HONDA’S featherweight RC166 was a masterstroke of engineering that even by todays standards, is a benchmark in motorcycle design and performance. In this video we see the bike getting a well deserved run out on the hallowed Isle of Man TT course.
Built at a time when two-stroke motorcycles ruled the Grand Prix championship, the tiny ‘Six’ (as it was known) took the fight to Suzuki, Yamaha and MZ by revving to 20,000rpm and producing 62hp – nearly 250bhp per litre!
Even the valve in each tiny combustion chamber – and there are four per-cylinder – are different shapes, with no two being the same to allow them to fit and marry up to the camshaft. The tiny pistons in the engine are about the same diameter as a half-pint glass and at full chat, the engine would spin at over 300 revolutions per minute.
