VOLUME 57 ISSUE 40 OCTOBER 6, 2020 P79
tion modeled on the 2013 Honda RCV213V (Marc
Marquez's first title winner). This new induction uses
the straightest funnel Honda's yet produced with
airbox volume increasing by 25 percent on the air
filter (top) side.
One of the cool features (even though I hate
perimeter keys), is that Honda hasn't just re-
moved the ignition barrel for the sake of remov-
ing the ignition barrel. It's gone so the engineers
could make even more space for the ram air sys-
tem, allowing more life-giving oxygen to come in.
And just to let you know, the intake noise is
beeeeeefy!
Another factor in the faster revving capability of the
new motor is the Jenny Craig weight loss program it's
gone on. Titanium conrods are used for the first time
in the Fireblade, resulting in a 50 percent weight re-
duction over the steel units used in 2020 and before.
These rods are now clamped to the crank by a single
bolt, whereas before you'd have the stud protruding
from the bottom of the rod and the cap secured by a
locking nut, as per basically every engine ever made.
New, forged alloy pistons save a total of 20 per-
cent in weight and pivot on the top of the conrod via
new beryllium copper small ends bushings. These
pistons use a multi-point jet that sprays cooling oil
in various directions under the piston through each
combustion cycle at high revs. At low revs, the jet
flow is shut off by a series of check balls, which
helps limit oil pressure loss and reduces friction—the
old motor used this system at all rpm, but Honda's
now saying it's only needed at high rpm.
And the new finger-follower rocker arm valve-actua-
tion system saves weight by an impressive 75 percent
over the old shim-under-bucket design (it should be
noted that BMW pioneered this design with the first S
1000 RR way back in 2010, so it's nice to see Honda
finally join the finger-follower party).
Honda's also used Diamond Like Carbon (DLC)
on the cam lobes, just as they did on the RC213 V-S,
which reduces friction by a claimed 35 percent. Inter-
estingly, the valve train itself is driven by a semi-cam
gear train, where the cam chain is driven by the timing
gear on the crank via the cam idle gear, helping make
the system shorter top to bottom.
The motor has a 0.2 bump in compression to 13.2:1
with the rev ceiling up 500 rpm to 14,500 rpm, and
32.5mm intake and 28.5mm exhaust valves (previously
they were 29.5 and 24.0mm). Those valves are now at
a reduced 9° incline (down from 11°), to reduce the sur-
face area in the combustion chamber, resulting in a tiny
but still important two-percent gain in intake efficiency.
It's all part of a new intake that includes beefed up
52mm throttle bodies (up 4mm), and full ram-air induc-
(Right) The new wings add the same downforce
as Marc Marquez's 2018 racer. (Bottom) The
removal of the ignition barrel from the top triple
clamp allows for a straighter ram air duct.
