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/128644
Th is , in tu rn , means you feel more a part of the Honda, as you do on the Aprilia - not perched atop it, which in turn m ak es it ea sier to lift up a nd over in a c hica n e t h an the desmoq ua ttro. Ye t t he Ho n d a fee ls ev en narrower as w ell as still m ore n imble t h a n t h e D u cat i , al t h o u g h the broader scre en giv e s b etter wind protection , and it's p oss ible to tuck r ight beh ind it down Moteg i's lo ng , downhill main stra ight. That's when you ap preciate , t o th e f u ll , th e wo nderfu l ch ar ac teristics o f the V -t w in eng in e, which is so smooth and balanced-feeli ng at all r p m, t houg h not a s mus cul a r and meaty in its powe r d eli ver y low d o wn as the Duca t i is . It is, howev e r , a lmost as li near and pro g ressi ve as a n elec tric m o tor in t erm s o f its b u i l d of power , w hic h , on my out la p as I explored the level of grip on t he da mp track , turned o ut to start as low as 5500 rpm wi thout a hi c cup or an y transm ission snatch , all the wa y to the 12 ,000 rpm rev Ii mit er ( 11,7 5 0 rp m on the Eight-Hour bike ) . Don 't g et th e i dea yo u' d nev er rev it t h at low i n rea l -world ra cing, because Edwards sa y s he ' s learned how to rid e th e torque c urve and pull out of ti g ht turns as low as 6000 rp m on the bike . When y o u do that, you can feel the rear M ichelin's level of gr ip almost as well as if y ou were sitting on t he tire , t h e r e ' s such a d i r ec t feedback via the Showa rear shock . T h i s i s a bike whose c h assi s t alks t o yo u in a wa y few others w il l do and it 's al most all g o od new s. Th i s is j us t as we ll o n a sl ippery track , b e c a u se t he way HR C h a s th e V -tw in eng in e's id le sp eed set u p , th ere' s a pretty sn at c hy pi ckup f r o m a close d th rottl e , wh i ch w ill u nh o o k th e rea r t i re if yo u ge t o ver-e nth usia stic wi th y o ur r i ght hand w h ile leaned over. I'd already encountered this same problem when I rode the prototype RC 51 race r a year ago at the same tra ck , and at f irst on the Edwards bike the immediate response and a b ru pt pickup fe lt just as awkward to deal with. But then I work ed out that the trick is t o prel oad the throttle just a crack as y ou le t off the b rakes, wh ich allows you to o pen up on the gas aga in p rogress ivel y with out a j erk whil e sti ll l ean ed over , before getti n g hard b a c k on it ag a in for the d ri ve o ut of the tu rn . Wh e n that h a p p en s , b e p repare d f o r the f ron t wheel to pick up a little in the bo ttom th ree gears a s all that t orqu e m a k es it s way t o th e b a c k wheel - b ut o nly a l ittl e , wi t h no th in g l ike as agg ress ive an e ngi ne respo nse o r as r earward a we i g h t bia s as th e Du cat i , wh ic h ma k es th e si g ht o f Troy Ba yl i ss and N e i l H odgso n with the front w hee l a foo t in the air and th e b ike going o n e wa y The 9O-degree, eight-valve, DOHC V-twin engine in Edwards' bike measures In at 999c c and features titanium connecting rods. The bike weighs in just ove r the World Superbike weight limit at 365.5 pounds while thei r bodies go th e other so co mmonp lace . Th e H on da' s m uc h m ore co mp o sed , an d smoot her t o ride - on ly v ery , very fast , e sp e ci a ll y o nc e yo u g et th e need l e of t h e a nal og u e ta c ho met e r , wh i ch i s so m u c h ea sie r to read t h an a di gi tal o ne , up into th e fi ve - f i gure zo ne . Ta p- p ing the RC 5 1's perfect l y set -up smooth -action p owershifte r to th e powerband , giving y o u that mea ty drive and gr eat accelera t io n before you hit th e n ex t g ear. T h e engine see ms to p ick up rev s at the top end quicke r than a Du c a t i , if n ot q uite so f a st lo w e r down - even though it w ill rew a rd you w i th a smoot h bu il d in p o wer fro m l ow r p m , it' s defin it ely b etter t o k e ep th e e n gi ne revv i n g hard wh e n ev e r p oss i ble b e c a us e , li k e cli c k a gear higher on th e race pattern gearbox as soon as the green sh if t li ght on the dash flut ters a t 11,7 50 r p m , keeps the engine revvi ng ab o v e 10,000 rp m where the mo st p o w e r i s, thanks t o th e c lo se d - u p r ati o s o f t h e six spee d g earbo x - a n d w e were, o f co u rs e, u si n g a ll s ix r a t i o s at M o teg i , no t five as C ol in e n d s u p d o i ng o n so m e t ra cks b y g ea ri ng it so t a ll. B ut ea c h u p w a r d shi f t l e a v es yo u st i ll in t he fat p a r t of c ue I e Smooth and refined Is how the author describes riding the RC51 - even If the track conditions in Japan were a little iffy because of poor weather. n e _ s JAN UARY 3 ,2001 35