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/524688
IN THE WIND P32 HONDA RC213V-S ON SHOW IN JAPAN O ne of the most eagerly awaited machines of recent memory made a non-descript de- but in Japan last week, when the Honda RC213V-S was spotted getting a run at the Asama Hill Climb in the hands of HRC fac- tory test rider, Hiroshi Aoyama. It's been three long years since Honda announced its intention to build a replica of its MotoGP race-winning weapon, and the intervening years have done nothing to distill a frothing public's appetite for a machine that is expected to sell out be- fore it even reaches production. Marc Mar- quez made the RC213V-S's public debut when he rode onto the stage at the Milan Show last November in an all-carbon clad machine, and it appears the machine Aoyama rode is one nearing production with news HRC is set to show the machine to the world's motorcycling press at this weekend's Catalu- nya MotoGP, where Aoyama is expected to demo the machine. Cycle News' Alan Cathcart will be there and next week we'll give you a full rundown of the most eagerly awaited machine of 2015. PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYOICHI NAKAMURA PROJECT 156 DEBUTS AT PIKES PEAK V ictory Motorcycles Pikes Peak International Hill Climb machine, dubbed Project 156, has made its public debut on the Pikes Peak mountain at Colora- do in the hands of Cycle World journalist, Don Canet. Project 156 is a collaboration between Victory Motorcycle and Roland Sands Design, using a prototype twin-cylinder engine and RSD-built chassis. Victory is remaining tight-lipped about the machine's specification, howev- er the engine is too large to run in the Heavyweight division and will run under the Exhibition UTV regulations. Canet put the machine through its paces at the week- end, using both top and bottom sections of the mountain. "We focused a lot on fuel calibration for the altitude, and we're working closely with our MoTeC engineer to get the right map for the mountain," Canet said. "The test started out slow on Saturday and we got some dyno time later in the afternoon in a workshop in Colorado which made a big difference to the ma- chine's performance. By Sunday the bike was starting to run really well and we managed to set a competitive time on the bottom half of the mountain, so I'm re- ally getting excited to get back there this week for some more development time. I can feel the potential of the machine, so some more dyno time and more runs will be very beneficial." Canet and the Victory team will head back to the mountain for a three-day test starting this Friday, June 12. CN Canet in action on the mountain—the Project 156 machine has suf- fered teething issues but is coming on strong. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BECCA LIVINGSTON