Honda RC51 for the day-WOW etc

[djb]

my sister-in-law's boyfriend has a RC51 2002 and has offered for me to drive it in the past but I simply never got around to it (yeah, I know, duh...) but it broke down on him recently and had to go into the shop, but because he was out of town, he asked me to pick it up when it was ready (wasn't anything major, an electrical problem).

So, picked it up and drove to work with it but after finishing at 7pm, I went over to a friend who has a GSR 750 (a 2000 I think) to show it off, and we ended up going for a drive together which was quite an eye opener.

Its embarrassing to say but I've seen this bike in the garage briefly over the last few years beside my sister-in-laws CBR 600, but as I haven't been really following bikes lately, I thought his bike was a 954 or whatever four banger. It was only at the dealer picking it up that I realized that it was a twin, and as I have never heard it started, I always thought it was a four (it would have been obvious from the sound that it was a twin).

Riding impressions. First of all this is the most powerful bike I have ever driven AND the most uncomfortable. In driving around town and then a bit on the highway but getting stuck in stop and go traffic due to construction, I remembered how he had once said to me how he couldn't ride it more than an hour. I didn't really believe him but now couldn't agree more. The bars are way forward and fairly low so combined with the twins vibration, I got to work after getting used to the bike for perhaps 45 mins with numbish hands. Yes, its got truckfulls of torque, but the shaking and bar position are just plain killers for any slow driving. Yeah, I know, you don't buy this bike for commuting, but I was surprised at how uncomfortable this was.

So going over to my friends place and then going for a highway ride was a nice change to the city stuff. Consistently driving over 100 klicks meant that despite the fairly tiny fairing, wind helps a lot with taking the pressure off the hands. The grunt this thing has is really something, it just takes off from you from 5-6 grand, and as I mentioned, this is the most brutal acceleration that I have felt in my life.

Period.

It makes me have even greater respect for guys that race these things-not to mention even trying to imagine what a modern 4 stroke GP bike must feel like (and lets not even think what a 500cc two-stroker must have been like, especially going back some years when the powerbands were even narrower!).

Don't know if AMoffat still comes around 10/10ths, but in the past he has swooned about the sound his Ducati makes at 7-9 grand, and only now can I appreciate it better as this bike has that unique twin sound.

Don't know how many modern bikes have these luiquid display tachs and speedos, but while the speedo is fine, but these bar-line tachs just don't do it for me. Lets face it, we aren't ever staring at the darn things, but a needle-tach can be seen in peripheral vision as it gets close to redline, but this tach with its increasing grey bars is just plain hard to see. You combine this with getting used to the sound of the flat trumpety sound of the twin (which I'm not used to) and it was hard to match the sounds with any given revs-I realize that more time on the bike would surely help-but anyone else feel this way about graph tachs?

well, anyway, a hell of a ride. Oh, and brakes, didn't mention them did I? Yowzer, strong buggers, again the strongest ones I've ever used. Suspension was a bit harsh (the owner is a good bit heavier than me, so in town it was too hard) but then at speed it was just fine and the bike was taut and stable and very comfortable at a respectable cruise.

err, and about the digital speedo, rather easy to read it when the number on it says, perhaps, maybe, you never know--160 (260 klickeroos) Perhaps, maybe, you never know-- a new personal land speed record...

[Alex K]

Give us a pic of RC51

[djb]

sorry mate, just snagged one on the net to put up, but then realized I can't post attachments. Honda RC 51 will get you well googled though.

[Alex K]

:/

[jhansen]

http://powersports.honda.com/motorcy...elId=RVT1000R5

[ASCII Man]

http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/2002...-rc51-02-1.jpg

It's the same bike model of the one Colin Edwards raced in WSBK IIRC.

[djb]

thanks for finding that shot, from that angle I think it looks its best. From other angles the small fairing is kinda weird looking, well not weird, but the angularness of it isnt all that attractive I find, as opposed to more flowing fairings of other bikes, but at speed it works well.

[Airhead]

I've ridden one a while ago and liked it. Back when I had the Ducati, which it shat on!

[djb]

sorry, long time getting back to this. So Sir Moff, you got rid of the Ducati and got yourself a Brit four-banger? The 600 or 900, to be honest I'm not that familiar with them. There are some here in Montreal, some of the triples, but again to be honest I haven't been following bikes enought to be able to identify the latest ones. Why the change from the duke, reliabitity stuff and/or expensive to maintain etc?

One other thing about the RC51 that stood out was the transmission. Perhaps partly because the bike has so little mileage on it, but I think more because of good engineering, the gearbox was so nice to shift. Short "throws" and the smoothest, "snickiest" gearchanges I've ever experienced (again, take that with a grain of salt due to my lack of modern bike riding).

anyway, curious if the Triumph thing was just for a change, and how you find it compared to other japanese sport bikes.

see ya