The Honda RC213V-S has already been derided in a lot of markets all over the world, but I shudder to even think what the reception for the bike is going to be in its home country if the spec details of the bike in Japan are true. Apparently, the spec sheets on the dedicated website of the RC213V-S in Japan shows that the supposed road-version of its MotoGP bike will only get a whopping 70 horsepower.

That’s right. 70 horsepower!

I honestly don’t know if this is a joke or a typo. I’m really hoping that it’s the latter because I can’t even comprehend the thought of a bike being hyped as the closest thing to a MotoGP machine and then fall dramatically short of whatever expectations people may have when they hear “MotoGP” attached to a motorcycle.

Hearing that the US-spec RC213V-S would only get 101 horsepower on the stock model already had people in an uproar. Can you imagine what the reaction’s going to be if Japanese customers only get 70 horsepower on their RC213V-S units? I surely can’t.

Here’s where it really gets comical. The suggested retail price of the RC213V-S in Japan is a whopping 21.9 million yen, which is about $179,250. That’s not as high as the US price for the bike, but it’s still obscenely expensive for a bike that has the power equivalent of a small-displacement off-roader.

To it’s credit, Honda->ke291 is offering the RC213V-S sports kit in Japan. That shoots the output of the bike up to a more understandable 215 horsepower, which is what you would’ve expected from a bike that supposedly carries MotoGP juices. Honda didn’t specifically say how much the sports kit will cost in Japan, but if you want to base it on other markets, the kit could retail for about $13,000.

And that’s on top of the actual cost of the bike. Yikes.

Continue reading to read more about the disappointing Honda RC213V-S.

Why it matters

I’m not even going to pretend to know Honda’s rationale here. It’s just really confusing. I’m sure the company has its reasons and when it does come out and explain everything, it’ll probably make some kind of sense. But until that day comes, I’m going to wake up in a world where a bike that’s been touted as “the closest thing to a MotoGP bike” only has 70 horsepower in Japan and 100 horsepower in countries like the US and France.

I also understand the part of regulations in those countries essentially limiting Honda from fully blowing up the RC213V-S. But if these regulations are impediments, why not just shoot straight for the track-spec models? I’m sure customers will appreciate that version more than a supposed street-spec variant that doesn’t even reach triple-figure output numbers.

Oh, and for those same bikes to cost that much? I really don’t get it.

Maybe there’s something about the bike that I’m overlooking but I still can’t get past the power-price ratio of the RC213V-S.

Here’s to hoping that Honda has an explanation for this really soon.