Honda RC211V


The Honda RC211V is a four-stroke race motorcycle from HRC developed in 2001 to replace the two-stroke Honda NSR500.
It was developed as a direct result of major changes to the regulations for the World Championship motorcycle road racing class for the 2002 season. The name of the class was modified to MotoGP, and while two-stroke engines remained limited to and 4 cylinders, four-stroke engines were now allowed to be as large as and from three to six cylinders – which led many teams to switch to four-stroke designs.
The model name designates the following:
The RC211V was replaced in 2007 by the RC212V.

2002

In 2002, the debut year of the RC211V, Honda and Valentino Rossi dominated by winning the constructors' championship by more than 100 points over their nearest rival. The bike underwent small modifications over the season, but it did not as yet have traction control so much as a handlebar-mounted power management system with 3 settings for different needs during a race.

2003

Among other changes in 2003, power was increased from about 200 to 240 bhp. Traction control was also added.

2004

For 2004, a new, inverted rear suspension link was added, and a new exhaust was introduced at the Sachsenring round. The RC211V riders were unable to keep Rossi from winning his fourth premier-class championship, and no clear candidate appeared to take over Rossi's role of lead development rider for Honda.

2005

2005 would be the first time in 4 years Honda lost the constructors' championship in the premier class. The RC211V chassis underwent frequent revision and rewelding, with reversions to the 2003 design. After the race at Brno, Honda tested a new bike which both Hayden and Biaggi said was an improvement, and was thereafter known as the "Brno bike".

2006

In 2006, the RC211V came in three flavors: the "Brno bike" to be ridden by Hayden, a 2006 bike with a special chassis for Pedrosa, and a 2006 bike to be ridden by Melandri, Elías, Stoner and Tamada; Melandri and Stoner eventually got the special Pedrosa chassis. Hayden's RC211V was modified to put the crankshaft higher, the clutch and gearbox lower, and to lengthen the swing arm; the goal was to centralize mass and improve stability. After the Jerez round, Hayden was the fastest Honda rider in testing. At the British GP, HRC gave Hayden a new chassis, but Hayden complained that he didn't have enough time to test it. Hayden had started the year with the same clutch as Pedrosa, but four rounds later it was shelved in favor of a clutch Hayden had used in previous years; at the Brno round, he had a problem with the clutch that contributed to a 9th-place finish. Honda and Hayden had difficulty finding a clutch that would allow a good launch at the start but also work well throughout the race. Hayden eventually won the rider championship and Honda reclaimed the constructors' championship.
The RC211V was retired when rules dictated a switch to capacity; Honda's bike for 2007 was the RC212V.

Successes

In 5 seasons of MotoGP racing the Honda RC211V won 48 races out of 82 contested. It also won 3 rider world championships and 4 constructor titles.

Specifications

Specifications as per manufacturer:

Complete MotoGP results

YearTyresTeamNo.Rider1234567891011121314151617Points
JPNRSAESPFRAITACATNEDGBRGERCZEPORBRAPACMALAUSVAL--
Repsol Honda Team11 Tohru UkawaRet132325WD333Ret44352093rd
Repsol Honda Team46 Valentino Rossi121111111Ret1122123551st
Team HRC72 Shinichi Ito41321st
West Honda Pons4 Alex Barros132186 4th
Fortuna Honda Gresini74 Daijiro Kato2RetRetRet54455 7th
JPNRSAESPFRAITACATNEDGBRGERCZEPORBRAPACMALAUSVAL--
Repsol Honda46 Valentino Rossi12121233211121113571st
Repsol Honda69 Nicky Hayden77Ret121291185695343161305th
Telefónica Movistar Honda15 Sete Gibernau41Ret17312124242422772nd
Telefónica Movistar Honda74 Daijiro KatoRet0NC
Telefónica Movistar Honda23 Ryuichi Kiyonari131311171418151615112119142220th
Camel Honda Pons3 Max Biaggi232531421Ret524131742283rd
Camel Honda Pons11 Tohru Ukawa206476612Ret6857775Ret1238th
Pramac Honda6 Makoto TamadaRet146Ret471613139103DSQ1010108711th
RSAESPFRAITACATNEDBRAGERGBRCZEPORJPNQATMALAUSVAL--
Repsol Honda4 Alex Barros4376RetRet529Ret3443561654th
Repsol Honda69 Nicky Hayden5511RetRet5334RetRet546Ret1178th
HRC72 Tohru UkawaRet0NC
Telefónica Movistar Honda MotoGP15 Sete Gibernau311222RetRet314617242572nd
Telefónica Movistar Honda MotoGP45 Colin Edwards775125665279Ret211481575th
Camel Honda3 Max Biaggi22338421123RetRet62722173rd
Camel Honda6 Makoto Tamada8Ret9RetRet121614421105851506th
ESPPORCHNFRAITACATNEDUSAGBRGERCZEJPNMALQATAUSTURVAL--
Repsol Honda Team3 Max Biaggi73552664Ret4326RetRet1261735th
Repsol Honda Team69 Nicky HaydenRet7966541Ret357432322063rd
Movistar Honda MotoGP15 Sete Gibernau2Ret42Ret255Ret2RetRetRet554Ret1507th
Movistar Honda MotoGP33 Marco Melandri3434432RetRet76Ret524112202nd
Camel Honda4 Alex Barros4111Ret747Ret354Ret89Ret951478th
Camel Honda12 Troy Bayliss611Ret10138116RetRet95415th
Camel Honda17 Chris Vermeulen11111021st
Camel Honda54 Ryuichi Kiyonari12425th
Camel Honda67 Shane Byrne14135 24th
Camel Honda72 Tohru UkawaRet0 27th
Konica Minolta Honda6 Makoto Tamada8DNS8Ret14771010312Ret8899111th
Konica Minolta Honda16 Jurgen van den Goorbergh6141220th
ESPQATTURCHNFRAITACATNEDGBRGERUSACZEMALAUSJPNPORVAL--
Repsol Honda Team26 Dani Pedrosa2614134Ret314233157Ret42155th
Repsol Honda Team69 Nicky Hayden323253217319455Ret32541st
Konica Minolta Honda6 Makoto Tamada10141067971111Ret11131410105129612th
Fortuna Honda24 Toni Elías4851197RetDNS111511Ret96161169th
Fortuna Honda33 Marco Melandri571716Ret73235913852284th
Fortuna Honda84 Michel FabrizioDNS0NC
Honda LCR27 Casey Stoner65254RetRet44DNSRet686RetRetRet1198th