VOL. 53 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 P103
Honda's new half-liter racer filled the paddock.
Everyone had marveled at Honda's incredible
six-cylinder 250cc RC165 and RC166, and those
machines fueled speculation that Honda would
build a six-cylinder 500 or perhaps even a V-8.
Instead, Honda rolled out the RC181, a four-
cylinder that would establish the most enduring
engine architecture in motorcycling: an inline
four, air-cooled, with double overhead cams.
Gearbox behind the crank, carburetors above
that. Tubular-steel, twin-loop chassis. Down the
road, hundreds of thousands of motorcycles
would follow this broad outline.
At the very first 500 GP of 1966—the old TT
track in Assen—the RC181 won the race, beating
the great MV Agusta team. By the season's
end, Honda had easily won the manufacturer's
championship in the 500 class, but the rider's
title would slip through the team's hands.
Honda could clearly run with the big dogs,
but the RC181 never won the rider's title and
would be in mothballs for many years before
Honda would make its return to Grand Prix
racing and attempt again to win the 500cc
world championship. It wasn't until 1983 that an
American teenager from Shreveport, Louisiana,
would bring Honda its first 500cc World
Championship. But that's another story…
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"HONDA RIDERS DOMINATED
BOTH THE 125 AND 250
CLASSES, LOCKING DOWN
FOUR OF THE TOP FIVE SPOTS
IN THE 125 CLASS AND ALL
TOP FIVE IN THE 250 CLASS"
