Honda RS500
When Honda announced (in late 1977) that they were going back to Grand Prix racing with very high ambitions. 4 stroke project NR500 it’s basically a V8 with four pairs of conjoined cylinders. After debuting in the British GP in late 1979, the NR500 was campaigned without any GP success until the project was canceled in late 1981.
Surrender to its inevitable replacement the 2-stroke but unlike its four-cylinder competitor, the NS500 is a 112º V3. Freddie Spencer went on to win the 1983 title on the NS500.
Beginning in 1982 (and continuing through 1988), Honda began to produce a limited number of RS500Rs for use by imported and private teams. They are very close to NS specification other than using less exotic materials to reduce cost (if not weight).
While the NS500 weighs 108 kg (dry), the RS weighs 125 kg. An example of this is the use of alloy composite wheels on the RS instead of carbon fiber on the NS.
Likewise, the use of aluminum instead of magnesium for the engine cover, etc. Power is also 5 hp lower – 120 hp at 11,500 rpm. A 34 mm carburetor is standard but a 38 mm carburetor is fitted to this bike.
The RS500 became a popular choice among privates with Simon Buckmaster’s second place in the wet 1989 Italian GP being its best result. The NS (while having been replaced by the four-cylinder NSR in ’84 for the factory team) is still campaigned by satellite teams and continues to score many podiums in the hands of riders like Randy Mamola, Ron Haslam and Raymond Roche.
Andrew Johnson debuted the RS500 in Australia at Bathurst in 1983, winning the GP 500 cc by a big margin and breaking the class track record in 4.79 seconds! He also won and set an all-round lap record in another race, knocking it down by 0.71 seconds.
When first introduced, the RS500 used an alloy box-section frame but it was changed to an alloy girder frame in 1986. The reed valve engine was also updated at the same time with the addition of the company’s ATAC system. Honda (their response to Yamaha’s Solenoid Valve), is fitted to the top two cylinders only.
The cross-section and routing of the lower expansion chamber were also changed. The distinctive oval cross section silencer was swapped for cylindrical items the previous year (’85).
This particular bike, an RS500RF, was commissioned by Swiss racer Niggi Schmashman in 1988 and has since been repainted to the factory team Rothmans paint.
It was fitted with Hans Hummel (HH) barrels after the original barrels (with ATAC) cracked. Swedish ISR brake calipers are used instead of the standard Nissin part.
