It’s been rumoured for years. Editor ‘Arris snapped shots of it at EICMA last fall. Now, Honda is allegedly going to officially introduce the RC213 V-S as a production model next month.
French website Moto-Station.com claims Honda will unveil the RC213 V-S on June 11, around the time of the Catalunya MotoGP race. If it’s true, it’ll be a big day for Big Red’s fanboys, and lovers of speed in general.
The idea of a MotoGP-derived sportbike has captivated motorcycle fans for years. We’ve been following the story for some time; Costa interviewed Honda big shot Dave Hancock back in 2012, and he told us a bit about the bike. Then, at the 2014 EICMA show, Editor ‘Arris saw the bike on display at the show. Details were still slim, but the bike was there in the flesh (or, carbon-fibre, aluminum, steel and plastic).
The question is, if the stories are true and the RC213V-S really is about to launch, how much of an impact the bike will really have?
If Honda had introduced this bike back in 2012, when the rumours first started, there would have been no competition on the market. However, in the last year, two other exciting new sportbikes have captured a lot of public attention. The Kawasaki H2R gives jet fighter acceleration to riders who want to go a million miles per hour in a straight line, and the new 2015 Yamaha R1 and R1M bring a lot of MotoGP technology to the street at a price tag well under the six figures the RC213V-S is expected to command (allegedly, the RC213V-S will cost around $215,000 CAD).
But, neither of those bikes have the advance billing of the RC213V-S – a “street-legal MotoGP bike.” If the bike really lives up to the hype about its performance, it could become the new pinnacle of motorcycle lust.
GALLERY
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That. Is. Sex. On. Wheels.
I bought all of the last batch of GP replicas back in the 80’s.
Shame I’ll never be able to swing this.