Location: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Miles: 6,629
Price: $12,000 starting with reserve in place.
If you managed to pry your eyes away from the photo above to read this, it is greatly appreciated… go ahead and take one more look. Up for grabs here is one of the most (if not the) iconic sportbikes of all time. With a race-bred 750cc V4, hand laid fiberglass body work, and unmistakable red, white, and blue graphics, what’s not to love?
This particular bike comes to us from Canada and is being sold by the same seller as the awesome ’86 GSX-R750LE posted recently. It looks to be all stock and in exceptional condition. The seller does state that the bike did receive a minor scratch on the rear cowl while moving the bike from storage. You can check out more photos of this and the bike here. The seller does state that the bike has been in storage, so I would be interested to know when the last time it was started up and what kind of running condition it is currently in.
From the seller:
“I’m listing this 1989 Honda RC30 for a very good friend who’s not very computer savvy. I’ve personally seen the machines and took the listing photos last summer.
“Out of the box” the machine was claimed to generate 112bhp with full road equipment, however this could be increased to 135bhp when prepared for competition use with the aid of the HRC race kit. The investment made in the models development was vindicated in its first season when Fred Merkel secured the Superbike World Championship in 1988, repeating the success in 1989. The new model instantly became one of the most sought after road bikes, receiving praise from all those who tested it, although its high price and limited availability ensured that those lucky enough to acquire one joined an exclusive club envied by others, today the RC30 remains as desirable as it was twenty years ago.
RC30 #21 spent most of its 10,669km commuting between Toronto and Kingston, Ontario, Canada and was truly pampered by the original owner. While the machine was being moved from storage the rear cowl received some minor scratches (shown in the high resolution Flickr photoset HERE). Otherwise, this machine is in exceptional condition and even includes the leather bound owner’s manual.
If you have zero feedback, please contact me before submitting a bid. Any questions, feel free to email me (I’ll gladly give you my phone number if you need to chat).
Good luck with your bid!”
If you are lucky enough to have seen a pristine example of an RC30 in person as I have, you know how truly stunning they are. Starting bid on this beauty is $12,000 with the reserve still in place. I would expect you would be able to score this bike for around $20k. I don’t think any serious collection of sportbikes can be complete without an RC30. But I do think that a collection that contained only an RC30 sounds like pure bliss to me. Place your bid for this piece of history here!
-RN
Getting tired of the RC30 being called THE HOLY GRAIL. And the overweight, Testarossa looking NR750 is considered unobtanium when in reality, there were more NR750’s made than both the OWO1 and R7. There were 4500 RC30’s and 500 OWO1’s and R7’s. What gives?
Ride all those bikes you have mentioned,then ride the Honda RC30 and you will understand why the RC is held in such high esteem.
Here they are, head to head. Listen to what the RC30 rider says to the OWO1 rider. “That thing’s a lot quicker than this.”
Guess you don’t consider acceleration when comparing the RC30 to the OWO1.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid711883929?bctid=932584117
The RC-30 sounds like no other bike…actually I believe the average 600 would out run it in stock trim…but who cares. Honda should have made it without the expensive bits and mass produced it….would have sold zillion.
It’s a simple explanation (Tom); a true sportbike guy could spot an RC30 going down the road from a mile away; but an R7 would blend in with any other sportbikes on the road today.
Don’t get me wrong though, an R7 is an awsome bike it just doesn’t stand out like the RC30.
Yeah.The RC30 is unique and feels special when you ride it.The Big-Bang 750cc V4,sublime steering with a super stable chassis,it has a high-end,high quality feel.It’s the one to own.
Tom. I watched your link and it seems that guy on the RC30 fell into the same trap that other riders fall into after riding peaky,in-line four cylinder bikes.It’s just the IMPRESSION of being “a lot more powerfull”,due to the power delivery.In fact,it’s only 8 BHP more than the Honda,but it’s ALL at the top-end,delivered in a manic high RPM rush.The Honda delivers it’s power in a linear surge all the way from nothing to redline that can lull the uninitiated into a false impression of speed/acelleration,when in fact,the Honda is producing more AVERAGE POWER from corner-to-corner,never out of the torque curve.
VIVA LA BIG-BANG V4!!!!!!
he was asking 25 a few months back in the local kijiji
There are a lot of subjective comments about the RC30, a comparison to an R7, a 600, and a comment about telling what bike looks like what from far away.
Don’t know about you, but when I read superbike shootouts, I look at hp and torque figures. The guy in the video gestures that the OWO1 leaves the RC30. That answers my question, the OWO1’s faster. Few people are familiar with the OWO1, as the RC is the ’57 Chevy of the motorcycle world, which is fine. All I’m saying is in stock trim, the OWO1 dominates the RC. Maybe you like the “sublime” feeling the RC gives, or it stirs your soul, or whatever.
All I’m saying is if I were on the RC and my friend on the OWO1 leaves me, I’d be talking about how my soul was stirred so I didn’t have to talk about just being spanked.
An Australian motorcycle magazine recently ran an article asking Troy Corser to nominte his top 5 racebikes.Troy is a member of an elite club of world Superbike champions who have taken the title on more than one occasion,and he has won on just about every machine he has raced.He nominated the Honda RC30 as his number 1 racebike.
“My old RC30 was my favourite bike.The V4 engine was it’s best asset-it was such a smooth bike to ride.It did everything really well,handled nicely and was really great to ride.It was my first real Superbike.I rode the Yamaha YZF750 the previous year in Australia,but it was a bit of a handful to be honest.The OW01 was one of the worst bikes I think I’ve ever raced.I used to call it ‘The Hinge’,because it just used to tank-slap everywhere!But the RC30 was totally different-very planted and nice to ride.”
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Put a 13 mile RC30 in the garage today. It’s all of your faults.
Congratulations Tom!
dc