Ex-Hailwood Honda RC174

How about this for a rarity…!  It’s coming up for sale on 13th April at the H&H Auctions at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, UK.  It’s one of two in existence and the only one in private ownership and without doubt one of the most important racing motorcycles in the world.

Honda’s ultimate six-cylinder racing motorcycle – like many of mankind’s greatest creations – was both rooted-in, and yet divorced from, its era. A handsome but predominantly conventional design, what made the RC174 so special was its engine. Some four decades after the multiple grand prix runner had retired from frontline competition, Honda sanctioned a tiny series of replicas. Tasked with reverse engineering the legendary bike’s 297cc powerplant, analysts at the French firm JPX (a subsidiary of Mecachrome) were stunned to discover that it contained a number of unfamiliar but highly sophisticated alloys and treatment processes.

A gifted metallurgist, Sochiro Honda was renowned for pushing his employees hard but also for listening to their ideas. The company’s research and development department was thus a hotbed of innovation.  Each individual component was constructed according to its intended performance capabilities with little or no margin for error. Supple enough in one plane to be deformed by hand but sufficiently strong in another to spin to 17,000rpm, the thirteen-piece crankshaft ran in seven bearings (24mm in the centre tapering out to 14mm at the ends) and played host to three different types of con-rod.

The four overhead camshafts were barrel-shaped and acted in pairs to control the twenty-four inlet and exhaust valves (a set-up which effectively altered the cam profile from one cylinder to the next). Beautifully wrought, the cylinder block, cylinder head and crankcase were formed from twenty-nine, twenty-three and fifteen interlocking sub-moulds respectively. Stocked with needle, roller and ball bearings (almost all of which are non-standard sizes), the true beauty of a Honda ‘Six’ is only revealed via X-ray. Indicative of the ‘no compromise’ approach behind its development, the unit was riddled with oil ways some of which are siamesed so as to make tiny but discernible savings in overall width / weight. The result of such painstaking attention to detail was an engine that not only developed a sensational 222bhp per litre but also dominated its class despite giving away a nigh on eighteen percent capacity advantage (can you imagine any of the contemporary F1 teams fielding a 2 litre V8 rather than a 2.4 litre unit?)

There are only two RC174 motorcycles in existence and the other one is owned by Honda.

SPECIFICATIONS
Cubic capacity: 297cc
Bore x stroke: 41 x 37.5mm
Compression ratio: 11:1
Carburation: 6 x 23mm Keihin, magnesium
Ignition: Kokusan magneto
Clutch: dry, 16-plate
Gearbox: seven-speed
Frame: tubular, engine as stressed member
Suspension: front: telescopic fork, rear: swingarm with twin shocks
Wheels: 18in, wire-spoked with alloy rims
Brakes: front 2 x 220mm drums, rear 200mm drum
Power output: 66bhp@ 17,000rpm
Weight: 118kg (260lb)
Top speed: more than 150mph (240km/h)

RACE WINS 1967-1968

1967 FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mike Hailwood
350cc West German GP – Hockenheim (lap record)
350cc Junior TT – Isle of Man (lap record)
350cc Dutch GP – Assen
350cc East German GP – Sachsenring (lap record)
350cc Czech GP – Brno (lap record
350cc Japanese GP – Fuji (lap record)

Ralph Bryans
350cc Italian GP – Monza (lap record)

1967 NON-CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS
Mike Hailwood
350cc – Oulton Park, UK
350cc and 750cc – Cadwell Park, UK (lap records)
Race of the Year and 350cc – Mallory Park, UK (lap records)
350cc and Race of the South – Brands Hatch, UK (350cc lap record)

1968 NON-CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS
Mike Hailwood
350cc – Rimini, Italy
350cc – Cadwell Park (lap record)
350cc Post-TT – Mallory Park
350cc and two invitation races – Brands Hatch (lap record)
350cc and 1000cc – Snetterton (lap records)
350cc – Oulton Park
Race of the Year and 350cc – Mallory Park
350cc and 1000cc – Brands Hatch (lap records)

350cc – Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (lap record)

1969 NON-CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT
1000cc – Killarney, South Africa

For more information http://www.classic-auctions.com/PrivateSales/Motorbike/1967HondaRC174-32885.aspx

Posted February 21, 2011 by Nigel in | 1 comment