By Mat Oxley:
You want to ride a MotoGP-bike? Yeah, good luck with that: everyone knows these are machines made for murder, beasts of technology that only those gifted with near-superhuman reflexes can manage. These days, those rides have about as much in common with your average road bike as a space shuttle has in common with a paper airplane. What can I say; you can’t walk the cutting edge if you don’t expect to bleed a little.
Except that once upon a time, there was a bike that was different. Fast as lightning but turned on a dime. Easily built in bulk, yet suited to almost every riding style under the sun.
Rossi rode it to victory. So did Max Biaggi.
Like a samurai blade, its deceptive simplicity was only possible because it built on ages of experience with every complex mechanic under the sun. Its name was the Honda RC211V and it was the bike that changed everything.
It’s a machine born out of necessity: when the sun finally fell on the era of the two-stroke engine, it was a whole new game for everyone. MotoGP itself was different then, too: way more of a technological wild west, where there were many different ways to build your ideal racer as long as those ways weren’t electronic. It’s impossible to avoid: telling the story of the RC211V means telling a story about MotoGP itself, because its role in racing history is just that big.
Luckily, we’ve got some great storytellers in Mat and Peter here. One of them even rode the bloody thing! This is going to be one of those episodes that you really don’t want to miss, so pour one out for a legend and get straight into it…
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Oh, and a quick word in regards to sponsors:
If you’re interested in connecting with a really unique MotoGP audience — we’re working with Smash Brand Group out of Sydney to manage partnerships. Curious? Just head to smashbrandgroup.com.au and get in touch!
The post Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast: Riding and Racing Honda’s RC211V appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.
