Featured Listing: 2001 Honda RC51

Update 7.28.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc

Dennis has 3 very low mileage bikes listed right now:

Honda has always been an engineering company. Often times it would appear that Honda would release a new model with a new configuration just to prove to the world that it could. Sometimes it was difficult to determine why Honda decided to make a substantial change. But in the case of the RVT1000R – better known as the RC51 – the reason was clear. You see, Honda enjoyed tremendous success on the racetrack with their four-cylinder, 750cc RC30 and RC45 machines. But when rules changed in World Superbike racing to allow a displacement advantage to twins and Ducati started winning, Honda took notice. Casting the V-4 machines aside for a twin, Honda created the 1000cc V-twin RC51 – and picked right back up with their winning ways. And while in some ways overshadowed by the collector status of the RC30 and RC45, the RC51 was arguably more successful in the intended theater of the racetrack thanks to the efforts of Colin Edwards (WSBK) and Nicky Hayden (AMA Superbike).

Featured Listing: 2001 Honda RC51

While badged as an RVT1000R, the RC51 actually displaces 999cc to allow it to squeak under the rule book cut off on swept volume. The Ducati killer’s short-stroke motor was built to rev, producing 133 HP . And while Honda copied Ducati in the use of the 90 degree vee configuration, they skipped on the desmo-drama and fitted the four-valve heads with conventional valve-train components. But don’t think that Honda simply phoned in a fake Duc replacement here; the aluminum perimeter beam chassis, the high-mount exhaust pipes, the aero bodywork complete with high-pressure intake, and the unique side-mounted radiators are all Honda tech. Built for the public at a fraction of the price of the Italian machine, the RC51 was a bit porkier in most dimensions (including weight). On the racetrack this was negated by minimum weight rules. On the street, the difference is negligible – until you sit in the cockpit. Unlike the Ducati- which demands rider conformity to a narrow, sharp and stretched position, the Honda is regarded as, well, comfortable. As a streetbike, the RC51 just works – and performs with the metronomic reliability you would expect from Big Red.

From the seller:
2001 Honda RC51 (RVT1000R) (PHX)
VIN: JH2SC45471M100004

Price: $9,000

I purchased this motorcycle in San Jose, CA, new in 2000 and rode it 286 miles and then parked it. I’m turning 80 years old in the next month and the time has come to find it a new, younger owner, hopefully someone that is a collector of motorcycles and that would appreciate the fact that it is 99.9% original (new batteries only and still on original tires), has been ridden 286 miles and has been in a climate-controlled environment from the very first day that it was bought and has had the best of care.

As always, RSBFS finds you the best of what is out there. And in this case, that means a basically NEW 2001 Honda RC51 with fewer than 300 miles. This bike is amazingly immaculate, and is completely original as new with the exception of a new battery. Drool over some of these pictures, and realize that the RC51 is the bike you really need, versus simply want. This is a do it all machine that can carve corners better than the best (unless you know better than Colin Edwards), has more than enough grunt to get most jobs done quickly, is comfortable enough to spend some time on, and has built-in legendary Honda reliability. Did I mention it sounds glorious? Seriously, what more could you want! Devoid of today’s game console electronic gadgetry, this is bike that expects you to ride it – and in exchange it will provide you with miles and miles of smiles.

If you are thinking that the latter SP-2 variant of the RC51 in Nicky Hayden livery is the most collectible of the lot, you wouldn’t be wrong. But when pen hits paper, it is what you can find that means the most. And in a model like this, where the “rarer” bike is essentially a sticker kit, the differences are not great. It is the difference in the condition of the bike that will contribute the most to the overall value in the near term, and likely well beyond that. And I would challenge you to find a cleaner, low mileage RC51 on the market today. Jump quickly before this twin-cylinder rocket is gone in a booming howl. Good Luck!

MI