October 2015 — 15
Here's a remarkable thing about the RC213V-S in the
context of the RC213V: the street bike weighs 172 kg
(dry); the racing bike weighs only some 158 lb.
The people are HRC are serious about lightweighting.
An interesting aspect about the development of the
bike is that Honda deliberately moves people from
HGA—the R&D; center—to HRC—the production-
oriented operation. This is done to help drive inno-
vation into the bikes being developed for production.
The bike is made in an exclusive workshop within
the Honda Kumamoto Factory, where the process is
manually intensive.
They produce just one motorcycle per day.
The RC213V-S has an aluminum frame. In order
to make the frame as light as possible while
maintaining the high torsional rigidity required for the
performance bike, they use thin aluminum plates in
areas where there is low contribution to rigidity. The
parts are primarily assembled with TIG welding.
The bike's swing arms are made of press-formed
aluminum.
In areas where fasteners are required, they use
machined titanium bolts. The bolts are manually
tightened.
The fuel tank features press-formed aluminum sheet
end faces. The tank is produced with TIG welding.
Not surprisingly, the fairing is made with carbon-
fber reinforced plastics (CFRP). The components are
produced such that the thickness varies depending
on the required strength and rigidity. This is
accomplished by modifying the layers of carbon fber
pre-preg prior to autoclaving.
The bike doesn't have a seat rail, but there is a CFRP
monocoque structural seat cowl that is not only light
but helps accommodate the fuel tank.
Honda's approach to motorcycle racing is not one that
rests solely on having the fastest motorcycle possible,
though that is important. Also critical is having a bike
that is the world's easiest to maneuver.
The lightweighting of the RC213V and the
RC213V-S is fundamental to this overall speed and
maneuverability.
u Note the extensive use of
aluminum for the frame of the
bike. In areas where there isn't a
great contribution to structural
rigidity (which is important given
that the V4 engine is producing
101 hp and 66 lb-ft of torque)
aluminum plates are attached.
The fairing is carbon fber
reinforced plastics.
q The RC213V-S is hand-built at a workshop within
the Honda Kumamoto Factory. TIG welding is used
throughout the bike.