Honda will field the MotoGP-derived RC213V-S machine in this year's Isle of Man TT, in the Pokerstars Senior race, with New Zealand-native Bruce Anstey at the helm.
Honda entrusted this honor to team Valvoline Racing by Padgett’s Motorcycles (Padgett's), who will also take care of the extensive race preparations whose aim is to transform the RC213V-S into a bike that can withstand the hardships of the Mountain Course.
The RC213V-S is the closest one can get to Repsol Honda MotoGP prototype and still be able to take it out for a spin on public roads. However, with the feeble 159 hp the RC213V-S makes in street-legal trim, not even the best riders in the world would stand a chance.
A long-time partner of Honda, Padgett's knows this only too well, so they prepared a special race trim for the RC213V-S. The OEM race kit is only a fraction of the tuning game. It unleashes the engine's potential, producing around 215 horsepower, but this is only the beginning.
Now, the problem is that the exclusive nature of the Honda RC213V-S comes with a terrible lack of off-the-shelf parts. "We have had to beef the bike up for the TT course, so everything has had to be made bespoke. Things like the wheels, the K-Tech forks, the rear shocks, the brakes and the radiator guards have all had to be specially made," Clive Padgett adds.
Anstey also believes that the RC213V-S will help him achieve a great performance at the Isle of Man TT races. He says that the bike is around 2" (5 cm) longer than the Fireblade he's used to, and this should increase stability. At the same time, he stresses out that the V4 RC213V-S turns and handles like a 600cc machine, which is consistent with what Casey Stoner used to say when he rode it, before becoming a Ducati test rider.
Skipping the not-at-all-subtle advertisement message, here's Stoner's insightful report on the RC213V-S. The bike can still be ordered for around 200,000 Euro.
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