Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127868
RACER TEST The Castrol Honda RC45s By Alan Cathcart Photo~ by Kel Edge @ they did it. In 1997, thanks to John Kocinski, Honda fin ally achieved its superbike goa l after four years of tryin g, retrieving the World 5uperbike Championship that it last won back in 19BY, courtesy of Fred Merkel and the RC30. After six successive Ducati vtwin titles, p unc tuated wit h a solitar y one fo r Ka w a sa k i, a no th e r Am e rican at la s t regai ne d th e crow n that, on the e ve of Hond a's corpo rate 50th birt hday, the compan y 's bosses perha ps covet abov e a ll o thers on two wheels: th e top honor in four- s troke m o to rcy cle racin g , o n w hich Honda's corporate and sporting success o ve r th e past SO years was o rigi na lly ba sed. For th e Briti sh-b a sed Castrol Hond a tea m a nd its manager , Neil Tuxwort h, wh o h ad b ee n cha rged wi th this crucia l tas k, it was mission accomplished . They di d it. For me, the chance to ride the 1997 World.title-winning RC45 at Sentul • the day af te r new ch a m p io n Ko cinski scored his ninth race victory of the sea0 - r-, Q\ Q\ ,..... r0 .... Cli ,.!:l E Cli u o 18 the yea r - co m p le te d a han d s-o n overvie w of the ex tended development cycle of the RC45 Honda, which I firs t ro de i n prototype fo r m a t 5u zuka . almost exact ly five years ago. Back then , I'd alread y had an inkling of the hand ling problems that would afflict th e new model in World 5uperbike action, and sa id so in m y article: not enoug h weight o n th e front w heel, lead ing to power und ersteer and, more critical ly, potentially co mprom ised steering and front-end grip. Full m a r ks to H o nd a fo r not ta ki ng offense, but ins tead allowing me to rid e eac h successive version of the bike in succeeding years, for a close-u p experience of its deve lo pme nt curve. Along th a t curve, HRC' s technicians and th e British-ba sed Ca stro! Honda team continually strov e to turn an ugly duckling into a World Championship -winning swi ft swan - a bike that , as it grew up, won th e U.S. and Ame rican Supcrbi ke titles with Miguel DuHam el, Anthony Gobert and Kir k McCarthy, but never qu ite the cove ted World crown - until now. For, in 1997, Honda achie ved its goa l - and by winning th e cru cia l 5uzuka 8 Hou rs race this vear as well, the RC45 came into its own at the world level, a fact that must have g ive n particular satisfa ction to the HRC develop ment enginee r leading the team whose task it has been to nursemaid the model' s title-winning talent ~ Syuhei Na kamo to. He wa s on han d for my Ind onesian escapade. (Top) Primed and at Senlul, Indonesia, the World SuperbIke Championship-winn ing Honda RC45s of John Kocinsk i (3) and Aaron Slight (2) stand wa ~ing for Cycle News European Editor Alan Cathcart. (Abo ve) Chassis feel and power outpul of Kocinski's championship RC45 are not unlike those of a SOOCC Grand Prix machine: short and fast.