RC51 Byebye

Why don't people ride them home?

The guy was by himself and drove over four hours to come pick it up.

so you sold the vette and the bike...please tell me you're getting something exciting to take their place.

I've still got the Z06. If/when it sells, I'll definitely get something exciting. I don't do boring very well. It might be a cheap truck and a CBR1000 or a Boxster S.

I did make $2k over what I paid for the bike. :)

Why did you get rid of it? It is one of my dream bikes; I need to make sure that my dream doesn't need adjustment.

As long as you're not wanting it to equal modern sportbikes in performance, there's nothing wrong with it. They're very heavy, get horrible gas mileage, and take a lot of skill to ride well. They are also very unforgiving of mistakes. The sound is worth it. I just didn't ride it often enough to justify keeping it. It was time for someone else to enjoy it.

I have heard about them being a bit behind the times compared to modern sports bikes... I remember seeing a video of a guy comparing it to a modern literbike and a Ducati (1098?), and he thought that it really came up short. That's not my worry, though; I would be comparing it to an SV650! Explain "take a lot of skill to ride well."

And yes, the sound is a Siren's song.

It's not fair to compare the RC51 to an R1 or 1098. The RC51 was made to compete with the 2001ish GSX-R 750 and Ducati 998/9. It is outclassed in almost every way when compared to a modern 750 or literbike. In a lot of ways, it's outclassed by 600's as well.

The power isn't too bad; it's easy to get 125-130ish at the rear wheel. Stock power is around 120 at the wheel. The bike is HEAVY. This makes everything else harder to do.

People complain about the suspension on them, but it is wonderful compared to the SV650. Remember, the RC51 was a top-tier bike in its day, something the SV will never benefit from. That said, the suspension is outdated and sucks when compared to a modern sport bike.

The RC51 will be about equal to a modern 600 around most race tracks, with the 600 being much easier to ride. Most people aren't very good riders, so the RC51 will usually lose.

The bike gets very hot. The exhaust dumps heat on your legs. The radiators dump heat on your torso. This makes your tired much faster when riding hard.

The RC51's hold their value better than most sport bikes from that era. It's unusual to find a clean one for less than $5k. The build quality is phenomenal, and even puts modern Hondas to shame. They're reliable and overbuilt in most respects. There is not much else that sounds like them. They are also the last bike that was really built by HRC.

Their value is part of the problem. It's pretty easy to find a more modern 600 for $5k that will be faster for most riders while getting much better fuel economy.

The RC51 is something that you get because its fun and cool, not because you think it will make you a canyon/mountain/track god like Joey Dunlop, Valentino Rossi, or Nicky Hayden.

Man I am glad this thing went away before I saw it. I would have been in the doghouse for a llllooooooooong time over this one. Drooled and dreamed over this bike since I first saw one. Even had a huge poster of this bike over the mantle in my house before I got married.