The 50cc Motorcycle with a top speed of 118 mph in the 1960s

Today we're looking at the incredible Honda RC116, a 50cc racebike from the 1960s capable of well over 100mph, producing up to 16 horsepower at 22k rpm. This video is about exactly what makes this such a special motorcycle

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[buchananprecisionmachine]

Bart I don't know where you got your HPO figures but the RC 116 produced 21 HP at 21, 500 rpms and the normally asperated engine had 98% Volumetric Efficiency. I worked for Honda from 1967 to 1969. The riders of those bikes weighed about 80 lb. and to turn the bike they would just throw out their leg from behind the fairing. WE saw 120MPH down the main strait at Riverside Raceway in 1968.

[RC]

There are so many inaccurate comments below, I have to intervene!
I am myself a former 1960 GP driver and I was there to witness all this display of technology, achieved with no computers and no CNC machining. I also own a fantastic replica of the RC116 made in Holland by a true mechanical genius, and yes, it does rev all the way to 23000 RPM. You warm it up at 15 grand!

BUT... the RC116 never had more than 13.7 HP at the rear wheel. This figure is a direct quote from the very man who achieved that power after working on the twin-cylinder engine for 3 years, Shoishiro Irimajiri, in an interview in 1992 by the French journalist Jacques Bussillet. When Honda realized that the ever-improving twin-cylinder Suzuki, the RK66, would be impossible to beat in 1967, they quit racing both their 50cc and their Irimajiri designed 125cc 5-cylinder, with which Luigi Taveri won the 1965 and 1966 titles. That one is also quoted to have 42 HP, but the simple truth is that Irimajiri was only able to coax 32 HP from it. The 125-5 uses many parts of the 50cc RC116.
The RC116 had 9 gears, the RK66, 12 and the RK67, 14! And this was barely enough to keep the engine in its very narrow power band.
Modern 50cc GP bikes were limited to a single cylinder and 6 speeds since 1969. By 1972, they were going faster than the Japanese twins.

Power figures quoted in the media for the Suzuki RK66 are also a bit off, I read figures of 19 HP... that never happened until 10 years later with the very evolved, Kreidler-based, single cylinder engines that were raced in the 50cc class in 1977. The RK66 had about 15.5 HP, and the RK67, another half HP and two more gears. Their speed approached 195 km/h at Spa, the fastest circuit then.
Also, to contradict "Buchanan Precision Machine" on more very inaccurate details (including the simple fact that none of the three RC116s built was ever in the United States to this day) Luigi Taveri and Ralph Bryans, who were the works drivers for Honda on the RC115 and RC116, were small men, but their weight was not "80 lbs" but 60 kilos, or 132 lbs. In fact Ralph was 140 lbs, Luigi 145. And the sole Japanese driver who raced the third example built (Japanese GP 1966) was any lighter.
Also the bikes HAD to weigh the minimum FIM weight of 60 kilos or 132 lbs. So lots and lots of speculation, misiformation and outright lies.

Today, with the evolved 2-stroke technology largely due the the engineering prowess of the Dutch enthusiasts, the most powerful 50cc are exceeding 25 HP, truly remarkable. And most "club racers" there own evolved variations of the Kreidler "van Veen" engines, and most exceed 20 HP with usable torque managed with only 6 gears.

[alternator]

16 horsepower from a 50cc engine is absolutely insane!, and those bicycle type brakes!, If I remember correctly they were almost exactly like a normal bicycle except they could fit 4 brake pads per brake caliper instead of 2.

[outlawendurosurvival]

I have a Hercules K50 50cc bike from the 1960's, on paper it has a top speed of 85km/h but in reality it easily goes over 100km/h if everything is set up correctly. Very powerful engine, my father used it to build an enduro and won many races.

[lixloon]

I saw the Honda 50 twin firsthand. In 1967, Canada celebrated its 100 birthday and all sorts of special events were held. One of these was the motorcycle GP at Mosport. The complete Honda factory team was there and I was able to wander into the pits (those were the days) and stand right behind the 50 twin as a mechanic warmed it up. He was casually blipping the throttle to 19, 000 rpm and I thought that was the coolest thing a 19 year old motorcycle enthusiast could ever witness. What an engineering company!
I'll take high rev's over displacement or turbochargers any day and have owned a couple VTEC's and several Honda motorcycles since.

[NoosaHeads]

I watched a 50cc race in the 1960s. All the bikes were crowded together in the corners and the sound was like a swarm of angry bees. You're absolutely right - great fun to watch. (However the most fun of all is watching the isle of Man T.T. Seeing a bike travelling at over 200mph on a (usually) 30mph road is a thrilling as it gets).

[XXXXXXXXXX]

The shot of two pistons and a crankshaft on a man's hand (5:55) shows how small this marvellous piece of engineering was!

[AudiophileTubes]

I've had many bikes, but one of the most FUN to ride is my 49cc HONDA MB5! A true legend, available in the U.S. for only one year (1982), and it cost $599 new! It didn't sell much, so these new bikes were discounted to $399 new by several dealers afterwards. 2-stroke, 7.1 HP, 5-speed 'screamer' that is a blast to ride, and turns heads everywhere I go! Hits 53 MPH too, which is more than enough in suburban or back roads! It looks like a mini-Ducati, and is built like a Panzer tank. One of the all time great 50cc class motorcycles ever built, and available to consumers. Ditto the Kawasaki AR50! These bikes are rare now, and i've heard stories of some being sold for $5000 dollars and up at auction! I don't even think Jay Leno has one in his collection.

[robertbrownm]

Love it! Pushing small engines to the limit will always be the more approachable and understandable class.

[kimmer]

I was on an airliner going from New York to Bahrain on an assignment. An onboard magazine showed the Honda CBX six cylinder. ''I'm going to get one of those some day''. In 1992 I saw a derelict 1979 CBX with a hole in the cases where a rod exited and bought the bike. That was my very first motorcycle engine overhaul. I replaced damaged parts, rebuilt it, and rode it another 25, 000 miles with the ICOA CBX Club, and it's still in my garage along with 3 other CBX bikes. Note to self: This is not a beginner's engine to learn how to repair motorcycle engines. As an Engineer, I was blown away by the details and design work in that engine. It was astounding.

[MarcHillM]

Great vid, thank you. I started motorcycles in the 70's with a tiny CB160. It was so far ahead, engine part of the frame, long inlet carbs right off the IOM and twin leading shoe front brakes. Also, I could ride at night in the rain and count on getting back home without failing ignition and electrics. It was an exciting machine to ride and I fell in love with motorcycling.

[ghengiscant]

Thanks for the video, excellent content and presentation . You sure know your stuff . I` m a Brit of the Goldstar generation, and back in the day Honda blew our minds with their high revving race bikes, every season a new masterpiece . Exciting times indeed .

[word]

I got my drivers license in 1965. I owned 4 Hondas before buying my first car. I knew a lot of Honda lore but this video is extremely informative and captures all the reasons I still ride. I've owned a BMW Boxer Cup Racer ( "prep bike" not a replica) since 2006. A few months ago I bought a 2010 Ducati 1198 S. Rode it today as a matter of fact. The passion never ceases -- it only gets better. Again -- good job!

[spud]

Honda put two of these engines together added another cylinder to make a 5 cylinder in-line125cc, the RC149 and cleaned up in 1966. I had a "cut-away" poster on my bedroom wall in the early 70's of the 125.

[dlicen]

In the mid-sixties, Tomos made the D9 model, which had 9 gears, weighted only 39 kg, had a fiber-glass frame and reached 150 km/h.

[skeggjoldgunnr]

Everyone at Honda today: No matter the division or job title can take pride in the accomplishments here. I grew up in the 60's watching this. THIS was what motorcycling meant to me. Some guy pushes you and your bike to get you going. You race. Hold that machine and you as ONE right on that razor's edge limit of both. Your supporting team love what they do and depend on you. They engineered it. Together, you all aim to make it even better. YES I RACED AMA! Bultaco. CZ. Penton. Jawa. Class B dinosaurs. That's where my heart is still. I watched the sad failures of the Maico gearbox. I watched cookie cutter Japanese pot metal bikes that will have no value the instant they leave the dealer lot take every trophy. I watched senior Bulto not pay his workers. Such changes. I had a neighbor that loved his combat wombat Hodaka. I had no clue what that was all about. Then I raced against Dick Mann with his 500cc rotax 4 cycle thumper and the wildest kid: Danny Chandler. I loved watching the 125cc class. They seemed to go faster. To this day I swear by a Bultaco frame geometry and powerband delivery of power for berm busting and powering out of the transition, building high revs for the straight. Bultaco's nature ...it's very SPIRIT had magic here. I think it does to this day. It takes the trophy for feeling best here. A bike has it's own personality. That lies in the alloy and temper and wall thickness and fabrication of it's frame, the geometry. the suspension, the way the power and torque are delivered to the tire and the surface you're on. Dirt seems to talk to a Bull.

[michaeltb]

I remember the 50 cc bikes racing in the TT in the early 60s. On the climb up the Mountain speed was low but they made up on downhill stretches. Pity disc brakes were not around then.
In those days there was an Ultra-Lightweight 125 cc class and of course the biggest engines were 500 cc. It doesn't make sense to me why engine sizes have gone up so much today. The smaller engines provided much more entertainment without the crazy speeds now possible.

[jimmysblacksmithing]

Hey good day, awesome excellent video very informative etc. am 66 years old, have had well over 100 motorcycles. And currently above that have a dozen or more primarily old 60s and 70s Hondas. A few other types. But as a kid riding Hondas and working on them For a dollar an hour in the motorcycle shop., just saw unbelievable engineering that Hondas as well as other Japanese companies had. Love those Hondas and any other Japanese motorcycles. There are no bad motorcycles as you said. We used to put engines on bicycle frames with a V-belt Drive push start etc. no brakes. Very excited to have seen your video going to forward it to my son as well as I just subscribed to your channel. Look forward to more thank you so much stay well hope all of your subscribers as well as yourself, are safe and well and have a beautiful day. Jim

[Ralfi-Film]

My uncle used to race a Kreidler 50cc in the late 70s and beginning 80s in Germany and Europe. Great that time. The latest 50cc race-bikes went over 200km/h and had 20 Horsepower!
I have been part of the team as a boy of 12.
What a time!

[hazcat]

This is an interesting, informative, well researched 'documentary' that conveyed the soul of motorcycles. Thank you!