It was the last in line – the very pinnacle of HRC’s factory Honda 500 two-stroke motocross bikes. The 1986 RC500 was HRC’s swansong before the production bikes took over, and it’s totally different to the stock bikes of the day.

In the first of our video series on this legendary bike, Dave Thorpe talks about the evolution of the factory 500s from HRC and what it was like to ride the RC500 – and win the world 500 championship on it.

Now fully restored and running again, we’ll bring you a video series on the men who brought the bike back into life, exploring the secrets of what made the RC500 such a special bike. Stay tuned to MotoHead’s YouTube channel to see and hear the bike fire into action and see it being ridden once more.