Honda RC213V-S – The Real Deal
It seems the newly announced street-legal Honda MotoGP bike – the RC213V-S – has made quite a stir on social media and chat forums everywhere. Naysayers deride Honda for producing an exotically priced machine that has been laughably emasculated in the horsepower stakes.
Comparisons with other superbikes — BMW’s superlative big-power S1000RR, Kawasaki’s new supercharged Ninja H2, and Yamaha’s brilliant crossplane R1 – seem to be the most compared to Honda’s apparent damp squib.
Everyone seems to be asking: why would anyone buy it?
I do not fall into that camp, and the answer is because the RC213V-S is The Real Deal. It isn’t a “superbike”; it isn’t a “replica”; and it’s not the result of trickle-down technology. It IS the technology.
This is Honda’s production MotoGP machine (the factory model minus the pneumatic valves and seamless gearbox) that has been made street-legal. Other than the aforementioned items it contains all of Honda’s technical know-how, and each machine will be hand-crafted to order.
Crammed with exotic materials and mechanically perfect, the RC213V-S is exquisitely put together; the closer you look, the more the details you see. The RC213V-S is the Honda heritage: Racing experience dating back to the sixties; a depth of engineering genius that brought us things like six-cylinder racer dominance, oval-pistoned engines, and multiple World Championships; they are all part of the RC213V-S.
So I ask you: Why is this even being compared to any other street bike out there? It’s in a different league altogether, and apart from the beautiful but aging Desmosedici, until someone else adds lights to their prototype and puts it on sale, I’m afraid this bike will have no peers.
The internet trolls decry the bike for an anemic power output. But that’s an illusion. This machine is the most powerful street motorcycle ever mass produced; it has merely been temporarily capped to satisfy the bureaucrats. The only way Honda managed to slide this bike past the various governments around the world, is to modify the software in the ECU to keep the revs low enough to pass both emissions and noise testing.
In the case of the US model that means a 9,400 RPM limit, which equates to a mere 101 peak horsepower. In the Japanese market it equates to even less: 7,000 RPM and just 70 horses. I understand the consternation, but who cares what the bike outputs in stock form? The motor hasn’t been tinkered with at all; it’s a MotoGP bike with an electronic cap on the revs pro tem. It isn’t the real power output, and Honda will be selling Sport Packs if you intend to use the bike on track.
Do you listen to your stereo at full volume all the time? Just because “it goes to 11” do you use that? Of course not. If you buy an RC213V-S and you want to feel full power then you can, although US buyers will have to source their Sport Packs from Europe or at least, find a helpful teenage nerd to ‘unlock’ their ECU—but we all know this is a but minor inconvenience.
If you’re in the market for this bike, you will probably want the Sport Pack. Likely to be priced around 12,000 Euros, the Sport Pack contains an unfettered ECU, a freer exhaust system, ram-air intake tubes to replace the lights, and several other performance goodies. With the RC213V-S unlocked it will hit its true 14,000 RPM rev-limit and produce 215 horsepower.
My point being: The RC213V-S isn’t a fake. It’s not a replica, and it’s way more than any superbike. This is a MotoGP machine that breathes the most rarefied air that motorcycling has to offer; it’s the pinnacle, the summit, the zenith of current technology as raced in the most demanding and most prestigious racing series on the planet. If you’re not prepared to compromise, then you will buy this motorcycle.
Priced at 20 Million Yen (U$184,000) the RC213V-S is undoubtedly beyond the reach of most people, and that’s sad if you’re one of them. It is most certainly beyond my personal ability to find such a sum and yes, I find that frustrating. But does it make me angry? No; there are lots of things I’d love to buy that are beyond my financial wherewithal. To put this into perspective, the concept of selling anything high-end that most people cannot afford is nothing new.
The people who deride the price are always the ones that don’t have the money to indulge. Let me ask you: Does Bugatti sell any Veyrons? McLaren any P1s? Rolls Royce any Wraiths? Ferrari any Enzos? Does Patek Phillippe sell any watches? …and so on ad nauseam.
The Honda RC213V-S is actually cheap for what it is — because it is The Real Deal. Truth is, value is totally subjective. What you consider ‘worth it’ may be considered by others to be reckless spending. Try asking a third world inhabitant if they’d be prepared to spend four bucks on a cup of Starbucks coffee if you want an example. How about that iPhone in your pocket? Worth it? I’ll bet there’s are millions worldwide who simply wouldn’t even conceptualize spending hundreds of dollars on a phone.
I’m afraid the harsh reality is that whether something appears to be reasonably priced or not is entirely proportional to your ability to pay for it. Back in the 1930s George Brough produced his Superior motorcycles. They were the pinnacle of technology, they were carefully hand-crafted, and they cost as much as the typical house. Sound familiar?
Sad to say, if you’re one of the ones outraged at the price of the RC213V-S, then I’d venture that you are not lucky enough to be able to afford one. I regrettably fall into that category, but I’m not angry or resentful of those who do; I’m merely green with envy—because I’d buy an RC213V-S in a heartbeat if I could. It is the best, and it’s the real deal. If you can afford one and yet you’d be happy with something else, you’re also likely to be enjoying your fake Rolex watch and that big CZ ring on your sweetheart’s finger. And keep telling yourself that not having the real thing is OK.
2016 Honda RC213V-S Photo Gallery
is it really any better then duc 16RR thou ??
Great article, you said it best. Good job.
With the sports pack on the track, what would come close to the RCV1000R at 215(not exactly it says 215+ hp so the actual power output isn’t known) and 160 kg wet?
[…] Unfortunately, the U.S. version of RC213V-S will not be available with the optional close-circuit kit, which truly uncorks the MotoGP nature of the expensive replica. This caused some criticism across social media, but we offer some RC213V-S counterpoints here. […]
The D16RR is a spectacular bike and everyone is universally happy that Ducati created it. I was the second journalist in the States to ride one (at Miller) and holy cow I was impressed. All I could think was “don’t crash, don’t crash, don’t crash” etc ad nauseam LOL.
But, without taking anything away from the D16RR it is now old news circa 2007/8–trellis frame and no electronics for instance. Perhaps I was a bit strong in saying the RC213V-S has no peers as clearly the D16RR is a peer; so maybe I should have said ‘current peers’ which is more accurate. At any rate, the RC is an incredible machine. Sure, it’s an inconvenience that it’s rev/hp limited, but the Sport Kit is available from Honda in Europe and anyone who has the scratch to come up with $185k to buy it won’t care about sourcing a kit from Europe if they decide they need it. I wish I was one of them!
Cheers–appreciate you taking part in the discussion.
Well… Honda’s claim of a dry weight of 375lbs is very light and give-or-take translates to about 25lbs lighter when wet than any current superbike such as the ZX-10R or Honda’s own CBR1000RR. That’s a big difference that will immediately be felt. Couple that with approx 200 rear wheel hp (around 15 more than say Aprilia’s new RSV4 or the Beemer) and again, that’s a big difference.
Combined, those two numbers will ensure the Honda is unlike anything else at the moment to ride, and the MotoGP electronics package to keep everything in line means the bike can actually be ridden hard by mere mortals.
The other impressive thing is the RC213V-S’ mass-centralization. The engine design and component placements (too much to go into here) demonstrably show that the RC will have dramatically less pitch (front to back) roll (side to side) and yaw (rear waggle or slide out) weight transfer, so the bike’s balance is so advanced that it will feel way lighter and more maneuverable than even a 600 supersport bike.
Ergo: The RC will feel extraordinary; unlike anything else out there unless you happen to be part of the very select club such as Hayden, Marquez, Stoner et al.
So… the answer to your question is nothing will come close. Not taking anything away from the new R1 or S1000RR for instance, but this bike is in a different class altogether.
Hope your screen name isn’t a reflection of your health my friend :)
difference is you could own 2 16rr with a lot of money left over. and to have to pay for an upgrade kit after the initial purchase is just an insult. IIHO
You cannot buy the “sport kit” to “power up” the bike even for track only use. Per the Honda Order Reservation site, the power up kit is VIN controlled and they will not sell them to people who buy the bike in the US. Unless you know someone who can “flash” the existing ECM, you will be stuck with the 101 hp limit.
You cannot buy the “sport kit” even from a European source. The ordering is VIN controlled, you must have a European VIN to get the sport kit. One per VIN. You will not be able to buy the sport kit for a bike delivered to the US, even for track only use. You will need to get around it another way, or find a European owner who did not buy the sport kit and is willing to order it for you.
The above is per the Honda order reservation page.
Thanks :)
I think it is hard for anyone who has not ridden a purpose-built racing motorcycle to understand just how enormous is the chasm between the best-in-class production racing motorcycles, and a machine like the RC 213V. I refer of course to motorcycles such as the GSX-R 750, which in all likelihood is still the very best example of a production racing bike, but do not exclude any current supersport machine such as the ZX-10R, YZF-R1, or BMW S1000RR.
Compared to a true purpose-built racebike, those bikes are indeed “diesels” as Eddie Lawson was wont to call them. They are tanks, overweight, softly-sprung and damped, very slow to steer, and muted with respect to braking and acceleration.
I’ve ridden a handful of true racebikes, among them Chuck Sorensen’s AMA #1 plate-carrying RS250 along with a couple of TZ250s. These are two-stroke motorcycles weighing in at around 220 pounds, making 85 HP. The acceleration, braking forces, and cornering speeds of this type of bike are impressive, to put it mildly, but like the RC213V, the extraordinary precision of handling, the immediate feel of connectedness to the chassis, cannot be compared to a street bike homologated for racing.
Mr. Coldwells knows whereof he speaks; one cannot compare the RC 213V with any other streetbike on the planet in terms of pure ability on a racetrack. The price also makes no sense to most people, it seems absurdly high, especially if one tries to calculate value based on rear wheel horsepower.
The RC 213V is a collector’s item that could be ridden, or could be displayed in one’s living room, or private museum. I don’t know that I would call those able to easily afford an RC 213V “lucky”, though. I think the luckiest riders out there are those of us who have the time to ride and can afford a handful of purpose-built roadbikes, get them set up to work for our style of riding, and rack up the miles. Money is still unable to purchase happiness.
Thank you sir! Appreciate the kind words. I have subsequently ridden the RC213V-S at Valencia in both the Euro-spec and uncorked Sport Kit versions. Your articulate observations are absolutely bang-on; there simply is no comparison. I was absolutely astonished by how capable the RC felt; it didn’t just move the bar a bit higher… the motorcycle behaved and enabled me to ride in a way I simply didn’t realize I was capable of. My only regrets are that most people won’t be able to experience this machine for themselves and I likely won’t ever again.
I also agree with your final observation. Despite that I now realize my beloved Gixxer 1000 personal bike is actually heavy and slow, it still fits me perfectly, does exactly as I ask of it, and brings an enormous sense of satisfaction to me every time I ride it. And for that, yes, I’m very ‘lucky’. Here’s a brief video of my exploit at Valencia https://youtu.be/SHPUIuLwyv8
Fantastic. Terrific you were able to get some multiple camera angles; almost looked like auto-tracking via transponder…almost!