NW HONDA BIKES MARCH.2017 ISSUE.29
CONTACT
RE D G IN C A R A D N O H MCGUINNESS AND MARTI NW HONDA BIKES • ISSUE 29 • MAR 2017
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fter a long year away, fan favourite Guy Martin will be returning to racing, forming a formidable team with McGuinness, bringing the brand new Fireblade SP2 to the roads. Martin has enjoyed great success in road racing during his career, taking wins at various races including the Ulster GP, Scarborough Gold Cup, Armoy, Cookstown and also the Southern 100. He has also been on the TT podium 15 times and will be chasing his first TT win with the Honda Racing team this year. Guy said “Neil [Tuxworth] has been talking to me for a while about joining the team but I had a lot of thinking to do before I committed and said
yes. I spent a lot of time on my push bike to and from work, thinking about what to do. I didn’t want to grow old regretting not giving the Honda a go and the more time passes since making the decision, the more time I’ve thought it is the right decision. Honda is a great team and the Fireblade has always been a weapon on the roads so, with the new bike, I‘m keen to give it a go. We’ve got a busy testing schedule coming up and I’ve put some other stuff off to make time. John [McGuinness] is the man. I’ve got massive respect for him and I’m looking forward to racing on the Fireblade against him.” McGuinness however, will be looking to add to his collection of 23 TT trophy wins while recapturing his lap record which was broken during last year’s race by Michael Dunlop, who averaged 133mph around the track. McGuinness said “I’m back with Honda for another year. Really, I’m part of the family, and I can’t wait to see what the new Fireblade SP2 can do! I know the old model like the back of my hand and have taken a lot of my TT wins with the old girl, so I can’t wait to get out on track and try the new machine out. I have a good feeling about this year and think we have a really good package
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EAM TEAM
NW HONDA BIKES • ISSUE 29 • MAR 2017
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IN COMPLETE HONDA
RACING DREAM TEAM
to show that we mean business. I, of course, would like another TT win and I would quite like my lap record back! I always say when it’s broken that the lads are just borrowing it and I hope this year that this is the case. I am sad to say bye to the old Fireblade. I have a lot of history and good memories with that bike but testing the new model can’t come soon enough and neither can the race season. I’m excited to have Guy as my new teammate. We’ve enjoyed many a racing battle over the years and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can both do.” The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade is the most successful 1000cc machine ever made at the Isle of Man TT, and Honda aim to add to this accolade with the new SP2 Version. The SP” is a road going homologation special, the ultimate expression of the Fireblade’s Next Stage Total Control Concept. Based on the Fireblade SP, that has been specifically designed with racing in mind, features a revised cylinder head with larger valve sizes and lightweight Marchesini wheels for even greater performance.
The all-new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 will make its road racing debut at the North West 200 in May.
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NW HONDA BIKES • ISSUE 29 • MAR 2017
GAME CHANGERS
5 HONDA BIKES THAT CHANGED THE GAME With the release of the new Fireblade getting ever closer, let’s take a trip down memory lane looking at some of the Honda’s that changed the game. HERE FOR MORE CLICK INFORMATION
HONDA SUPER CUB
HONDA CB750
The Honda Super Cub debuted in 1958, ten years after Honda Motor Co. Ltd was established. Since its release production has surpassed 87 million in 2014 making it the most produced motor vehicle in history. But it wasn’t always this way, on release the Cub sold poorly at first due to the recession in Japan. Variants of the Cub included the C50, C70, C90 and many more.
Released in 1969 the CB750 was the first motorbike to be called a ”superbike” and was one of the first bikes manufactured with a disc brake and straight-four single overhead camshaft – both features had not previously been available on the mainstream market.
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NW HONDA BIKES • ISSUE 29 • MAR 2017
2017 HONDA FIREBLADE SP
The new CBR1000RR Fireblade SP is the latest bike in the Fireblade tale, taking the Total Control philosophy and re-engineers it for the track. By adding Öhlins front and rear suspension, Brembo monoblock front brakes, a single seat unit and unique Tricolour livery it creates an exclusive machine focused purely on cutting lap times – nothing else.
HONDA CBR900RR
1970 HONDA CT70 TRAIL
The first of the legendary Fireblades. Introduced in 1992, It was the first of a series of largedisplacement Honda models to carry the RR suffix. The development of the first generation CBR900RR was led by Tadao Baba and set a precedent for light weight in the super bike class. By using the very latest computer technology, the Blade was not all about its engine and instead relied on handling and light weight to destroy the 5 opposition
A step up from a minibike, the Trail 70 was small enough for kids but powerful enough to carry an adult, street legal but also a capable of going off road. It is still seen strapped to the rear bumper of countless motor homes in the US. Honda claims it sold 100,000 examples in 1970 alone, and the CT70 stayed in production virtually unchanged until 1994.
NW HONDA BIKES • ISSUE 29 • MAR 2017
BIKE BEATS COMMUTE
Why Honda motorcycling beats public transport The BBC reported last year that research by ONS showed up to 3.7 million workers in the UK travel for two hours or longer every weekday. Longer periods travelling to and from work have therefore become an accepted part of many people’s daily routine. From fare rises, strikes, overcrowded trains and missing quality family time, it’s no wonder the strain of commuting takes its toll on many people. In the past three months alone, hundreds of thousands of commuters have suffered due to over five periods of rail strikes. Britain’s largest specialist transport union, the RMT have been responsible for 29 date announcements over a 10 month period due to a dispute over Tube station staffing and safety. But what if we could give you a stress-free solution to commuting? One where you are always guaranteed a seat and won’t be affected by delays. Five Honda motorcycle owners were asked why commuting on two wheels beats public transport any day of the week. Their answers ranged from saving up to 80minutes on their journey time, flexibility, freedom, door-to-door convenience, autonomy and cutting costs.
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MOTOGPDA: UNVEIL THE NW HONDA BIKES • ISSUE 29 • MAR 2017
TEAM HON
On 3rd February, Honda officially unveiled the 2017 Repsol Honda Team racing effort to the Indonesian and International media in the beautiful compound at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo), located in the centre of the Indonesian capital. Factory riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were on-site to present the 2017 specification of Honda’s RC213V, which features broadly the same livery as its predecessor
Having spent the previous day enjoying the warm welcome and proud support of the associates at the AHM Factory in Karawang, the riders began by meeting excited Honda customers at a dealer facility and then moved on to the JIExpo, where they spent time talking with the media. Four very lucky Indonesian fans, winners of a Repsol socialmedia contest based around the #MadAboutRepsolHondaTeam hashtag, had the exclusive opportunity to closely admire the RC213V and to meet and greet Marc and Dani before the riders left for the airport to make their return to Europe. This was the third consecutive year that the Repsol Honda Team launch has been excellently hosted by Astra Honda in Indonesia. On the same occasion, AHM presented their own 2017 racing activities and officially launched the new Honda CBR250RR Repsol Edition, CRF250 Rally and CRF1000L Africa Twin. Marc Marquez said, “I’ve come here to Indonesia many times already, and I know how much they love MotoGP. Still, they’re always able to make me feel even more welcome than the last time, which is amazing! It was also very interesting and pleasant visiting the factory yesterday because I love bikes and I liked very much to see how they’re ‘born’ and to meet the people behind all this. They were incredibly supportive and passionate. We’ll do our best to give them a reason to celebrate. We’ve started our winter tests well enough, and now we all must keep working and take more steps forward to be prepared to fight at the top again.” “The target obviously is to fight for the championship and for every race if we can,” Pedrosa said. “Hopefully I can stay injuryfree, which is important, and be fast every time.” Alongside Marquez’s riders’ crown, Honda won the manufacturers’ championship in 2016 but lost out to Yamaha in the teams’ standings - thanks in part to a late-season collarbone injury for Pedrosa. The 2017 MotoGP starts with an evening race on 26 March at Losail International Circuit, north of Doha, Qatar.
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NW HONDA BIKES • ISSUE 29 • MAR 2017
L O S P E R 7 1 0 2 E
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Norton Way Group DOES RED NOSE DAY 24th March 2017 Every department across all dealerships in the group will be participating in activities to raise money for this year’s Red Nose Day. Please visit our just giving page if you would like to make a donation and contribute to our fundraising.
www.justgiving.com /fundraising /NWG-comicrelief
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Norton Way Group Norton Way North, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire SG6 1BL www.nortonwayhondamotorbike.com Tel: 01462 754 700