NR500 was a racing
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
developed by
Honda HRC in 1979 to compete in
Grand Prix motorcycle racing. "NR" stands for "New Racing".
[http://world.honda.com Part 3](_blank)
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Model history
The motivation behind the NR500 was company founder Soichiro Honda's desire to compete using four-stroke engine technology since the majority of motorcycles manufactured by Honda used four-stroke engines. When the FIM announced new regulations for the 1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Janu ...
Grand Prix motorcycle racing season that limited the 500 cc engines to four cylinders, this gave an advantage to teams using two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
machinery. Honda decided to withdraw from motorcycle racing to concentrate on its automobile division.[http://world.honda.com Part 2](_blank)
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In November 1977 Honda announced it would be returning to motorcycle Grand Prix racing using four-stroke technology. Even though two-stroke engines dominated motorcycle Grand Prix racing in the late 1970s, Honda felt compelled to race what they sold and thus competed using a high-technology, four-stroke race bike.
/ref> Since a conventional four-stroke, four-cylinder engine could not produce the same power as its two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
rivals, Honda increased its valve area to be competitive.[http://world.honda.com Part 5](_blank)
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The rules at the time allowed up to four combustion chambers, so Honda designed a 32-valve V8 with four pairs of linked combustion chambers. This then evolved into an engine with four oval-shaped cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
s. The oval cylinders allowed room for 32 valves and eight spark plugs, the same as that of an eight-cylinder engine while staying within the four-cylinder rules limit. Another innovation used on the NR500 was its monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
body which wrapped around the engine like a cocoon and helped reduce weight.[http://world.honda.com Part 7](_blank)
/ref> In an effort to reduce drag, lower the center of gravity, and to lower gyroscopic forces, the bike used 16-inch Comstar wheels
The Comstar wheel, sometimes referred to as Com-stars or stylised as ComStar, was a composite motorcycle wheel that Honda fitted to many of its motorcycles from 1977 to the mid 1980s. Its design allowed it the option of being fitted with tubele ...
instead of the mainstream 18-inch versions that were commonplace at the time.
Honda overcame significant manufacturing problems to develop its oval cylinder technology and by late-1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
the bike made its debut at the British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...
ridden by Mick Grant
Mick Grant (born 10 July 1944) is an English former professional motorcycle road racer and TT rider. A works-supported rider for Norton, Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki, he is a seven-time winner of the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race on various m ...
and Takazumi Katayama
Takazumi Katayama (片山敬済, born April 16, 1951) is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion.
Motorcycle racing career
Born in Kobe, Japan, he was the first Japanese rider to win a motorcycle road racing world ch ...
. Both bikes retired, Grant crashing on the first turn after the bike spilled oil onto his rear tire, sliding along with the bike showering sparks, requiring rapid application of powder fire retardant
A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. This is commonly accomplished by chemical reactions that reduce the flammability of fuels or delay their combustion. Fire retardants m ...
from the race marshal. Katayama retired on the seventh lap due to ignition problems when running second-last.['']Motor Cycle News
''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspaper".
The title was founded in lat ...
'' 15 August 1979, p.4 ''British Grand Prix race report'' Accessed and added 12 February 2015[http://world.honda.com Part 8](_blank)
/ref> Honda persevered for two more seasons, but never made the bike competitive.''Mick Walker's Japanese Grand Prix Racing Motorcycles'', by Mick Walker, Publisher Redline Books, 2002
The monocoque frame had to be abandoned because it made it too difficult for mechanics to work on the engine during races. The 16-inch wheels also had to be abandoned for 18-inch wheels.
/ref> American Freddie Spencer
Frederick Burdette Spencer (born December 20, 1961), sometimes known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former world champion motorcycle racer. Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s.
Motorcycle ...
was able to reach fifth place at the 1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
British Grand Prix before the bike broke down. The NR500 never won a Grand Prix. A thirteenth place by Katayama at the 1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
Austrian Grand Prix was its best showing.
Honda abandoned the project and designed the NS500
The Honda NS500 is a 500cc Grand Prix racing motorcycle of the early 1980s, powered by a two-stroke V3 engine. Created as a replacement for the innovative but unsuccessful four-stroke NR500, the bike went against Honda's preference for four-strok ...
two-stroke bike to compete in the 1982 season.[http://world.honda.com Part 11](_blank)
/ref> Spencer would ride the NS500 to Honda's first 500 cc world championship in 1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
. Ultimately, what doomed the NR500 project was that Honda had tried to develop too many technologies at one time. The NR500 did experience a few successes: Freddie Spencer rode the NR500 to a heat race victory at Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to:
* Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California
* Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London
* Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California
* Laguna Seca, Texas, United States
* Rancho ...
in 1981 and Kengo Kiyama won the Suzuka 200 kilometer race that same year.[http://world.honda.com Part 10](_blank)
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honda Nr500
NR500
Grand Prix motorcycles
Motorcycles introduced in 1979