OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA: 23HONDA RC70F
Given that Honda and Yamaha’s earliest attempts at racing machinery
were designed to be used on the rugged dirt surfaced courses in Japan
like Asama Mountain, they were off-roaders as much as road racers –
street scramblers if you like, and often shod with knobbly tyres. It was
not until the early ‘sixties that the designs became slightly more refined
(coincidentally with the increased popularity of motocross in Japan as a
result of Aussie Tim Gibbes’ Racing Schools conducted there from 1963).
But back in 1957 what Honda offered the budding racer was what the
factory termed the RC70F; a 250cc twin using the C70 (and later C71)
engine, which had the ‘rotary’ gearbox favoured by several of the
Japanese manufacturers. This had first gear at the bottom of the shift
pattern, followed by neutral, followed (if the rider kept pressing
downwards) top gear and so on.
The RC70 was offered for sale in Japan as early as 1958, and one
school of thought has it that the overall look was influenced by the
German Adler Cross scrambler. The two certainly shared many similarities,
notably the long travel leading link front suspension and the wide cradle
tubular steel frame. The frame itself is remarkably similar to the Adler.
The RC70 was available with or without lighting.