Try to imagine a bike like that in the early 2000s and you can perceive what appeal it had towards the public. He was considered the best by every rider. A modern line and a technology that is light years ahead, a 'package' that could still enter the market without disfiguring it.
See the video of January 2021, episode # 39 PULITI dentro BIKER Fuori:
The Honda RN01 G-Cross was produced in very few units for the Official G Cross Honda team and a Japanese satellite team. It never made it to commercialization. Rumors say it was not a Honda native design but the frame, and the gearbox idea, came from a Japanese engineer who then sold the design to HRC. However, the fact is that it was the HRC Development Team who launched the product and invested economically.
At the beginning of the project the assembly with Kayaba fork and ammo Ohlins was foreseen (see photo below by forums.mtbr.com), then replaced in its entirety by Showa suspensions. The structure was in carbon but then, in its official version, it was switched to an aluminum frame keeping only small carbon parts (some present in the Showa fork).
Photos: http://forums.mtbr.com
Honda and its RN01 have written a great page in the history of Downhill. The bike was technologically superior to the others (at least as an idea/project), then in practice it had to be demonstrated on the competition fields. The Team's approach to the races was very professional and clashed a bit with the environment Downhill in general of that era. In fact, the atmosphere was different with Honda thanks to its large paddock and bikes jealously guarded from prying eyes. The public admired them, the riders dreamed of using one and the media (even outside the sector) were intrigued by them. In short, an advantage for the whole DH environment!
The Team riders had Showa technicians who followed the team to set the suspension for each rider at each race. An aspect that many pilots of the time neglected to great extent. The same technicians would have declared that suspension tuning on a bike is much more elaborate than those required by motocross: here the mass is lighter and making a suspension work well is not as simple as you might think. In the face of this, information was passed on to the research and development of Motocross suspensions.
Honda also brought a professional spirit to the choice of athletes and, in collaboration with the DS Martin Whiteley, he relied heavily on a single driver, in order to have continuous feedback to improve the product, while supporting him with a young man. The Leader's task fell to Greg Minnaar who will stay in the team until its dissolution (2007), while on the young man there were various choices: the 1st year touched Cyrille Kurtz (3rd at the Junior World Championships the year before), who however remained in the Team for only one year. The following year, 2005, the Finnish arrived Matti Lehikoinen which remained until the end of the Team. In 2007, last year, the young man seemed to have found him and answered the name of Brendan Fairclough, but this did not change the mind of the Japanese giant that at the end of 2007 formalized the dissolution of the Team with assets a Norba title, a World Cup and 2 victories in the Team classification. Other teams would have signed up for a similar palmares but considering Honda's investments, we would have expected more, such as a victory in the World Championship (Minnaar touched it several times with 2 second places and a 3rd).
But in the bike, unlike the bike, the rider counts more and therefore, in the face of large investments, it is not certain that great victories will also arrive.
Team G Cross Honda roster | |
| 2007 | 2006 |
 | |
| 2005 | 2004 |
| | |
The formation and direction of the Honda G-Cross team was from the Australian of 23 Degrees, Team Manager of Trek World Racing (2014). Whiteley was responsible for UCI MTB from 1996 to 2001 and then Team Manager Global Racing (Orange bike) before joining the newborn G Cross Team Honda.
HONDA RN01 G-CROSS
GEOMETRIC DATA:
Wheelbase: 1155 mm
Ground clearance: 294 mm
Max length: 1795 mm
Max width: 695 mm
Max height: 1068 mm
Weight: over 17,5kg approx (the exact weight is unknown)
Transmission: 7 speed
Chassis: double beam with lower cradle (aluminum)
Front suspension: Adjustable Showa telescopic fork
Rear suspension: Showa monoshock (Monocross)
These are the only figures available as Honda has kept everything secret and the few remaining specimens have not been sold.
GEARBOX SYSTEM
The inside of the gearbox had been done in collaboration with suntour e Shimano, and the feature that catches the eye is the possibility of being able to change gear without pedaling since the freewheel is positioned inside the gearbox. Basically a classic system but enclosed in a box to avoid external agents (mud) or unwanted breakages from blows. We find a chainring (which moves) and a 7-speed sprocket set. Since everything is enclosed in a single point, there is better weight management with a chain line that remains fixed and therefore also brings advantages to the functioning of the suspension itself. During the shifting phase, the crown moves on the axis of the bottom bracket and therefore the chain line always remains perfect (it is said that the system was disassembled every time the race was over to avoid spy shots or real thefts).
So after 4 years of honorable service, Honda dropped the Downhill leaving a bad taste in the mouth of all fans. Honda has never declared the real reason but it seems to be the low economic return of the project not sufficient to justify the costs. The Honda RN01 should have gone into production but after surveying the market and seeing that DH remained a niche world, Honda would have pulled the oars in the boat.
We are talking about a project that, according to Mike van Zyl (mechanic of Greg Minnaar), was worth only $ 20.000 for the installation of the Showa carbon fork and $ 30.000 for the shifter casing!
However, this adventure served as a basis for any future motorcycle projects. Honda had also stated that the project was aimed at acquiring skills to be subsequently brought back to the motorcycle field for Trial or Light Cross projects. We are sure of this with the release of the Honda CFR 250 from the frame !.
We leave you a PDF below which, through diagrams, shows us the operation of the Gearbox gearbox!
DOWNLOAD PDF GEARBOX OPERATION
