goal that was accomplished over the course of several months in a paint shop in Florida, and produced one of the best looking custom Gold Wings we have ever seen.

Custom Honda Gold Wing from Osmar Santanna

Coming from a background in painting race helmets, this isn’t his first custom build, but the first ground-up project he has done. The bike had been sitting and was written off as a hunk of scrap, but Osmar saw the potential. Knowing that the engine is darn close to bulletproof, he just replaced the heads and with a little TLC it was running again and good to go. The front suspension was replaced with that of a GSX-R, and a set of KYB shocks thrown on the rear. The battery has been tucked up under the seat and the electronics have been reworked and hidden to open up the area behind the engine. Rear sets off of an MV Augusta were modified to fit, putting the rider in a more aggressive position. Upgraded Brembo brakes were put on a set of Gold Wing wheels and a set of Avon Cobras were thrown on to get the power to the ground. A custom gas tank was fabricated to house the trail computer and a front fender and rear seat pan/ fender were fabbed up to match. Lastly, he put his years of painting experience to use laying down the classic bomber motif.

This bike is not only unique because of it’s platform, this is a level of raw functionality and hand done craftsmanship that is hard to find in customs. Especially done with the style and taste that Osmar has accomplished here. This bike would be at home in the middle of the city or tearing up the open roads of rural America- hell I can’t think of many places I wouldn’t want to ride this beast.

For more information on Osmar Santanna’s painting services, check out his website MSFDesigns.com