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The Sound of the 6-Cylinder 250cc Honda RC166 Will Blow Your Mind

Honda has a nice record of experimenting with 6-cylinder bikes, and even though the mighty CBX1000 is the first thing that comes to mind, be prepared to be amazed by the 250cc RC166. Having won the GP championships in 1966 and 1967 with Mike Hailwood in the saddle, the Honda RC166 is truly a fierce machine.
Honda RC166 1 photo
Photo: motorcyclespecs.co.za
There is so much more to the Honda RC166 than meets the eye, and despite being what is now called a small-displacement machine, the RC166 is a marvel of engineering. Packing enough ccs for that era to make it a beast, the engine of this jewel revved close to 20,000 rpm, a feature that is still hard to match nowadays.

If you think that the modern-day bikes sound aggressive when revved hard, take your time to listen to the amazing sound of this glorious motorcycle. The RC166 had a seven-speed gearbox, and could easily go north of 150 mph.

That is well above 240 km/h, and again, a feature that is still impressive today. The small lump produced a whopping 65 horsepower, a figure that rivals what bikes three times the size of this amazing racer can deliver in the present.

To make things even crazier, we remind you that this machine was engineered and built in the early '60s, without the use of CAD and computer modelling. Everything was done using tools, technologies and processes that now are regarded as almost primitive, yet the result is a spectacular one that is hard to match even with the current technologies, including robots, lasers, or computer-controlled machines.

It's maybe useless to try and compare this quarter-liter demon to what 250cc bikes are today, but it would definitely be funny to see Rossi, Lorenzo or Marquez putting the RC166 through its paces. Or, for what's worth, having it compete on the track with a Moto3 machine, despite the significantly poorer brake system of the retro racer. Enjoy the evil roar!

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