Honda RC213V-S

[Hoblick]

this will be awesome, finally stepping there game up

 

http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/honda-rc213v-s-prototype-wet-dream-unveiled/

[madcat6183]

I would do things to that bike that aren't even legal in 3rd world countries.  I will start by licking it.

[DAC]

Wow.  Just wow. 

[CephasGT]

Wish they'd have done it with a new Fireblade, instead of a useless halo bike.

[Tpoppa]

I'm sure the performance is amazing, and I like the colors...but that is not a good looking sportbike.

[turnone]

I'm sure the performance is amazing, and I like the colors...but that is not a good looking sportbike.

Agree. I expect things to perform and look awesome.

Reminds me of interceptor 500 back in '85.

Edited November 4, 2014 by turnone

[Pokey]

I am really liking the new R1's coming out......wicked.

[Moto-Brian]

Not gonna make showrooms.  Cool concept and at over $100k, it is probably worth it.  But what they need to be doing to keep up with the Joneses isn't happening...

[turnone]

I've had a down payment on one 'upcoming V4 superbike' for at least two years now at my local Honda dealer.  I was hoping mid 20's - 30's.  Not mid 70's or over 100K.  Not sure the dealer would be big enough to get one.  

[Hoblick]

Not gonna make showrooms.  Cool concept and at over $100k, it is probably worth it.  But what they need to be doing to keep up with the Joneses isn't happening...

that exact one might not, but ill bet there is a sub 30k model that will.  if not i will officially consider Honda out of the Motorsports game.  everyone else is stepping up around them, and they keep building bland, boring, beginner bikes.  and the offroad lineup is far from exciting, atleast of what NEW models they have, all of the rest haven't changed 5 or so years.

 

they should not even sell cruisers anymore, that lineup is about as stale as it gets.

 

 

they don't have a clue what the Motorcycle enthusiast consumer even wants.

[Moto-Brian]

They won't make a sub $30k that will remotely have pneumatic valves.  The frame won't be the same, forks, etc., etc....  Why tease the public with a model that is essentially never going to materialize?  The only reason they did it was because they've wanting to attract SOME attention.  Instead, they go and slap on Repsol graphics on the CBR1000.

 

I personally think they will update or increase performance on the SP.  It makes more sense.  The tech in the RCV is to do something like Ducati did and that's really it.  It won't ever hit sub $30k...  Now, looking at the SP, that is where the dollar figure will land and what you will see in terms of specs.  This is an attempt to still pull attention and revive the idea that Honda is going to make a GP bike for the street that has been "in the wings" for years. 

 

And to top it off, they aren't going to be able to produce a minimum 1000 units for the cost of that tech shown.  Won't happen.

[Tpoppa]

that exact one might not, but ill bet there is a sub 30k model that will.  if not i will officially consider Honda out of the Motorsports game.  everyone else is stepping up around them, and they keep building bland, boring, beginner bikes.  and the offroad lineup is far from exciting, atleast of what NEW models they have, all of the rest haven't changed 5 or so years.

 

they should not even sell cruisers anymore, that lineup is about as stale as it gets.

 

 

they don't have a clue what the Motorcycle enthusiast consumer even wants.

Honda no longer considers the US market a priority for motorcycles.  We get bikes designed for the rest of the world rather than US specific models.  

[DAC]

Honda no longer considers the US market a priority for motorcycles.  We get bikes designed for the rest of the world rather than US specific models.  

 

And even then - not all of them.  We get a subset of what the rest of the world gets.  Oh, and cruisers.  Lots of cruisers.

[Steve Butters]

I love my boring bland beginners bike... To each their own I suppose, I don't need 200-300hp on a street bike to consider it relevant

[35RFTW]

Would love if honda would step up and do this, but sadly, it's not going to happen. this is about the third time this has been brought up. Even if they did come out with a $30k ish proved bike, still pointless. No better than the H2 at $25k. Not a real world everyone can get one bike. There are almost no updates for 2015 in the Honda lineup. Hopefully 2016 will be worthwhile.

[Moto-Brian]

Would love if honda would step up and do this, but sadly, it's not going to happen. this is about the third time this has been brought up. Even if they did come out with a $30k ish proved bike, still pointless. No better than the H2 at $25k. Not a real world everyone can get one bike. There are almost no updates for 2015 in the Honda lineup. Hopefully 2016 will be worthwhile.

 

The H2 is going to be a bad choice and more of a Busa type bike.  At 525lbs and just a click over 200 hp, it isn't a sportbike like the R1, 1299, BMW, ZX10, etc...  And as for the $30k, they have the SP...  They aren't going to get anywhere close with the tech found on the RCV.  Won't happen. 

[35RFTW]

The H2 is going to be a bad choice and more of a Busa type bike. At 525lbs and just a click over 200 hp, it isn't a sportbike like the R1, 1299, BMW, ZX10, etc... And as for the $30k, they have the SP... They aren't going to get anywhere close with the tech found on the RCV. Won't happen.

Completely agree. Just disappointing as honda has always been my goto brand for sportbikes and they have literally fallen off the face of earth. The CBR1000RR is still a damn good looking bike, just lacks and overall package.

[Tpoppa]

Honda's focus is elsewhere

 

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/blogs/wth-honda-megaphone/?image=1

 

Today the company makes everything from lawn mowers to jet planes, but Honda started as a motorcycle company, and founder Soichiro Honda was, first and foremost, a motorcycle enthusiast. The bespectacled Mr. Honda, so reserved in regular life, loved nothing more than blowing minds with outrageous machines like the screaming six-cylinder RC166 racer from the ’60s, the mass-production tour de force CB750, or futuristic V-4 Interceptors that revolutionized sportbikes in the mid-’80s.

Honda’s motorcycles were always thrilling, but none was finer than the 1992 NR750. With its jewel-like, 32-valve, oval-piston V-4, titanium connecting rods, side-mounted radiators, carbon-fiber bodywork, upside-down fork, and other assorted exotica, the $50K price seemed reasonable. At a time when BMW was still a buttoned-down touring-bike maker and Ducati had only recently adopted liquid cooling, Honda was the ultimate arbiter of motorcycle technology. If you were a performance enthusiast, you were a Honda enthusiast too.

 

<img class="full-width" typeof="foaf:Image" alt="" src="http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/sites/motorcyclistonline.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2014/07/homepage_mcy0814_mega_nr750.jpg?itok=W2p1ia7N" />

 

Fast-forward two decades and the Honda narrative couldn’t be more changed. Performance seems like an afterthought. The core CBRs have soldiered on with little more than minor changes for more than six seasons. With the exception of beginner-oriented bikes like the CBR250R and various CB500s—and the adorable Grom!—Honda can’t be called the clear market leader in any category, not even touring.

 

<img class="float-right" typeof="foaf:Image" alt="" src="http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/sites/motorcyclistonline.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2014/07/nm4_mcy0814_uts_honnm4-07.jpg?itok=g7hnLIIx" />

 

This isn’t for lack of trying. Honda is spending cubic dollars developing new product—it’s just that these new designs are all but unrecognizable to conventional motorcycle enthusiasts like us. Honda’s NM4 (NM for “new motorcycle,” in contrast to the NR’s “new racer” designation) is a perfect example, a Strangelovian scooter-motorcycle hybrid with an automatic transmission and a friggin’ backrest! This on the heels of the future-bagger CTX700 and CTX1300—more bizarro big-wheeled scooters—and the über-commuter NC700X, Honda’s current impression of an “adventure” bike. Tune in, Tokyo…

Where’s the brave company that introduced us to mass centralization with the awesome 1992 CBR900RR? The Honda that ruled WSBK racing with ultra-trick homologation specials like the RC30 and RC45 then beat Ducati at its own game with the mega-twin RC51? Not to mention unforgettable cult bikes like the CB400F Super Sport, CB-1, Hawk GT, Transalp, GB500, and many, many more?

In the shout-logic of America’s favorite Oprah-endorsed pop-psychologist, Dr. Phil, “It’s not about you!” Honda simply isn’t building bikes for us anymore. Faced with ever-increasing pressure regarding emissions, economy, and resource scarcity, Honda is shifting focus from performance to practicality. At the same time it’s shifting focus from Western markets to predominantly Asian markets where two-thirds of the world’s population—and the bulk of future consumer demand—is centered. Raised on scooters and riding in congested urban environs that look nothing like where we ride, the machines are evolving to suit their tastes, not ours.

 

<img class="full-width" typeof="foaf:Image" alt="" src="http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/sites/motorcyclistonline.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/images/2014/07/slider-lead_mcy0814_mega_mrhonda2.jpg?itok=xgrg0fMy" />

 

I imagine a group of young Honda designers in a hostess club down some darkened Tokyo alley, swigging sake, high-fiving each other, shouting, “We nailed it!” There’s probably a 17-year-old manga enthusiast in Jakarta or Singapore downloading an NM4 background image on his smartphone right now. Meanwhile, we sit here wondering why the CBR1000RR still doesn’t have traction control and why the 600 makes less horsepower than it did in 2007. WTH, Honda?

It’s not a pleasant thought, the idea of being phased out, left behind, retired into irrelevance while one of our most-loved manufacturers moves on to more lucrative spaces. Hopefully, this isn’t permanent. Hopefully, these brave new experiments in transportation will capture a new cohort of two-wheeled enthusiasts and cut a new path from scooters to NM4s to premium sportbikes, tourers, and cruisers. Hopefully, the long-rumored, road-going version of the RC213V MotoGP racer will finally appear as a “halo” product to draw new buyers to CB500s—or maybe the supercharged four-cylinder concept leaked in this month’s Up To Speed section (page 10) will surface and make us forget the NM4 for good. We’re not ready to give up on Honda yet.

[turnone]

Good post. Totally agree. Honda left me, I didn't leave Honda. Despite that I have a few of them currently. No desire to buy anything they make now.

[Tpoppa]

One more thing I will say about Honda...even though their sportbikes don't jump off the spec sheets, Honda engineering is still 2nd to none in the motorcycle industry.  The pieces they design are top notch and they still make and incredible chassis.      

Edited November 10, 2014 by Tpoppa

[Moto-Brian]

Completely agree. Just disappointing as honda has always been my goto brand for sportbikes and they have literally fallen off the face of earth. The CBR1000RR is still a damn good looking bike, just lacks and overall package.

 

 

They havent been go to since the 90s...

[Moto-Brian]

One more thing I will say about Honda...even though their sportbikes don't jump off the spec sheets, Honda engineering is still 2nd to none in the motorcycle industry.  The pieces they design are top notch and they still make and incredible chassis.      

 

 

Not sure on that.  Their chasis are not anything special.  In fact, I would argue they certainly aren't second to none in terms of the sportbikes.  As for engineering, they are pretty much a solid fit and finish, but as far as engineering, they aren't really blowing it out of the water on engine details and internal parts usage.  In fact, most the japanese are behind as their in-lines are essentially unchanged.

 

I'd give kudos to the top Japanese engineering to Yamaha right now.  Use of triples, the updated R1 a few years ago.  They tend to go outside the norm and design and develop at least some differences in their engineering.  But Honda being called second to none is a stretch...  In other avenues, I would say in some cases.  But in motorcycles?  Nah.

[Steve Butters]

Taking notes that bikes are all boring beginner bikes unless they have 200+hp and enough electronics to run a home office.

I just bought a Honda and have zero complaints... Bike runs great, rides great, 125whp is enough to have fun with, handles better than anything else I've ridden... Guess I'm just not a professional racer like everyone else on here lol but I love my bike and if I could go back, I'd buy it again... On that note- I'm a diehard yamaha fan... Ended up with the Honda because there just weren't any yamahas that had what I wanted.. Different strokes for different folks and all that obviously

[Tpoppa]

Manufacturers like Kaw and Yam certainly have some exciting designs, but their execution (of what they decide to biuld) isn't always as good as Honda.  The FZ09, for example, looks really good on paper and is at a nice price point, but it has fueling issues and poor suspension (suspension isn't quite in the same league as 1st gen SV650 or even their own FZ07).

 

Honda is still a really good choice it you want a fantastic chassis, reliability, and great resale value even if their designs aren't the most exciting.

[Hoblick]

Manufacturers like Kaw and Yam certainly have some exciting designs, but their execution (of what they decide to biuld) isn't always as good as Honda.  The FZ09, for example, looks really good on paper and is at a nice price point, but it has fueling issues and poor suspension (suspension isn't quite in the same league as 1st gen SV650 or even their own FZ07).

 

Honda is still a really good choice it you want a fantastic chassis, reliability, and great resale value even if their designs aren't the most exciting.

 

id have to completely disagree, the reason people complain about the FZ09 fueling is because its throttle by wire, its touchy, and its a price point that the people who are buying them haven't had a chance to ride throttle by wire.  and the suspension not being as good as a first gen SV.. thats laughable.  the fz suspension isn't great, but a set of springs and its pretty good. at least it is inverted forks unlike the damper rod setup in the first ten and current SV.  

 

 

 

what japanese bike isn't reliable?  I'm tired of this stupid honda reliability stigma.  to me its what honda owners say to back up there boring purchase.  "yeah its not the best thing out there but its a honda, and its reliable"

oh resale is no better than any other japanese bike, and cruiser wise they are probably some of the worst resale value on the market.

 

honda has the capability to make some amazing machines, they have the technology, they have the money to back it all up, but they don't do it.  they go with the safe bet.  There was an article in cycle world i read and one line stuck with me, and its very true.  "industry observers often say that Honda builds models for customers it wishes it had."

Edited November 16, 2014 by Hoblick