RC211v vs. CBR1000 vs. RC51

[Tarmac]

Okay, first of all I admit total ignorance of honda's line up.

Which leads me to this: yesterday while watching MotoGP [great race, 'cept for the occasional feed screw up's on cable tv...) one of the honda commercials marketed the CBR1000RR as the closest thing to the latest RC211v. I always thought the RC51 was the progeny of MotoGP/GP500 style bikes...of course the 51 has a v-twin and the 211 a v-quintet. the CBR's gotta inline-4, and if I go back to the RC51's roots, it was prolly released when the GP500 bike as a 2-stroke...

Is it the chassis setup that defines these bikes, or the engine?

I know this shit is trivial, but I'm bored, waiting for some epoxy to set up so I can get to work. I might as well bone up on the honda line since alotta you cat's out there are on 'em.

Thanks...

[RedRider]

The 211v shares more similarities with the 1000RR chassis and layout. The unit pro link rear suspension, and similar frame construction and geometries. The inline 4 engine is an obvious production compromise to keep costs down. The 1000RR also has a cassette type gearbox for quick gearing changes without having to pull apart the engine. Convenient for racers who need different setups on different tracks.

It's a neat bike that has a couple advantages over it's competitors, although it also has a little more weight. The hydra-electric steering damper is pretty cool too.

[Tarmac]

Originally posted by RedRider
The 1000RR also has a cassette type gearbox for quick gearing changes without having to pull apart the engine. Convenient for racers who need different setups on different tracks.

Thanks, RR.
Is that cassette-type dry or wet?

[benVFR]

MotoGP = Prototype based racebikes

AMA Superbike/World Superbike = Production based racebikes

The 2-stroke GP bikes were obviously prototypes, the rules of GP racing say their can't be a streetbike that the racebike is based on. The RC211V is a prototype class bike even though it is a 4-stroke.

The CBR1000RR and RC-51 were made for superbike, so they have to be sold for street use.

The inline-4 is easier to build, easy to work on, and easy to cool.

The V-4 or V-5 layouts are more common in GP racing. They are more expensive, and have more heat issues, but they have less frontal area which is important for the insane speeds they are running.

[RedRider]

Is that cassette-type dry or wet?

Actually it takes old Guns N Roses tapes. You just need to decide if heavy metal or ballads are more appropriate for the track you're ridin'.

[Paul_E_D]

The RC51 was designed to beat the Ducati. It had nothing to do with GP. The RR has the same design philosohpy as the GP bike-mass centralization, and the funky swingarm linkage.

Mostly it's a maketing coup for Honda to make their new bike at least look like the new GP bike, and to associate them in our minds.