Clive Padgett and Bruce Anstey have campaigned HRC’s MotoGP-rep road bike in the unforgiving world of road racing. It’s given Bruce new motivation, and won the Ulster GP. Clive showed PB how he turned a collector’s item into a winner.
THE IRONY OF MANUFACTURERS going to great lengths producing cutting-edge, limited edition superbikes is that their exclusivity means they often end up in the hands of people who will never ride them. Wealthy speculators and dealer principals who expect capped production numbers and high price tags to translate into immediate appreciation or (in a few years) wheel them on to a plinth, and wait for the investment to mature.
The Honda RC213V-S is no exception – the first batch was largely wasted on such people, with just a handful barking their MotoGP soundtrack on open roads. But this bike was spared such ignominy. The V5 records C. Padgett, Batley, as the first keeper. And despite the Yorkshire bike dealer’s notoriety for its new-old stock machinery, Clive’s plans for his piece of HRC history were more ambitious than even Honda’s own: the road racing masters planned to take on the TT.
“I knew I was going to take it road racing before I even received it,” Clive explains. “When I first saw it at a show, I knew that’s what I wanted to do – Honda V4s, from the RS860 through RC30s, RC45s and RVFs, have all been successful on the Isle of Man, so it made sense to me.
“It was also to give Bruce Anstey new motivation: he’s won races, and in 2015 he won the Superbike race, and set a 132mph lap record the year before. He’s 49 next year, so what could I do to keep his interest? Give him great bikes to ride – a YZR500, RS250 and an RCV. And, from the business point of view, what a PR exercise for the bike. We’ve ordered more RCVs for customers than anywhere else in the world!”
Esta historia es de la edición January 2018 de Performance Bikes.
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Esta historia es de la edición January 2018 de Performance Bikes.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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