Honda RC30

Author's product rating:   

Comfort	Good
Handling	Excellent
Looks	Excellent
Features	Good
Fuel consumption	Excellent

Advantages:	Stunning motorcyle investment  .
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Sometimes in life a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do. We've all had that feeling of "I've gotta have it" and for me it was in the summer of 1988. Honda had just introduced the VFR750R-K better known as the RC30 and it was taking the world by storm. Both on the race track and on the roads, the RC30 in the hands of Joey Dunlop and Carl Fogerty to name but two, kicked butt for five years or so. A legend was born. These motorcycles were all hand built, each one receiving personal attention and it showed. The styling was years ahead of it's time, even today, 16 years on, you'd think it a current model. I just had to have one, even though in 1989 it was selling for £9500, that wasn't going to be a deterent, it just made the machine more exclusive and exotic. Twin headlights, red white and blue livery, and distinctive single sided rear swing arm let this bike stand out from the crowd.
The first time I rode this bike, I could not beleive the power delivery, so smooth, the motor very willing, you just had to red line it in every gear. Fortunatly the brakes made coming back to reality, and legal road speeds effortless. I have kept this bike for over 15 years now, and in that time it has proved faultless. No breakdowns, no shortcircuits, no shoddy paintwork, not even a puncture. Honda truely broke the mould with this machine, after all, perfection cannot be bettered.
If these were readily available to buy right now, then I'd urge you to do whatever it takes and go and get one. Any one over the age of thirty will surely cherish this machine. It is a modern classic, and as such will only appreciate in value. It is a sound investment for the future, although not worth as much as new, it today can still comand a price in excess of £8500 and this can only continue to rise.
As I write this, I have been trying to think of what negative things to say, I truly cannot find any. Perhaps the difficulty in finding a suitable rear tyre, it has an 18" diameter rim and is rare, but they are out there if your willing to look. Perhaps the tall first gear which red lines at 80mph, that makes town travel tiresome and is hard on the clutch. These aren't really negatives, no, these are little excentricities, which each of us have which this machine also has, something else to fall in love with.
Due to the loving care I have shown my bike, it repays me time after time by doing every thing I ask of it without a single word of complaint. I have yet to find it's limitations, though it found mine years ago. What else can I tell you, If you can find a Honda RC30, do whatever it takes to buy it, but BUY it. You will own a little piece of motorcycling history, your very own LEGEND.