Honda has finally unveiled the Open Class (the class that is replacing the terribly named CRT class) contender which it is calling the RCV 1000 R. Shuhei Nakamoto of HRC has claimed that this motorcycle was just 0.3 seconds of the pace of the RC 213 V in the hands of Casey Stoner who has assumed the mantle of being a test rider of sorts for Honda. Nakamoto even said that the extra soft tyres which the Open Class ( as against the prototype class) is eligible for, the time differential is 0.17. Impressive? Yes, but then is this a sales pitch and hype for the production racer to attract more customers, since Honda needs to sell more bikes to be profitable?
The truth maybe something else since the production racer does not feature pneumatic valves and will have conventional spring valves and a regular gearbox with slipper clutch and not the seamless gearbox which figures on the factory Repsol Honda motorcycles. The production racer in the open class is eligible for 24 litres of fuel per race and a total of 12 engines per season as opposed to the 20 litres of fuel per race and a total of 5 engines per season for the prototypes. The real potential of this motorcycle will come to the forefront next year when it takes to the tracks.