- 5,014
- Panama City, FL
There are 71 race bikes, at least in the NA version, when you consider all the color combinations. Of those, the 8H bikes will not change numbers after winning a championship, and the Honda RC 162 '61 cannot be raced, leaving 65 bikes with the potential to win a championship series and carry a number 1 plate. My project, since I was all gold and 100% and needed something to do, was to see which bikes were actually able to carry the number 1 plate. There are some obvious winners in the garage, but some potential pigs as well.
As it happens, the only bike out of the 65 in my garage that's not carrying number 1 is the Honda VT250F '82, as the only series championship it's eligible for is the TT World Series, in which it is hopelessly outclassed. Some bikes were easy, like the BMW K1200R, which could win the Monster series without even trying hard. The K1200S had to win the TT World Series, the only series race it was eligible for. The Buell Firebolt was a similar walkover in the Monster series.
Any of the Japanese 1000s were easy wins in the Superbike 1000 series, but the Aprilia RSV1000R Factory and MV Augusta F4-1000S were hopeless, unable to keep up with the Japanese bikes, but were able to win the TT World Series.
The most challenging bike to win with was the Suzuki GSX1100S Katana RM. I think I ran it in the Monster Series and was losing, dropped out and ran it in the TT World Series, in which I had to run all seven races, as some it would win, some it be 2nd. It was LAST on the Motegi superspeedway race! I had to seriously shorten its gearing to get enough acceleration to be competitive, which hurt it on long straights like Tokyo.
As for the VT250F, it carries a number 4 plate. I ran it in the TT World series, finished last in the first race (but scored the points) and then exited each successive race immediately after taking the start, to save time. Having scored points, it finished 4th in the series, if a bit behind the others.
When I started this, I really expected to have to settle for some 2 or 3 plates on some of the bikes, especially when I saw how poorly the Aprilia and MV Augusta did in the 1000 series.
So now you know for sure. Any RM bike in the game except the VT250F can win if you run it in the right place.
As it happens, the only bike out of the 65 in my garage that's not carrying number 1 is the Honda VT250F '82, as the only series championship it's eligible for is the TT World Series, in which it is hopelessly outclassed. Some bikes were easy, like the BMW K1200R, which could win the Monster series without even trying hard. The K1200S had to win the TT World Series, the only series race it was eligible for. The Buell Firebolt was a similar walkover in the Monster series.
Any of the Japanese 1000s were easy wins in the Superbike 1000 series, but the Aprilia RSV1000R Factory and MV Augusta F4-1000S were hopeless, unable to keep up with the Japanese bikes, but were able to win the TT World Series.
The most challenging bike to win with was the Suzuki GSX1100S Katana RM. I think I ran it in the Monster Series and was losing, dropped out and ran it in the TT World Series, in which I had to run all seven races, as some it would win, some it be 2nd. It was LAST on the Motegi superspeedway race! I had to seriously shorten its gearing to get enough acceleration to be competitive, which hurt it on long straights like Tokyo.
As for the VT250F, it carries a number 4 plate. I ran it in the TT World series, finished last in the first race (but scored the points) and then exited each successive race immediately after taking the start, to save time. Having scored points, it finished 4th in the series, if a bit behind the others.
When I started this, I really expected to have to settle for some 2 or 3 plates on some of the bikes, especially when I saw how poorly the Aprilia and MV Augusta did in the 1000 series.
So now you know for sure. Any RM bike in the game except the VT250F can win if you run it in the right place.
