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Honda Confirms Suzuka Throttle Problem … Apologizes to Casey Stoner

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Following the crash that injured Casey Stoner at Suzuka last weekend, which he described as a result of a stuck throttle, Honda has examined the bike and has issued the following brief statement, and apology:

“Honda Racing Corporation has carried out a detailed analysis following the crash of Casey Stoner in last weekend’s Suzuka 8 Hour race. Checking the throttle, which is a particular specification for Endurance HRC Factory bikes, and different from the standard throttle used on the Honda CBR1000RR road version, a malfunction was discovered related to the throttle cable.

This kind of problem hasn’t arisen before, however, HRC will cease using this throttle specification and will design a new one to be used for Endurance races.

HRC would like to apologize to Casey Stoner and thank him for the effort he made in attending the Suzuka 8 Hour event.”

41 Comments

  1. Cowboy says:

    I can’t believe people are questioning the stuck throttle. Just listen to the footage. You can hear the bike pinging off the limiter right up until it hits the white crash wall.

  2. hh says:

    Frank, Norm G..put the handbags away and try beating up on someone your own speed if they weren’t in a nursing home or a nursery. Stoner has two championships, I wonder whose fault that was. Certainly not Dirck. It took a long time for Stoner to get out from under the jinx that Dirck put there when he wrote that Casey’s riding was godlike. The record is on my side. Stoner’s riding ability is no debate, but his comments earned him the moaner nick name.

    • Frank says:

      “try beating up on someone your own speed” …. nice. Happy to meet you at the race track of your choice and show you my “own speed”. BTW, I’m 55.

      I was not commenting on Stoner’s past or your label as a moaner, just the crash in question. You are the one beating up Stoner because he crashed a bike due to a stuck throttle and when asked about what happened he said the throttle stuck. Again, what would you have said?

      Oh yeah, its not a handbag, its a “man-purse”…. just ask my wife.

  3. Norm G. says:

    re: “HRC will cease using this throttle specification and will design a new one to be used for Endurance races.”

    watch, this “new” cable will be indistinguishable from those used in any developed nation’s SPACE PROGRAM.

  4. Starmag says:

    Accepting blame where due. Honorable. I wish we could import integrity.

  5. Bill says:

    he should have just wheelied it through the corner

  6. Grover says:

    I’m no Superman, but I experienced both a stuck throttle and snapped clutch cable and lived to tell about it. Pulling the clutch in solved the throttle issue. The clutch was a bit tougher as I was is a right turn when it broke. Perhaps Harley should have apologized to me? 😊

  7. Andy says:

    I laugh at the word recalls. How many were there in the 50’s and 60’s and before. If you found a problem, you fixed it. Not waaa waaa to the manufacturer. Guess it’s the new breed of peeps aiming bikes now days. he he he he.

  8. VFRMarc says:

    Casey will be well compensated, don’t worry.

  9. hh says:

    Who cares what really happened? What is clear is that right away Stoner blames the bike. It is classic Stoner. He doesn’t say something like I crashed, it happens, and then wait for Honda to give their explanation. Stoner always tries to get out front of anything by blaming others i.e other riders, the bike, the organization etc. If Stoner has time on his hands maybe he could read Miss Manners or take a Dale Carnegie course.

    • Frank says:

      Kinda obvious when a throttle sticks entering a corner that it was a mechanical issue. What would you have said?

      Your comment might have merit if Stoner wasn’t a world champion at the highest level with many wins under his belt.

    • Norm G. says:

      re: “What is clear is that right away Stoner blames the bike.”

      What’s clear is Stoner has the intelligence God gave a cat, and you…?

      not so much.

  10. Ron Y says:

    Sucks for Stoner….who by the way has nothing to prove when it comes to riding skills. When you doubters can drag your elbows and win world championships, THEN you may second guess what Stoner said happened. Until then, please STFU. You weren’t there, you don’t know what happened and most of you (me included) don’t have the skills to judge either way. You know what often happens when ones “assumes” lol BTW, I’m no stoner fan boy, I think he’s a crybaby, especially when The Doctor makes him go faster than he wants to. 🙂

  11. Paul says:

    Win on Sunday. Buy on Monday.
    Good News. We can all rest assured that the standard bike’s throttle cables do not jam up.

    Best wishes to CS27. Sure would have liked to see him race.

  12. Jim says:

    The cable probably runs through the air-box like that stupid RC8R design.

  13. Mick says:

    I really wanted to like this apology. I would have liked it a lot better if the whole first paragraph was missing.

    That and there were more words in the excuse than apology.

  14. Martin says:

    Casey knows the risks of racing, and of riding bikes with prototype parts. I’m just glad his injuries were not more serious.

  15. Hot Dog says:

    Honda just fell on their own sword.

    • TURBOMAN says:

      Does this bike burn oil also like their 1000S??How about those recalls also they have!

  16. Blackcayman says:

    I guess the haters can drink a big hot cup of “shut the heck up” now huh…

    • TimC says:

      Depends on how you define “haters.” I still don’t think he had time to consciously “lay it down” (and I never said the crash was his fault). I just called him out on saying that.

      The good thing is, I’m an idiot, so it’s easy enough just to ignore me.

    • Fred_M says:

      I don’t have any insight into what went on behind closed doors, but Honda was in a tough situation. Either find a
      a malfunction related to the throttle or call their own rider a liar.

      It sure was “lucky” that the defective throttle design was only on used on endurance HRC factory race bikes, huh? No recall of street bikes necessary. No recall of non-factory race bikes. No chance anyone could independently examine the design. How odd that a company that has produced tens of millions of motorcycles would still have trouble designing something as simple as a cable-operated throttle…

      • Dirck Edge says:

        Wait … so you think Casey lied and then Honda lied in order to be consistent with Casey’s lie so that Casey wouldn’t look like a liar? Wow.

        • Fred_M says:

          I’m not making any accusations, and I was wrong to put the word “lucky” in quotes. I even looked for an edit function to remove them after posting.

          I don’t know what happened mechanically, what Casey Stoner thought happened, or what Honda found upon examining the bike.

          But with all of the cable-operated throttles that Honda has designed and built over the decades, a failure like that seems really surprising. That it affects no CBR1000RR street bikes and not even any CBR1000RR race bikes other than HRC factory race bikes used for endurance racing is also quite surprising.

      • Frank says:

        “would still have trouble designing something as simple as a cable-operated throttle”

        Unless I am mistaken Fred, the throttle is not cable operated.

        • Jeremy in TX says:

          It says in the release that “a malfunction was discovered related to the throttle cable.”

        • TF says:

          Not sure in this case but with some designs there is still a cable for a FBW setup, it just doesn’t connect directly to the throttle body.

          You know….I have not seen it mentioned but it could have been a maintenance issue as well and not related to the design or the manufacture. I have heard a lot of stories over the years (regarding dirt bikes) where someone didn’t put the throttle housing or carb back together properly after changing grips or a jetting change or whatever……..

          • TF says:

            That might explain why no recall. The only other possibility is that this throttle setup has nothing in common with their street bikes sold to the public.

            If there is risk that this might affect fielded units, I am confident that Honda would/will do the right thing.

          • Norm G. says:

            re: “it just doesn’t connect directly to the throttle body.”

            yes, most use a “shorty” cable. you don’t really want the most critical of potentiometers exposed to weather and damage potential up on the throttle grip.

        • Frank says:

          My bad guys. When I heard cable in the response, I was thinking old-guy-thoughts about a cable which connects throttle to throttle bodies. You know like in the old days! I forgot that most RBW systems have a cable, just not one that directly controls the fuel delivery.

  17. Bueldog says:

    They really steered clear of connecting in any way shape of form the race bike throttle system from the road going bikes – they ain’t dummies.

    • MGNorge says:

      Motorcycles have become very complex in almost all of their systems just as cars have. In the “old” days throttle problems tended to be cable related with improper lubrication and even fraying and failure of the cable, etc. With modern electronics controlling most every aspect of engine behavior it’s bound to happen that there will be failures there too.

      • Fred_M says:

        But Honda said that this was a failure related to a throttle cable — it had nothing to do with electronics. And they said it was a design problem, not a maintenance problem

        Honda also said that the design was only used on Honda factory CBR1000RR race bikes used for endurance racing. It’s not used on privateer bikes, Honda World Superbike race bikes, MotoAmerica Superbike race bikes, or street bikes. To say that it seems odd is putting it mildly. Who the heck designs a different throttle system just for endurance racing?

  18. TURBOMAN says:

    Honda should worry more about their recalls on the street bikes and apologize for their failures there..

    • TF says:

      Is there any way we could get in touch with your parents…..we’d like to ask them to change the password on their wireless router.

      • TURBOMAN says:

        This isn’t about me!!Lets keep the debate on those oil burning and recalls Honda 1000s and racebikes that cant even have a throttle work properly..

        • Josef says:

          LOL. It is all about your silly anti japanese ego boasting.
          Keep your hatred to yourself. There’s no need to share it with us.
          A debate with you? No. Totally off-topic drivel is what it is. Byeong sin.

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