| Flashback Review - Honda NSR 500 |
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| Tuesday, 20 December 2005 | ||
You're looking at the power behind ten of Honda's eleven 500cc World Championships won from 1984 to present — six in a row 1994 to 1999. With more than 100 wins to its credit, the NSR500 is the most dominant force in modern Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The 1989 NSR that won Honda's third 500 World Championship with Eddie Lawson exemplifies the overwhelming power, acceleration and raw speed that has always been synonymous with Honda's 500cc two-stroke V-4.
Entirely redesigned for 1988, the NSR got a stiffer, twin-spar aluminum chassis and various engine changes. More improvements gave Eddie Lawson's 1989 NSR500 upwards of 165 horsepower at 12,000 rpm — essentially doubling the output of Mike Hailwood's 1966 Honda RC181 Grand Prix four-stroke. Capable of well over 190 miles per hour, the 1989 bikes ridden by Lawson and rookie teammate Mick Doohan had more top speed and acceleration than anything else on the track. To contain all that muscle, the stiffer, twin-spar aluminum chassis used a curved, gull-wing-type swingarm to accommodate more-efficient expansion chambers. The result was an unforgiving, but brutally fast, package that earned Honda a fourth 500cc World Championship in 1989 that was Lawson's fourth as well. Designed to succeed Honda's first two-stroke Grand Prix racer — the NS500 triple that earned Honda's first 500cc World Championship with Freddie Spencer in 1983 — the NSR500 debuted in 1984. Building on lessons learned from its three-cylinder predecessor, the new V-4 used a single crankshaft, making it lighter and more compact than its dual-crankshaft adversaries. Though tormented by unorthodox chassis technology in its freshman season, the NSR evolved to clinch Honda's second 500cc GP title in 1985. Opening the V-angle to 112 degrees in 1987 made room for a quartet of 36mm Keihin carburetors between the cylinders where they could be fed more cool air. The new arrangement also let the engine exhale more efficiently through its four artfully intertwined expansion chambers. By year's end, Aussie Wayne Gardner won seven of 15 races to earn Honda a third 500cc World Championship. Though the 499cc V-4 could produce more than 200 horsepower, chassis development, sophisticated engine management and an Australian named Mick Doohan made the NSR500 a legend in the 1990s. Extensive testing in 1991 led to a new aluminum chassis patterned on the successful RVF750 endurance racer. Honda unveiled a revolutionary idea with a 1992 V-4 that was timed to fire all four cylinders within 65-70 degrees of crankshaft rotation. Along with a balance shaft that neutralized the single crankshaft engine's gyroscopic effects, the 1992 NSR500 was a breakthrough. Emphasizing acceleration over sheer speed, Doohan used the "big-bang" engine to win five of the first seven 500 Grand Prix races of 1992. Although a badly broken leg denied Doohan's bid for the 1992 World Championship, he would not be denied for long. Beginning in 1994, Doohan and the NSR won five consecutive 500cc World Championships. Winning 12 of 15 races in 1997, he broke a single-season win record that was set in 1972. Combining for 54 total 500 Grand Prix wins, no man and machine in modern history had dominated the 500 World Championship so thoroughly. Constant development and ever-increasing sophistication sharpened the NSR's edge, earning Honda two more 500 World Championships, with Alex Criville in 1999 and again with Valentino Rossi in 2001. Still, for anyone who ever heard it, the shriek of that 1989 NSR500 at 12,000 rpm still recalls the spectacle of 500 Grand Prix racing at the end of the 1980s, when too much power was just enough. Related Articles:Honda CBR - A brief history2006 BMW K1200R Power cruisers USGP changes for '06 Honda holds top spot in market What is a Legends Race Car? Honda DN-01 Prototype |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 29 March 2008 ) | ||
