Honda RC163

The Honda RC163 is a 250 cc air-cooled DOHC inline-four racing motorcycle that Honda manufactured in 1962 to compete in the 250 cc World Championship. It won eight of the nine Grands Prix it entered, Jim Redman won the world championship on it and Honda won the Manufacturers' Championship. Honda cut its racing budget for 1963 and developed no new bike, so the RC163 raced a second season, and Redman kept the championship by a small margin. It was an evolution of the RC162 with larger cooling fins, 46 bhp at 14,000 rpm with a maximum of 15,000 rpm, a strengthened frame and a new 210 mm double-sided twin leading shoe front brake. Hailwood had left for MV, so the works riders were Redman, Tom Phillis, Bob McIntyre, Teisuke Tanaka and Kunimitsu Takahashi.