Hope to be starting this in a few weeks -Tamiya's 1/12 Honda
RC 166. This will be a bit of a discipline test for me . I have been a modeler all my life of all subjects and genres with most of my recent efforts 1/48 Japanese aircraft . While I have been involved with real motorcycles for over 50 years I have yet to complete a model of one . I don't know why but I have a few starts spanning many years that await completion. Perhaps with the Kitmaker family watching I will be compelled to finally finish one.
This seems to be another of Tamiya's wonders. I have purchased all four accessory detail sets . These include a tiny rivet set for the fairing and seat ,
a set for the forks that includes photo etch clutch basket and separate friction and drive plates, a wheel set with turned flanged alloy rims and individual wire spokes and nipples that must be laced just like the real thing on included fixtures and a photo etch final drive chain that must be assembled link by link and supposedly fully functional .
I have long considered the RC 166 to be the most amazing motorcycle ever built. Honda built this GP racer in the mid sixties to compete with the dominant 2 strokes of the era . Soichiro Honda was committed to 4 stroke technology - ( He later caved in a bit and built two stroke off road bikes ) - because he felt strongly about their cleaner emissions and lower fuel consumption. Because a 2 stroke produces power with every revolution and a 4 stroke every other , generally speaking the only way to make a 4 stroke competitive is to double the rpm. Honda sought to achieve this by reducing reciprocating mass and this means small components . The answer was and still is many tiny cylinders, valves and pistons.
So became the RC 166 - a 60 horsepower 250cc DOHC 4 valve per cylinder inline six that did 150 mph . In it's second season in the very capable hands of Mike Hailwood it won 10 of 10 GP's and also gave Mike one of his 14 titles at the Isle of Man TT. All of this in an era that predated computer aided design and machining. To think that Honda bashing is prevalent among a certain group is amusing to me.
If you have not done so , give yourself a treat and google this machine-
several videos demonstrate it running at 18,000 rpm ( yes that is correct 18 THOUSAND rpm) -it will make your ears bleed and there is even a clip of a complete tear down on a Japanese TV program !
Cheers ! Richard
