![Honda RC160](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Honda_RC160.jpg)
The large majority of works racing motorcycles manufactured by the motorcycle racing division of
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
of Japan, currently called
Honda Racing Corporation
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is a division of the Honda, Honda Motor Company formed in 1982. The company combines participation in Motorcycle racing, motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of racing machines. Its racing act ...
(HRC, previously called the Racing Service Center), carry the iconic prefix RC.
History of the RC name
Use of the RC name stretches from Honda's entry onto the international
motorcycle Grand Prix
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
stage in 1959 to the present day. In recent years Honda has also used the RC prefix as a marketing device and applied it to certain production motorcycles
that had been created for racing
homologation
Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...
purposes. For works
Motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
bikes, there was an additional M suffix.
In the late 1980s, Honda began to enter its production motorcycles in various
Superbike
A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...
, or production-based, racing series, such as the new FIM
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
. The most successful of these was the
VFR750R, which eventually became better known by its model number, ''RC30''. However, the VFR750R was a Honda production motorcycle, not an HRC race bike, and the fact that its model number also began with the "RC" prefix was a coincidence, rather than a continuation of the HRC model naming tradition.
List of Honda HRC racing motorcycles
References
External links
50 Years of World Championship Racingofficial site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honda Racing Motorcycles
Honda racing motorcycles
Six-cylinder motorcycles