We teased it to you yesterday, but today we finally have photos of the 2013 Honda RC213V in all its high-resolution glory. With the Repsol Honda squad getting a new livery package this year, the RC213V becomes quite the looker as the team sports a bit more white in their color scheme, with the effect being a more clean and fresh look for the factory Honda squad.
Debuting the team and machines at Repsol HQ in Madrid, both of HRC’s resident Spaniards, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, were on-hand for the event. With Pedrosa showing himself to be a new man in the latter-half of the 2012 season, and Marc Marquez tipped to be the new talent in MotoGP, Repsol Honda has a formidable pairing at its disposal, as well as a very solid motorcycling package.
The Repsol Honda team will make its 2013 debut later this week by presenting riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez with the 2013 Honda RC213V motorcycle at the Repsol headquarters in Madrid, Spain. While we won’t get to see the latest iteration of the RC213V until this Thursday, one of Repsol’s Facebook pages has teased out some images of the MotoGP machine ahead of the official unveiling.
It will be hard to decipher any specific details from the materials given, though the fact that Repsol is building up the event is an interesting change from the Spanish oil giant. Has someone breathed some life into the company’s marketing team? Is this merely extra excitement for having two Spanish talents on the team? Or will 2013 show some changes for Repsol Honda?
As always, only time will tell, but at least we will only have to wait a few more days to know for sure. Photos and video after the jump.
Judging from the response we got on Asphalt & Rubber, there is a lot of buzz regarding Big Red’s new monkey bike, the 2013 Honda MSX125. A small-in-stature motorcycle with a single-cylinder 125cc thumper that puts out 9.7hp, the Honda MSX125 is designed to be a world-market machine that is both fun and practical in nature.
We don’t know how practical the MSX125 might be on the roads here in the United States (it makes a lot more sense in the tighter, pot-hole riddled, car-less roads elsewhere though), but man it sure looks like a fun small-displacement motorbike. Maybe the marketing is working on us? More photos after the jump.
The Philip Morris-sponsored Wrooom event is not just the event at which Ducati launches its MotoGP season, it has also become the de facto kick off to the MotoGP season as a whole.
With an important section of the international media present, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta inevitably seizes the opportunity to talk to the press about his view of the season ahead, and where necessary, of the future beyond that.
This year was little different. Ezpeleta spoke to the media ahead of the presentation by Ducati Corse boss Bernhard Gobmeier, and answered questions from a number of media outlets separately, answering questions on the future of both MotoGP and World Superbikes.
From his statements, a picture of Dorna’s vision for the two series starts to emerge: the future of world championship motorcycle racing is to be price-limited, with more support for the current teams, and factories holding a stake in both series, in exchange for keeping a lid on costs.
If there ever was a motorcycle that earned the word “cute” is its best descriptor, the Honda Monkey might be it. A diminutive and fun motorcycle, it was hard to look good on Honda’s old Z-series bikes, though the machines themselves still carry their own unique flavor of cool to this day.
Fast-forward fifty-years later, and Honda is bringing the Monkey back, this time in the guise of the 2013 Honda MSX125. Manufactured in Thailand, the Honda MSX 125 (MSX = Mini Street X-treme 125), the 125cc, 9.7 hp, four-stroke, two-valve, single-cylinder, fuel-injected fun machine will be a Spring 2013 model in markets around the world (no word on North America though).
The ultimate pit bike for us Anglo-Saxons, the Honda MSX125 also serves as a practical and durable machine for markets where potholed asphalt is a luxury where roads rarely exist. With the seat just a touch above 30 inches off the ground (30.1″ to be exact), the new Honda Monkey is a friend to the short man (or woman) as well.
This weekend, we reported on an interview that CMG Online did with Dave Hancock, Honda Motor Europe’s Head of Product Planning & Business Development, said that the Honda RC213 (unofficial name) street bike was going to cost £70,000-£80,000 ($110,000 to $125,000), which certainly lit up our comments section with enthusiasts who were hoping for a more affordable model from the Japanese manufacturer.
Today, Japanese tuner magazine Young Machine is reporting to have the first images of the “Honda RCV1” street bike, which is already making its way around the internets as we speak, with various forms of information vetting. Is this our first glimpse at the Honda V4 street bike? Probably not.
After years of failed rumors about a V5-powered Honda street bike, this year we finally got confirmation that a true MotoGP-inspired machine would become available to the general public. The yet unnamed machine, which many are calling the Honda RC213, will have a 1,000cc V4 motor that will be based off the Honda RC213V MotoGP race bike.
A homologation special that will be produced in just enough quantities to meet WSBK regulations, the Honda RC123 street bike is not to be confused with the production racer variant that will be coming to MotoGP in 2014. That bike, essentially an RC213V without the pneumatic valves, seamless gearbox, and other trick bits, will cost in the neighborhood of €1,000,000 to buy.
However, according to an interview by Costa Mouzouris on CMG Online (a good read, check it out), the V4 street bike will cost significantly less. Talking to Dave Hancock, Honda Motor Europe’s Head of Product Planning & Business Development, the MotoGP “inspired” street bike will run in the neighborhood of £70,000-£80,000 or $110,000 to $125,000.
HRC has announced that it has signed Stefan Bradl as a “factory-supported” rider through the 2014 season. The move is surely a reward for Bradl, who easily claimed MotoGP’s “Rookie of the Year” distinction, and perhaps more importantly, showed extreme talent aboard the Honda RC213V.
Said to already have been using a factory-spec frame (Dani Pedrosa’s rejects) for the latter part of the season, it is not clear how much this announcement will change Bradl’s true support from HRC, but it certainly can’t hurt the young German’s chances. Bradl will stay within the LCR Honda team in 2013 & 2014.
With the debut of the 2013 Honda CBR500R street bike, Honda has somehow managed to get the 500cc parallel twin budget bike to be the weapon of choice in the European Junior Cup — displacing the KTM 690 Duke from its racing duty. A grooming series for World Superbike Racing, the EJC series is a cost-effective way to get young future stars on bikes and in front of the people that could make or break their careers.
Hoping to give the CBR500R a bit more performance cred, something the 47hp machine might need to appeal to new riders who have to adhere to the A2 License requirements, but still want a proper “sport bike” for their first ride. As such, the Honda CBR500R race bike was debuted at EICMA today, and even got a little star power from one Jonathan Rea. Photos and video after the jump.
Judging by the temperature emanating from the Asphalt & Rubber server hard drives, the 2013 Honda CBR600RR caused quite a stir today when it broke cover ahead of the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy. Unfortunately at the time of our coverage, we only had a few side-profile photos to share with you, which really didn’t do any justice to the bike’s visual redesign efforts.
That is about to change though, as we have a few more shots, which most importantly give a good look at the Honda CBR600RR’s new mug. A more aerodynamic bodywork package (the new fairings have a 6% air-flow factor), Honda’s new RAM-air intake on the CBR600RR also helps put a little more pep in the supersport’s step. Check it out after the jump.