2005 Honda RC51
Miles: 10,080
Clean California Title
Listed Price: $12,000
Honda remained faithful to their beloved V4 superbikes in World Superbike racing for years, until it became clear that the rules had begun to heavily favor Ducati and their v-twins. They finally capitulated and grudingly introduced the v-twin powered Honda RC51, a bike with an almost workmanlike vibe in stark contrast to the rare and exotic RC30 and RC45. It hardly mattered: the new bike won the WSBK championship the first year it competed in 2000, and then again in 2002, after which Honda withdrew official support for the bike, although production continued until 2006. Almost like they were trying to prove a point… Instead of Ducati’s famous steel trellis, Honda’s v-twin used an aluminum beam frame, with side-mounted radiators to allow the engine to be mounted as far forward in the chassis as possible. Gear-driven cams added a bit of exotic whine to overlay the v-twin boom from the exhaust. Fuel mileage provided by the massive throttle-bodies was pretty dismal and part-throttle response came in for criticism, but fans of Honda superbikes certainly didn’t care then and won’t care now.
2005 Honda RC51 (RVT1000/VTR/SP2).
10,080 miles. Excellent condition but could use new fork seals. Minor imperfections here and there but you won’t find another clean one these days in the sexy black and gray color scheme. Clean CA title with current registration. Yoshimura carbon fiber slip ons and Sargent seat. Otherwise stock.
Will consider trade for a newer low mileage BMW R1250 RT
Honda’s RC51/RVT1000 was no doubt a successful racing machine, but it never seemed to really capture the public’s imagination and didn’t seem to be a big seller for the company, making it a rare machine today. The relatively unimaginative styling may have had something to do with that: here it looks pretty sinister in basic black/grey but, large, period Honda trapezoidal headlights aside, there’s not much distinctive about it. That being said, it’s an excellent sportbike, excepting the poor fuel consumption, especially once Honda had made a few tweaks to the original bike to improve the handling. The $12,000 asking price is on the high side for an RC51, but not outrageous given the low miles and good condition. The tasty Yoshimura slip-ons and Sargent seat are just a nice bonus.
-tad
