about the Rothmans graphics on Honda V4

[Lorne]

sa1713's recent gallery image of his 5th gen in full Rothmans livery reminded me of the great Honda NSR of the early '90's...  

 

The most successful racer on the NSR has to be Michael Doohan, winning the Moto GP championship 5 years in a row starting in 1994. This after a devastating crash at Assen in 1992 that nearly cost him his right leg.

   April 1995 Sport Rider article: Riding Mick Doohan's Honda NSR500

   May 2020 Motorsport article: Mick Doohan and MotoGP’s greatest comeback

 

The photo shows Doohan aboard his 1991 NSR:

 

 

[St. Stephen]

Great shot Lorne. But whenever I see that livery I always think of Wayne Gardner, Doohan's Aussie predecessor as world champion. 

 

[Terry]

2 hours ago, St. Stephen said:

Great shot Lorne. But whenever I see that livery I always think of Wayne Gardner, Doohan's Aussie predecessor as world champion. 

 

There was a great race at Philip Island where Gardner had a near crash that saw him smash the screen and part of the fairing, but still win. There are some nice cancer-themed bikes at the Honda Collection at Motegi.

[St. Stephen]

My photos, Laguna Seca GP 1988. Gardner was the defending champion so #1. Lawson won, but Wayne's ride on that (sorry VFRD fans, but true) horribly handling Honda was just amazing. I've watched the video many times since and his two wheels are never pointed the same direction the whole lap!

 

 

Turn 7/8, aka...well, you know:

 

Roughly Remy's age:

[sa1713]

It all got started for me in the early 1980’s when I saw this guy ride that bike, Freddie Spencer and his NSR in Rothmans livery.  Watching the GP guys ride those machines was incredible, their skill, daring and many times completely over the limit made them super-human.  We can debate the cancer years but they delivered the most creative, artistic and indelible visuals we’ll ever see.  Rothmans, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Camel etc. made the teams recognizable and clear.  Today’s teams are fighting to fill every inch of space making for unpleasant sights.

 

 

When Mick Doohan arrived, that was it for me.  Have followed him ever since, even into retirement.  Yes, I have attended US MotoGP rounds with his helmet hoping for an autograph, sadly no luck. 

 

[bmart]

They were surely the years of crossed up riding! I've wondered how it would have gone if body position were more like it is today. Could they have been faster? Less high sides? Would bike design have changed? 

[Captain 80s]

2 hours ago, bmart said:

They were surely the years of crossed up riding! I've wondered how it would have gone if body position were more like it is today. Could they have been faster? Less high sides? Would bike design have changed? 

 

Many of the Champions in that era came from dirt tracking, which seemed to adapt well with the light-switch, rear end steering power delivery, and backing it in to compensate for the not-so-great cornering chassis of the same machines.  After the sweet handling 83 NS500R, the next decade plus, was mostly ill handling beasts.  Read some stories with Doohan.

 

The next era of Champions were Europeans that grew up riding mini road racing machines.   The designs started to change, along with refining how the power was delivered.

[Terry]

I did not mean to denigrate the colour schemes...Rothmans is probably my favourite scheme, but Marboro, Lucky Strike and Camel were also very cool. As I understand it the tobacco era provided a huge single sponsor that allowed a clean and uncluttered graphic scheme. The current era sees multiple sponsors fighting for space on bodywork that is already a jumble of aero fins and slots. I sort of liked the British GP and the use of "nostalgia" schemes but really only HRC did it properly.

 

[sa1713]

I apologize if my earlier post took away from the wonderful liveries of past that provided us race fans with great sights and racing.  Watching Castrol Oil circulate at the BGP last weekend was priceless.  I too miss those days of art.  Even Porsche brought back their Dakar 911 for a small $250,000US and for a slight bit more $175,000US you can get the Rothmans livery sans their naming.  

 

2023 Porsche 911 Dakar Gets Classic Rothmans Colors as a Factory Option (thedrive.com)

 

[Lorne]

8 hours ago, Terry said:

but Marboro, Lucky Strike and Camel were also very cool.

Don't forget Schwartz's Pepsi Suzuki. And here's a pic of the holy trinity: Schwantz, Rainey, and Doohan.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lorne]

4 hours ago, sa1713 said:

 

2023 Porsche 911 Dakar Gets Classic Rothmans Colors as a Factory Option (thedrive.com)

 

I was holding off mentioning the Porsche connection with Rothmans, but what the heck. One of my favourite Chris Harris videos sees him invited to drive the fantastic Porsche 962. The video is worth watching both to see the car and the interview with designer Norbert Singer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mohawk]

3 hours ago, Lorne said:

Don't forget Schwartz's Pepsi Suzuki. And here's a pic of the holy trinity: Schwantz, Rainey, and Doohan.

 

 

 

 

 

But did you know that Pepsi never sponsored the Suzuki Team !? The Team got permission to use the Pepsi logo, hoping that they would sponsor them. Hence the very short run of Pepsi bikes !

[Mohawk]

Re the bikes & body position/riding style. The current style is more to do with the weight than the power. A 500cc 2-stroke makes as much torque as a 1000cc 4-stroke, but goes from not much to max in a heart beat as it comes on pipe. A 240hp 4-stroke with its weight & electronics is a pussy to ride by comparison. 

British Superbikes banned electronic aids other than quickshifter/blipper & power limiters by gear/engine revs. It has made the racing one of rider skill again. Look up last weekends Thruxton Sunday Race 1 for some real bike racing entertainment 😁 A track with no straights, is a great race to watch. 

 

[Lorne]

7 hours ago, Mohawk said:

But did you know that Pepsi never sponsored the Suzuki Team !?

That I did not know! And to think I came that close to switching from Coke... 😉 

 

7 hours ago, Mohawk said:

The current style is more to do with the weight than the power.

I was able to watch MotoGP on cable in the '80's/'90's, and was hooked. My 1st international trip by VFR was to the '94 USGP at Laguna Seca, the last GP race there for a decade. I remember riding to the track that first morning, first the sound then the 2-stroke exhaust smell - all before even seeing the bikes on track. By the time GP returned to the US no team was still racing a 2-stroke.

ps. if you ever get the chance to motorcycle in California take it. There are so many great motorcycling back roads, and they're usually empty.

[Terry]

I agree with the Pepsi graphics being pretty stellar, but the closest that got to a smoking brand was when Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire...

[St. Stephen]

Lorne, this is your fault…

 

I convinced my spouse to move to Princeton NJ area for my job. Had a new kid. Took on debilitating adjustable mortgage. Saw that gp was coming to U.S. for the first time in forever at Laguna Seca.

 

“Oh, most important woman in my life,” I said, “doesn’t your sister live in Marin?” (aka bay area) Yes, she said (knowing full well where this was going), "you know my sister and hub live there…"

 

So we flew across the country. I found the cheapest rental car in the world, and drove the econobox south through SF, and arrived on a Saturday in April with another 100,000 fans who all just heard that we would hit 100F that weekend. Yeah, I was with my tribe!

 

Never been to Laguna Seca before. End up in an endless car snake going over the bridge above T5-ish. Coming from the east coast I was blown away at how friendly the CA crowd was. Everyone was waving! The Mercedes ahead of me was crawling too, but the crowds were just so positive, waving and yelling. 

 

Finally the Mercedes driver pulled off to the VIP parking, and as he turned I saw through the driver’s side window I was behind Eddie Lawson!

 

So yeah, I can always say I was on Lawson’s tail at Laguna Seca.  

[Lorne]

3 hours ago, St. Stephen said:

Lorne, this is your fault…

 

Finally the Mercedes driver pulled off to the VIP parking, and as he turned I saw through the driver’s side window I was behind Eddie Lawson!

What a great story! I can't top that but I do have an Eddie Lawson tale of my own, sort of. I didn't get my hands on my new '98 VFR800 till late afternoon on a cool damp early February day. It had arrived a week earlier but I wanted the wheels painted white. Sad weather but I wanted to see how it ran and headed out towards Sidney. Something felt odd when I applied the brakes so I turned around and headed home. The clanking noise was getting worse by the time I was able to pull off the road. The right front caliper was in place but hanging by the hose. Obviously the bolts weren't torqued properly when the wheel was reinstalled. I phoned the shop and the service manager sounded pretty freaked out, and shortly later they arrived to collect me & the VFR.

 

So, you're wondering, what does that have to do with Eddie Lawson. Well I'd read about the time he went straight on at Laguna Seca's T2 and ended up with two badly bruised feet. Eddie had a similar brake problem, found out which mechanic was responsible and told him he'd be the only mechanic to work on his brakes. Figured he wouldn't screw up like that again.

I liked the mechanic who worked on my bike and he was pretty pale after finding out his mistake. But I told him I wanted only him to work on my bike. 

 

The pics of Wayne and Eddie are from the 2007 Laguna Seca MotoGP. And that's my '98 VFR just before leaving the shop on its ill-fated 1st ride, beside the VTR I just part exchanged for it.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2024 by Lorne
hit save too soon

[nelsonpaul23]

On 8/14/2024 at 1:27 AM, St. Stephen said:

Great shot Lorne. But whenever I see that livery I always think of Wayne Gardner, Doohan's Aussie predecessor as world champion. 

 

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[Lorne]

Can't quite put my finger on why, but @nelsonpaul23 might not be on the level.

[Captain 80s]

7 minutes ago, Lorne said:

Can't quite put my finger on why, but @nelsonpaul23 might not be on the level.

Wow. Thanks.

[JZH]

On 8/16/2024 at 4:33 PM, Lorne said:

Can't quite put my finger on why, but @nelsonpaul23 might not be on the level.

 

Friend of Greg's (in the other thread), lol?

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

[3rdgenred]

On 8/14/2024 at 9:32 PM, Lorne said:

Don't forget Schwartz's Pepsi Suzuki. And here's a pic of the holy trinity: Schwantz, Rainey, and Doohan.

 

 

 

 

 

What is the year of that magazine? That’s a beautiful shot of those guys… 

[Lorne]

14 hours ago, 3rdgenred said:

What is the year of that magazine? That’s a beautiful shot of those guys… 

 

This article at Cycle World is a reprint from Sport Rider in June 2010. The photos are attributed to Gold & Goose, one of the premium MotoGP photographers in the '90's.

  MotoGP Champions Schwantz, Rainey, Doohan, Lawson - The Golden Era  

 

[The Phantom]

On 8/14/2024 at 10:45 PM, sa1713 said:

When Mick Doohan arrived, that was it for me.  Have followed him ever since, even into retirement.  Yes, I have attended US MotoGP rounds with his helmet hoping for an autograph, sadly no luck. 

 

 

That's a great helmet cabinet. I don't know Mick personally but I do see him at events I attend from time to time, if I can talk to him I'll show him your pic.

 

Last time I saw him was when he flew his helicopter into a MX round I was at, he and Stoner jumped out and just hung at the fence watching for a couple of hours then took off again 😄

[sa1713]

1 hour ago, The Phantom said:

 

That's a great helmet cabinet. I don't know Mick personally but I do see him at events I attend from time to time, if I can talk to him I'll show him your pic.

 

Last time I saw him was when he flew his helicopter into a MX round I was at, he and Stoner jumped out and just hung at the fence watching for a couple of hours then took off again 😄

 

Thank you, Sir!  That would be awesome.  I once saw a TV interview at his house with the helo on the drive and over his shoulder parked in his garage was an RC30.