MotoGP Evolution: Honda NSR500 Legend

Honda NSR500

1997 Honda NSR500 Engine: Liquid-cooled 499cc V4.
6-speed gearbox. 185 hp /12,000 rpm Shinichi Itona on his Honda NSR500 in the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix The Honda NSR500

This road racing motorcycle is created by HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) and debuted in 1984 for the Grand Prix motorcycle racing class of 500 cc. Honda won ten 500cc World Championships with the NSR500 from 1984 to 2002, with six in a row from 1994 to 1999. With over 100 wins to its name, the NSR500 is a dominant force in modern Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The 1989 NSR500, which won the third Honda 500 World Championship with Eddie Lawson, epitomizes the amazing power, acceleration and sheer speed that has always been synonymous with the 500cc Honda engine. two-stroke V4.

1984-1987

Designed to succeed Honda's first two-stroke Grand Prix racer, the NS500 triple NSR500

debuted in 1984 in the 500 cc Grand Prix motorcycle class. Building on lessons learned from its three-cylinder predecessor, the new V4 used a single crankshaft, making it lighter and more compact than its twin-crankshaft rivals. Despite being plagued by unorthodox chassis technology in its first season, the NSR500 evolved to capture Honda's second 500cc GP title. 1985: Opening the V-angle to 112 degrees in 1987 made room for a quartet of 36mm Keihin carburetors between the cylinders, where more cold air could be fed to them. The new arrangement also allowed the engine to exhale more efficiently through four cleverly intertwined expansion chambers. By the end of the year, Honda had won a third 500 World Championship with an Australian rider. Wayne Gardner.

Original article: https://www.motogonki.ru/extras/extras_20070907_174220.html

On September 1, 2007, the largest racing organization in the world, uniting all Honda pilots under one wing, HONDA RACING CORPORATION (HRC) celebrated its 25th anniversary. History of the Corporation and interesting facts.

From the official press release:

“Racing has always been in Honda’s blood, in fact racing is a gene born in Honda. From the very beginning of the company’s existence, from the very beginning, from Soichiro Honda, the plant’s engineers have always been instilled in them that stability and dynamics are the basis of quality competitions. This was the focus of all Honda developments, from the very first Model A to the RC212V, a formidable MotoGP weapon. As HRC President Masumi Hamane said: “A racing motorcycle is a laboratory on wheels that gives us the opportunity to take all the necessary data directly from the race track and make all our dreams come true.”

HRC History: Year by Year

1982 Honda Racing Corporation founded on September 1st. The organization replaced RSC, which was separate from Honda Motor Co. superstructure in operation since 1973 and the NR technology group. Legendary engineer Soichiro Irimajiri became the first president of HRC. The 3-cylinder, 2-stroke NS500 was released. Freddie Spencer wins the first 2-stroke Grand Prix race with it at the Belgian Grand Prix in July. Cyril Neveu brings Honda victory in Paris-Dakar. Eddie Lejeune wins the first World Trials Championship on a Honda RTL360. Shigeo Ijima and Shinji Hagiwara win in the CB900F Suzuka 8H (shortened to 6 hours due to typhoon). Invented Pro-link rear suspension design, as well as cartridge forks for motocross use.

1983 The all-around talented Freddie Spencer wins Honda's first 500cc world championship on the NS500, a superbly balanced bike that embodies HRC's philosophy of building machines that are as well-rounded as their drivers. Invented ATAC exhaust system, developed on NS500. Joy Dunlop, King of the Road wins Honda's fourth Touring Trophy title on the RS850R 4-stroke V4. Honda starts selling the RS500 motorcycle, based on its Grand Prix prototype. Hiroyuki Yoshino becomes the President of HRC.

1984 Honda releases the incredibly fast V4 NSR500 prototype, with an experimental outboard fuel tank. The injured Freddie Spencer finishes the World Championship in 4th place. Gérard Coudray and Patrick Igoa win the World Endurance Championship on the RS750R, Macky Baldwin and Fred Merkel take the Suzuka 8H to victory, Joy Dunlop wins another TTF1 (Touring Trophy) title. Andre Malherbe wins his second title in the 500cc Motocross World Championship. Eddie Lejeunet wins his third World Trials Championship. Ricky Graham wins Honda's first US Grand National track title.

1985 Freddie Spencer and Honda enjoyed their year together, winning both the 250 and 500 class championships on the NSR500 and its NSR250 V-twin half. Spencer wins the Daytona 200 on his VF750F superbike. The incredible RVF750 with Gerard Coudray and Patrick Igoa on board wins another Endurance crown. The TTF1 title is back for Joy Dunlop. Wayne Gardner and Masaki Tokuno win the Suzuka 8H. Mike Baldwin and Honda win their fourth consecutive US F1 title. Brother Prince Charles and Princess Diana inspect HRC racing bikes during an official visit to HRC's new base in Aoyama, Tokyo. Isamu Goto has been appointed President of HRC.

1986 RVF750 now equipped with single-sided cantilever rear wheel suspension, the motorcycle brought victories to its pilots Patrick Igoa, Gardner and Dominique Sarron. Fred Merkel's VFR750 wins the US Superbike National Championship crown. Briton David Thorpe wins his second MX 500 title, with Honda taking all three first places. Tough Aussie Wayne Gardner takes over from the injured Spencer and takes second place in the NSR500 Grand Prix.

1987 2-stroke Hondas dominate the Grand Prix, Wayne Gardner wins 7 races and the championship title. German veteran Tony Mang wins the GP250 title on an NSR250. Computer-controlled exhaust manifold valves have been developed. The most high-tech bike in the world is released, the NR750, a motorcycle equipped with an engine with oval pistons. He holds pole position for the 24 Hours of LeMans. Rising US star Wayne Rainey wins US Superbike and Daytona 200 on a VFR750. Eric Geboer wins Honda's first ever 250cc World Motocross title. Dirt track legend Bubba Schubert wins his third US Grand National crown in the RS750D. The new president of HRC is Takeo Fukui.

1988 Honda returns to GP125 racing with the RS125, a low-cost 2-stroke motorcycle. Ezio Gianola wins two Grand Prix on this bike and finishes the season in second place. Spaniard Cito Pons wins the first of two GP250 titles on the NSR250. HRC begins development of electronically controlled injectors for 2-stroke motorcycles. American Fred Merkel wins the inaugural World Superbike race on his RC30, Honda's most popular V4 superbike. Carl Foggarty starts with victory in TTF1 on the RC30. Wayne Gardner ends the season with a minimal gap to the leader in GP500. Eric Geboer and Jean-Michel Bayle win titles in the 500 and 125 cc classes of world motocross. Katsumi Ichida has been appointed as the new president of HRC.

1989 Eddie Lawson joins Honda and wins the 500cc World Championship. on NSR500. Honda wins its tenth Constructors' Championship in the 250 cc class. Merkel, Foggarty and their RC30 repeat their success in WSBK and TTF1. Private pilot John Ashmead wins the Daytona 200 in an RC30. Dominique Charron and Alex Vieira ride the RVF750 to win the Suzuka 8H. Gilles Lelay wins his fourth Paris-Dakar with the powerful 750 cc NXR750. Jean-Michel Bale and David Thorpe win the 250 and 500 cc World titles. Takeo Fukui will assume the position of President of the Corporation.

1990 Seventeen-year-old Loris Capirossi wins the first 2-stroke championship for Honda in the GP125 class on his RS125R, the first of two titles for the young Italian. Alex Vieira, Jean-Michel Mattioli, Steven Martens and their RVF750 win Honda's sixth consecutive Bol d'Or 24 hours. Eric Geboer wins his second consecutive 500cc motocross title. Jeff Stanton and his CR250 win the second of three US Supercross titles. Australian veteran Malcolm Campbell wins his second Australian Superbike title on an RC30.

1991 Luca Cadalora joins Honda and wins the GP250 world title on the NSR250, Honda's 10th crown. Wayne Gardner and Mick Duane win Suzuka in RVF750. Honda 2-stroke technology dominates world cross and supercross championships, Georges Jobet wins 500cc World Motocross crown, American Trampas Parker 250cc, Jean-Michel Bayle moves to US Supercross and wins debut season on CR250 , as well as the US Motocross Championship on the CR500. Miguel DuHamel and his RC30 win the Daytona 200. The NR750 is ready for mass production.

1992 New HRC star Mick Duane dominates the 500 cc MotoGP class with the new NSR500 in big-bang configuration, but loses the title due to injury. But the Honda Constructors' Championship doesn't matter. Luca Cadalora wins his second consecutive GP250 title. Australians Deris Beatle and Wayne Gardner win the Suzuka 8H in an RVF750. Greg Albretin accepts congratulations for his MX125 title. Takashi Shinozaki takes over as president.

1993 Shinichi Ito and his fuel-injected NSR500 break the 200-mile speed barrier at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. Dirk Raudis wins the GP125 title on his Honda RS125R. Ricky Graham wins the US Grand National crown, after 11 years since his first success. The CR250 dominates the world of motocross. Doug Henry and Jeremy McGrath win their US 250 MX and 250 US Supercross titles.

1994 Mick Duane becomes the first ever to win his fifth MotoGP 500 cc title in a row with the NSR500, Honda takes the Constructors' Championship for the seventh time. New Zealander Aaron Slight and American Doug Polen give Honda its tenth Suzuka 8H victory on the RC45 Superbike, HRC's new V4 engine. Swede Marcus Hansson wins the 500 cc class of the World Championship. Jeremy McGrath dominates 250cc US Supercross. Suguru Kanazawa has been appointed managing director of HRC.

1995 VFR-750R, 4-stroke RC45 superbike earns another important title in world motorsports: Belgian Steven Mertens and Frenchman Jean-Michel Matthioli win the World Endurance Championship, the world endurance racing championship. Miguel DuHamel wins the US Superbike title, Aaron Slight and Tadayuki Okada win another Suzuka 8H. Haruchika Aoki records his first and several titles in the 125 cc class of the World Championship on a Honda RS125. Alessandro Puzar wins the 125cc World Motocross class crown.

1996 Mick Duane, Alex Crivier, Luca Cadalora, Alex Barros and their NSR500 finish in the top four places in MotoGP, with the NSR500 winning 13 of the season's 15 Grands Prix. Haruchika Aoki wins second MX 125 title. Miguel Duhamel wins Daytona 200 on RC45. The NSR500V, a V-twin version of the motorcycle piloted by Tadayuki Okada, wins pole position in its Grand Prix debut. Stefan Everts wins the first of his 250cc World Motocross class titles on a CR250. Jeremy McGrath and his CR250 win their fourth US Supercross title in a row.

1997 Mick Duane wins his fourth MotoGP title with his NSR500 equipped with a new ignition system. Honda monopolizes the top five spots in the World Series with Dwayne, Tadayuki, Okada, Nobuatsu Aoki and Alex Crivier all on NSR500, and Takuma Aoki on NSR500V. The NSR500 wins all 15 races. Honda - tenth Constructors' Championship in the premier class. Max Biaggi joins HRC and wins the 250cc class title on an NSR250. NSR500V goes into mass production. The RC45 continues to dominate 4-stroke racing with John Kosinski winning World Superbike and Japanese Shinichi Ito and Toru Ukawa winning the Suzuka 8H. Stefan Everts takes the MX 250 championship crown.

1998 Led (once again) by the mighty Mick Duane, the Honda field of MotoGP World Championship riders once again wins top places and Mick wins his fifth title. Honda begins production of a new twin-shaft engine motorcycle, the NSR250, piloted by Toru Ukawa. Ukawa arrives fourth overall in his debut season in GP250. The RC45 continues to impress with Doug Polen and Christian LaVale winning another World Endurance title and Shinichi Ito and Toru Ukawa winning their second Suzuka 8H race. Ben Bostrom wins the US Superbike title. The new president of HRC is Yasuo Ikenoya.

1999 Usually soft-spoken Spaniard Alex Crivier and his loud-talking NSR500 earn Honda's tenth World Championship title. Mick Duane is leaving the saddle of a motorcycle due to injury and moving to coaching at HRC. Emilio Alzamora and his RS125R win the 125cc World Motocross class. This is Honda's tenth title in the class. Tadayuki Okada and Alex Barros win the Suzuka 8H, Miguel DuHamel wins the Daytona 200, all three on RC45.

The 2000 VTR1000 is Honda's first production motorcycle aimed at super sports riding. Colin Edwards brings victory to the Corporation in his debut World Superbike season. The VTR1000SPW also comes out on top at another 8-hour Suzuka 8H race with Toru Ukawa and Dajiro Kato. Royal Class debutant Valentino Rossi ends the season with second overall result in the NSR500. Frédéric Bolli wins his second consecutive MX250 crown on the CR250R. Dougie Lampkin Dougie Lampkin wins the first of his four world titles in the Motorcycle Trials World Championship.

2001 Valentino Rossi ends the 500cc MotoGP era with a clean sweep of the final 2-stroke season on the NSR500. The Italian superstar also gives HRC Honda's 500th Grand Prix win at the Japanese Grand Prix and then teamed with Colin Edwards to win the Suzuka 8H in a VTR1000SPW. Dajiro Kato wins the 250cc championship with a Honda NSR250. Honda's new RC211V MotoGP is unveiled at Motegi as Mick Duane and Freddie Spencer unveil the bike that will put Honda on the map and become the flagship of motorsport for the next five years.

2002 Valentino Rossi wins the first season of the 900cc MotoGP era on an RC211V. Honda takes the Constructors' Championship with a huge lead over the rest of its rivals. The V5 takes motorcycle racing to the next level, winning 14 of the 16 races of the season. Colin Edwards wins his second World Superbike title on the VTR1000SPW and brings HRC another victory in the Suzuka 8H with Dajiro Kato. In the US, rising star Nikki Hayden wins her first US Superbike and Daytona 200 crown on a VTR. Frenchman Fabian Faure earns Honda's first World Supersport title on the CBR600R. Suguru Kanazawa has been appointed President of HRC.

The 2003 RC211V once again dominated MotoGP, winning 15 of the season's 16 races. Valentino Rossi brings the company another world title. Second and third places also for the RC211V were Seth Gibernau and Max Biaggi. The RC211V is equipped with a rotary steering damper. Dani Pedrosa wins his first 125 cc world title. on RS125R. The new CBR600RR, packed with MotoGP-proven HRC technology, wins the World Supersport Championship with Chris Vermeulen. Miguel Duhamel wins the Daytona 200. Yukio Nukumi and Manabu Kamada ride the VTR1000SPW to win their fourth straight Suzuka 8H. Ricky Carmichael takes his second straight US Supercross crown on the CR250.

2004 Honda completes a hat-trick of MotoGP Constructors' Championship wins with the Intelligent Power Control-equipped RC211V. Dani Pedrosa wins the GP250 title in his first attempt on an RS250RW. Italian driver Andrea Dovizioso wins the GP125 crown on the RS125R. Toru Ukawa and Itoyasu Izutsu win the SUZUKA 8H on a CBR1000R Fireblade, Honda's first inline-engine win. Karl Muggeridge wins the World Supersport title on the CBR600RR. Takanisa Fujinami wins the Trials World Championships title. Satoru Horiike has been appointed executive director of HRC.

2005 Dani Pedrosa wins his second GP250 title, Honda's 15th 250 cc title and 19th Constructors' Championship. Swiss Thomas Lüthi wins the GP125 title with the RS125R. Toru Ukawa and Riyuchi Kiyonari win the 20th anniversary Suzuka 8H on a CBR1000RR. The CBR600RR continues to dominate the mid-sized motorcycle class with Sebastien Carpentier in World Supersport and Miguel Duhamel in the Daytona 200.

2006 Nikki Hayden wins the world title for Honda in the last race of the 990cc MotoGP era, riding a powerful V5-powered RC211V. Nikki brings the Corporation its 200th victory at the Dutch TT race. This is the 14th world title for Honda drivers and the 17th Constructors' Championship. Sebastien Carpentier wins his second consecutive World Supersport title on a Honda CBR600RR, Jake Zemke takes the Corporation to victory at the Daytona 200. Takeshi Tsujimura and Shinichi Ito win Honda's tenth Suzuka 8H 8-hour endurance race with their CBR1000RRs.

2007 New MotoGP rules, engine capacity reduced to 800 cc. HRC introduces the RC212V, an 800cc 4-stroke motorcycle with a V4 engine. Masumi Hamane is the new president of HRC.

1988-1989

Completely redesigned for 1988, the NSR500 received a stiffer aluminum twin-spar chassis and various engine changes. The changes made to the 1988 bike made it somewhat problematic for riders, especially in the first half of the season. Wayne Gardner had a difficult time defending his 1987 World Championship and although he eventually overcame his bike problems and won three races in a row mid-season (Dutch TT, Belgium and Yugoslavia), he could only finish second in the championship behind Eddie's Yamaha Lawson. The main complaints about the 1988 NSR500 were that the engine, which was by far the most powerful 500cc engine in the race, was not the most powerful engine in the world. The SM was very "peaky" and had to be run at high revs to get the most out of it. Additionally, the bike's suspension geometry was not as good as in 1987, and the bike was noticeably harder to handle in corners than its rival. Yamaha YZR500 and Suzuki RGV500. Although the engine's power advantage was seen on faster circuits such as Suzuka (which is actually owned by Honda), Assen, Spa and Paul Ricard, on steeper circuits such as Jarama and Jerez this was not the case due to its handling .

Additional improvements increased the 1989 NSR500's output to 165 horsepower (123 kW) at 12,000 rpm, a significant increase in output from the 1966 model. Honda RC181 Grand Prix four-stroke. Capable of reaching speeds of over 190 mph (310 km/h), the 1989 bikes had greater top speed and acceleration than anything else on the track. To hold all that muscle, the stiffer twin-spar aluminum chassis used a curved gullwing swingarm to accommodate more efficient expansion chambers. The result was an unforgiving but very fast package that earned Honda its fourth 500cc World Championship. See in 1989 thanks to Eddie Lawson, who joined the factory with support. Rothmans joins Gardner and young Australian Mick Doohan.[1]

Wayne Gardner remembers the Honda NSR500

No, not even close. The '92 bike was incredible because it had a big bang motor that I really liked. Mick wasn't a big fan of it at the time, and we tested it because Honda wanted to run it - they knew the Yamaha had a different flash pattern, and they knew the Yamaha was a little better at maintaining the rear tire than we were. We had flashes every 90 degrees [crankshaft revolution]. So that's what they did, and when I first tried that bike I said it felt slower... but the lap times told a different story. This was not clear to me - it became much easier to open the gas, and so on. I wanted to keep it, Mick didn't, and Honda was of two minds. In the end, they started making small changes there, added some momentum, and Mick liked it better. So we went in that direction.

In general, I liked that engine; it made driving much easier, especially in the rain. It revved well and the Honda had a reputation for being the fastest bike, but once we changed the firing order the top speed wasn't particularly great anymore, but it was "friendlier".

Honda's philosophy has always been to get the mass down, down, and that's why they had that inverted concept [with the fuel tank under the engine]. They implemented it completely wrong. We found out that they lowered the pendulum axis in the 88th by 20 millimeters and realized what was going on. At one Grand Prix, my motorhome stood next to the Suzuki tent, the door was open there all day, and the motorcycle stood “undressed”. I pointed this out to the Japanese, they came and photographed the bike all day, came back... I already told this story... they zoomed everything in and took measurements. I asked, “What’s the difference?” and they answered, “Big difference, different philosophy.” It looked like a motocross bike, everything was raised high. I asked what they would do about it, and when they said nothing, I said, “No, no, no, we have to try it.”

So, in '89, we started hacking and hacking away at the bike, lifting it up, and it started to transform. The motorcycle, which never turned properly, often skidded and skidded, began to change dramatically. We spent most of '89 fine-tuning the chassis, and it turned out pretty good. In 90 it was even better; it was “polished” for the next two years. Add to that that outstanding big bang motor...it was the best bike I've ever ridden. It remained that way with minimal changes for the next few years. I finished the championship and Mick carried on, and the changes over the course of his five titles were minor. Little things here and there. It was based on a '92 chassis. It was an amazing bike.

1990-1998

Although the 499 cc V-4 could produce over 200 horsepower (150 kW), chassis engineering, sophisticated engine management and the Australian name Mick Doohan made the NSR500 a legend in the 1990s. Extensive testing in 1991 led to the creation of a new aluminum chassis modeled after the successful RVF750 endurance racer. Honda introduced a revolutionary idea with the 1992 V4, which was designed to fire all four cylinders within 65-70 degrees of crankshaft rotation - the so-called "Big Bang" The 1992 NSR500 engine was a breakthrough. Along with a balancer shaft that counteracted the gyroscopic effects of a single-crankshaft engine, the 1992 NSR500 was a breakthrough. With an emphasis on acceleration over pure speed, Doohan used this engine to win five of the first seven 500 Grand Prix races in 1992. A badly broken leg sidelined Doohan's bid for the 1992 World Championships, and he was briefly denied. 1994, Doohan and NSR500 win five consecutive 500cc World Championships. See Winning 12 of 15 races in 1997, he broke the single-season wins record, which was set in 1972. With a total of 54 wins in the 500 Grand Prix, no man and machine in modern history has dominated the 500 World Championship with such care. From around 1997, the NSR500 was again fitted with the old "Screamer" engine in some factory racers, with Mick Doohan favoring the higher outright power of this design despite it being much more difficult to use.

1999-2002

Constant development and ever-increasing refinement enhanced the NSR500's strengths, leading Honda to win two more 500 World Championships with Alex Criville in 1999 and again with Valentino Rossi in 2001.

For the 2002 season, Technical regulations of the World Motorcycle Road Racing Championship in the 500 cc class. cm was radically changed, now four-stroke engines are allowed to increase their volume to 990 cc. cm and up to six cylinders. The class name was changed to MotoGP and was limited to racing prototypes only. Due to these changes, Honda introduced the RC211V

in 2002 to race with the NSR500. The series was dominated by the large displacement RC211V and other four-stroke motorcycles, and the NSR500 was eventually dropped from the class along with all other two-stroke motorcycles.