Honda RC143

The Honda RC143 was the Honda racing team's 125 cc Grand Prix motorcycle racer for the 1960 season, the first time Honda competed in a whole season of racing. It was a major step forward from the previous year's machines and, though still outpaced by more experienced European rivals, showed seasoned competitors such as Luigi Taveri that Honda was a force to be reckoned with. Unlike the RC142, the air-cooled, four-stroke, twin-cylinder engine of the RC143 was canted forward by 35 degrees to improve cooling and increase airflow to new Keihin carburettors, with double overhead camshafts driven by a vertical shaft through bevel gears and a claimed 22 hp at 14,000 rpm. The leading-link forks that had worked on Japanese dirt tracks were replaced by telescopic forks for the Isle of Man.