Motorcycles Technology
RC213V - Engineers Talk
“Easy to Ride” is Justice
The RC213V easy to ride? Really?
Hikaru Miyagi | Former Honda factory rider (Miyagi)
Honda defines MotoGP bikes as “the easiest bikes in the world to ride.” Looking back at the RC211V I rode, and the street-legal RC213V-S, I have to agree. But, I was also a bit skeptical watching MotoGP races over the past few years. MotoGP riders don’t ride anything like ordinary motorcycle riders, including me.
Shin Sato | RC213V Development leader (Sato)
Scraping elbows on the turns, braking with only the front tire as the rear floats—
Miyagi
They recover from practically a horizontal posture. So, no matter how easy a MotoGP bike is to ride, I figured it is a special machine that only they can tame. I couldn’t believe that such a bike would be “easy to ride.” Given the opportunity to ride the RC213V, I imagined my conclusion would be: “Riding a MotoGP machine, the apex of its performance is astoundingly high. The RC213V is not an enhanced production bike, it is the epitome of pursuing the possibilities of the motorcycle. I look forward to the day that we mortal riders can enjoy the technologies it brings.”
Marc Marquez, the four-time World Champion who won the championship in 2017 for the second consecutive year, on the 2017 RC213V machine
Sato
How was it?
Miyagi
I was stunned. It really was easy to ride, far beyond my wildest dreams. I rode within the limits of “Hikaru Miyagi, 55-year-old former road racer,” but still, I could ride at the limits of what I was capable of. I believe I could bring out its inherent performance, and not merely ride it. I believe this could indeed be the world’s easiest bike to ride.
Sato
Thank you, very much.
Former factory rider, Hikaru Miyagi
RC213V development leader, Shin Sato
Perfecting the bike you cannot ride
Miyagi
After riding the RC213V, I couldn’t help but wonder, how did you develop a bike for MotoGP riders with skills beyond our level? I believe I thoroughly understand the mechanics of bike riding, but I cannot even imagine how to ride like Marc Marquez. Not many riders in the world can ride like he does. So, developing the RC213V must have been frustratingly difficult, trying to perfect the bike that you cannot ride at its full potential.
Sato
The development team cannot ride like MotoGP riders, but I don’t consider our development of a MotoGP machine to be different to any other bike. All we basically do, is think about what kind of chassis and engine will bring out 100% of the tires’ performance.
Miyagi
Tires are a very large factor in the bike’s performance. Simply put, the bike cannot go faster than its tires’ performance.
Sato
Precisely. All MotoGP bikes run on Michelin tires. We compete on how well the chassis or engine we build takes advantage of the Michelin tires.
