Honda
RC500
Until the beginning
of the seventies motocross was very much the
preserve of the European factories, however
with the surge in interest in off road riding
and motocross in particular that took place
in the United States, the Japanese manufacturers
began to take a serious interest. Suzuki led
the way in the World Championship securing five
titles between1970 and 1979, in the premier
500cc class with Roger De Coster in the saddle.
This was obviously not acceptable to Honda whose
response was to initiate development of a two
stroke single capable of winning the 500cc championship.
The new machine
made its debut on the 2nd May 1976, typed the
RC500 A1E Type II, it was a no holds barred
Grand Prix bike that benefited from the full
input of the Honda R and D department. Hand-built
at enormous expense, the new machine made extensive
use of exotic materials, the crankcases were
cast in magnesium as were items such as the
brake hubs and titanium fittings abounded. The
frame was designed from the outset to utilise
long travel suspension, the forks being cartridge
units, an innovation that would not grace production
machines until 1981. A recurring theme in interviews
with the machines riders, and the versions that
followed, concerned the engine characteristics,
Pierre Karsmakers stated that "the bike
was fast and had a very smooth power-band".
A revised version , typed the RC500A1E was introduced
for the 1977 season. The new version befitted
from a revised frame and increased suspension
travel. Like the previous seasons version it
was a hand-built Grand Prix bike, the crankshaft
alone reputedly costing in the region of $10,000
dollars. Revisions to the engine were centred
on broadening the power band and addressing
a cooling issue that had afflicted the previous
seasons model in muddy conditions with radial
finning now gracing the cylinder head. The new
model won the USGP at Carlbad with Jim Pomeroy
in the saddle , who went on to have a strong
season in the Trans-am series and secured the
AMA 500cc Championship in the hands of Marty
Smith.
For 1978 Honda
introduced an extensively revised machine, which
with Brad Lackey riding secured second place
in the World Championship, further development
resulted in the introduction of the RC450-79
season with which Graham Noyce won the first
of three consecutive ( for Honda) World Championship
crowns.
The machine offered
dates from 1977 and until recently has been
housed in a private collection in Japan. It
represents a unique opportunity to acquire a
genuine, hand-built works Grand Prix motorcycle,
successful not only in its own right, but important
in the evolution of Honda's Grand Prix motocross
machinery that culminated in Graham Noyce's
championship winning RC450-79. History suggests
that these machines cost Honda in the region
of $80,000 each.
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