Honda RC213V-S: Australia set to receive street bike that is a near carbon-copy of their MotoGP racer

HONDA is making good on their promise to release a MotoGP bike for the street, with a lightly-tamed version of Marc Marquez’s title-winning bike set to go on sale.
Honda took the wraps off the machine on Thursday in Spain ahead of this weekend’s Catalunya Grand Prix, where Casey Stoner will perform a few demonstration runs aboard it.
And the really great news? It’s coming to Australia.
For a mere $244,000, you can potentially lay your hands on Honda’s wicked RC213V-S, a 1000cc machine that is a near mirror-image of the Repsol-branded machine Marquez used to romp to the 2014 MotoGP world championship.

I say potentially because any serious buyer will be vetted by Honda first, with customers being put through a ‘qualifying’ process by head office before they get the green light to take one home.
Watch all the MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 practice, qualifying and race action at this weekend’s Catalunya Grand Prix LIVE on FOX SPORTS Australia.
It’s little surprise; the machine has a kerb weight of just 188 kilos but packs 156 horsepower — and that’s just in standard form.
If you’re willing to part with closer to $400,000 you can purchase the various options that make up the Sports Kit — for track use only — trimming 11 kilos but upping the power output to “over 212 horsepower”, according to the official specification list.

“The development team spent countless hours poring over ways to make as few changes to the MotoGP racer as practically possible,” Honda’s official statement said.
“With the exception of a few components required for compliance such as rear-view mirrors and a muffler, as well as practical changes for public roads such as the addition of a starter motor and tweaks to the brake discs and pads, very few key aspects of the motorcycle have been changed from the race-ready legend.”
 
But just how close is it to Marquez’s race bike?
“It’s really good fun, and mid-corner it feels just like a MotoGP bike,” the man himself said.
“I even got my knee and elbow down riding it!”
All bikes will be built to the customer’s specific order — your colour choices are a red/white/blue Honda livery or plain, menacing carbon fibre — with a delivery time of between six and 12 months before you can live out your Doohan/Rossi/Stoner/Marquez (delete where applicable) fantasies.
Orders open on the RC213V-S website on July 13.