Honda RC110
Encyclopedia
The Honda RC110 was the Honda
racing team's first 50cc Grand Prix motorcycle racer
. It was conceived in 1961 and raced during the 1962 season. As the machine was developed during the season, it was renamed the RC111 and most surviving Honda records do not distinguish between either designation. Despite extensive development efforts throughout the season by the factory, the bike achieved only a single Grand Prix victory.
, with booming sales of Honda's 50cc Super Cub road bike and it is more sporting variant the Sports Cub C110 and the announcement by the Fédération Internationale Motocycliste
of a 50cc World Championship for motorcycles for 1962, it was perhaps inevitable that the team would be keen to participate in this new category.
and five speed gearbox. The engine was said to produce 9.5 bhp at 14,000 rpm.
A massive effort at the factory meant that for the French GP just one week later, the bikes were fitted with eight gears and then, another three weeks after that, for the IOM GP two completely new bikes arrived, now revving up to 17,000 and fitted with nine-speed gearboxes. Despite all this effort, Honda's 50cc machines still could not match the success of their larger brethren. Averaging over 120 km/h around the TT course, Luigi Taveri and Tommy Robb could still only manage second and third places and although on a damp track at the Finnish GP, Luigi Taveri did manage to grab a single victory, overall the 1962 50cc season was a humiliation for the Honda team.
for club and national status events, the CR110 proved more successful than the works machine and about 220 are said to have been sold worldwide. There were two versions, a five speed road machine with lights and silencers producing 7 hp at 12,700 rpm and the racing version with eight gears and 8 hp at.5 hp at 13,500.
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
racing team's first 50cc Grand Prix motorcycle racer
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...
. It was conceived in 1961 and raced during the 1962 season. As the machine was developed during the season, it was renamed the RC111 and most surviving Honda records do not distinguish between either designation. Despite extensive development efforts throughout the season by the factory, the bike achieved only a single Grand Prix victory.
Background and development
Since their arrival in Grand Prix racing in 1959, the Honda team had impressed everyone with their commitment and professionalism. Buoyed by the team's success in the 1961 125cc World Championship1961 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1961 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 13th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of eleven Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc...
, with booming sales of Honda's 50cc Super Cub road bike and it is more sporting variant the Sports Cub C110 and the announcement by the Fédération Internationale Motocycliste
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme is the governing body of motorcycle racing. It represents 103 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regional continental unions....
of a 50cc World Championship for motorcycles for 1962, it was perhaps inevitable that the team would be keen to participate in this new category.
Design
The bike was fitted with an advanced, four-stroke, single-cylinder engine, sometimes described as a shrunken half of an RC145. The engine was inclined at 35°, and fitted with a spur gear driven double overhead camshaft, a four valve headMulti-valve
In automotive engineering a multi-valve or multivalve engine is one where each cylinder has more than two valves. A multi-valve engine has better breathing and can operate at higher revolutions per minute than a two-valve engine, delivering more power.- Multi-valve rationale :A multi-valve design...
and five speed gearbox. The engine was said to produce 9.5 bhp at 14,000 rpm.
Racing history
The RC110 was displayed at the 1961 Tokyo Motor show in November 1961 and made its GP début at the 1962 Spanish GP in Barcelona by which time the number of gears had been increased to six. Despite this the bikes were easily out-gunned by the two-stroke opposition and this was Honda's first serious defeat since 1960.A massive effort at the factory meant that for the French GP just one week later, the bikes were fitted with eight gears and then, another three weeks after that, for the IOM GP two completely new bikes arrived, now revving up to 17,000 and fitted with nine-speed gearboxes. Despite all this effort, Honda's 50cc machines still could not match the success of their larger brethren. Averaging over 120 km/h around the TT course, Luigi Taveri and Tommy Robb could still only manage second and third places and although on a damp track at the Finnish GP, Luigi Taveri did manage to grab a single victory, overall the 1962 50cc season was a humiliation for the Honda team.
World Championship results table
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)| Year | Chassis} | Rider | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESP 1962 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix The 1962 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix was a FIM event held on May 6, 1962 at Montjuïc circuit. It was part of the 1962 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.-1962 Spanish Grand Prix 50cc final standings:12 laps Number of finishers: 14... |
FRA 1962 French motorcycle Grand Prix The 1962 French motorcycle Grand Prix was a FIM event held on May 13, 1962 at Charade Circuit Clermont-Ferrand. It was part of the 1962 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.-1962 French Grand Prix 50cc final standings:8 laps Number of finishers: 17... |
IOM 1962 Isle of Man TT The 1962 Isle of Man TT was a FIM event held on 4 June 1962 at the Snaefell Mountain Course. It was part of the 1962 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.-1962 Isle of Man Lightweight TT 125cc final standings:3 Laps Mountain Course.... |
NED Dutch TT The Dutch TT is a motorcycling event, traditionally held on the last Saturday of June at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, as part of the MotoGP World Championship. In the past all classes , nowadays only the 125 cc, Moto2 and the MotoGP... |
BEL Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix The Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season from 1949 to 1990.-Multiple winners :-Multiple winners :-By year:... |
GER German motorcycle Grand Prix The German motorcycle Grand Prix, first held in 1925, is since 1952 part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship.- History :The first two Großer Preis von Deutschland races were held at Berlin's AVUS before moving to the new the purpose-built Nürburgring which was used in its full... |
DDR German motorcycle Grand Prix The German motorcycle Grand Prix, first held in 1925, is since 1952 part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship.- History :The first two Großer Preis von Deutschland races were held at Berlin's AVUS before moving to the new the purpose-built Nürburgring which was used in its full... |
NAT Italian motorcycle Grand Prix The Italian motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. From 1949 to 1990 the event was known as the Nations Grand Prix. It was one of the original rounds of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing calendar. The race was held exclusively at Monza... |
FIN Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix was the Finnish round of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing championship from 1962 to 1982. It was held at the Tampere Circuit in 1962 and 1963 before moving to Imatra. Giacomo Agostini won the most Finnish Grands Prix with ten 500cc victories and seven 350cc... |
ARG Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix was the Argentine round of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing championship. The event was held ten times at the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez between 1961 and 1999... |
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| 1962 1962 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season The 1962 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 14th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of eleven Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc... |
Honda RC110 / RC111* |  Switzerland Luigi TaveriLuigi Taveri Luigi Taveri is a Swiss former motorcycle road racer. He was three times world champion in the 125 cc class of the Grand Prix road racing championship, in 1962, 1964, and 1966.... |
3 |
3 |
2 |
9 |
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1 |
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| Honda RC110 | Tommy Robb Tommy Robb Tommy Robb is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Northern Ireland. Robb began his Grand Prix career in the 1957 season. He won his first world championship race 1962 in the 250 class at the Ulster Grand Prix. In the 1962 season, Robb became one of the first non-Japanese riders hired by... |
5 |
4 |
3 |
11 |
7 |
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Ret |
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| Honda RC110 / RC111* |  Japan Kunimitsu TakahashiKunimitsu Takahashi is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing driver from Japan who is also considered as the "father of drifting". He was the chairman of the GT-Association, the organizers of the Super GT series, from 1993 to 2007.-Motorcycle racing:... |
6 |
2 |
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| Honda* |  Australia Tom PhillisTom Phillis Thomas Edward Phillis was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1961, he won Honda's first championship race when he took the 1961 125cc Spanish Grand Prix. He went on to win the FIM 1961 125cc World Championship. This was also Honda's first world championship.Phillis died while competing in the... |
8 |
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| Honda RC110 | Derek Minter Derek Minter Derek Minter was a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in 1958 when he finished the year in fifth place in the 500cc world championship. In 1960, Minter won the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland. In 1962, he won the Isle of Man 250cc Lightweight TT -References:... |
9 |
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| Honda* | Japan Sadao Shimazaki |
10 |
11 |
Ret |
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| Honda* |  Cees van DongenCees van Dongen Cees van Dongen is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from the Netherlands. His best season was in 1969 when he won the 125cc Spanish Grand Prix and finished the season in third place behind Dave Simmonds and Dieter Braun.... |
10 |
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| Honda* | Japan Teisuke Tanaka Teisuke Tanaka Teisuke Tanaka is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Japan. Tanaka began his Grand Prix career in 1960 with Honda. He enjoyed his best season in 1962 when he won the 125cc Nations Grand Prix and finished the season in sixth place in the 125cc world championship.-References:... |
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Ret |
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Honda CR110
In contrast to the RC110, Honda developed a lower powered production version, the Honda CR110 Cub Racer. Aimed at the privateer riderPrivateer (motorsport)
In motor sport, a privateer is usually an entrant into a racing event that is not directly supported by an automobile manufacturer. Privateers teams are often found competing in rally and circuit racing events, and often include competitors who build and maintain their own vehicles...
for club and national status events, the CR110 proved more successful than the works machine and about 220 are said to have been sold worldwide. There were two versions, a five speed road machine with lights and silencers producing 7 hp at 12,700 rpm and the racing version with eight gears and 8 hp at.5 hp at 13,500.