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£22,500
1987 Honda VFR750R RC30, 750 cc. Registration number E513 LBT. Frame number RC 1000182. Engine number RC 07E 1032255. Serial number 88013.
The RC30 was a fully faired solo seat only racing motorcycle created for homologation purposes for the World Superbike Championship by Honda Racing Corporation. It was first released to the Japanese market in 1987, 1988 released in Europe then the United States in 1990. There were only 3,000 ever made.
No mere short circuit racer, the RC30 and its derivatives proved durable enough to win a hat-full of Endurance Classics too. That this latter requirement was also part of the design brief may be determined from the fact that a quick release front fork and single sided swinging arm - essential for speedy wheel changes - were part of an unrivalled specification that included a twin spar alloy beam, 16 valve V4 engine with gear driven cams, close ratio 6 speed gearbox and four pot brake calipers.
The RC 30 was also the first production bike in the world to feature titanium alloy, which was used to make the con rods and no expense was spared on the rest of the machine either. Every component was the lightest and most expensive possible for a road bike and the result was a motorcycle which weighed a paltry 185 kilos. Six years later the legendary Ducati 916 would still be heavier. Each RC30 was hand assembled one at a time in the firm's Hamamatsu plant where the factory race bikes were built meaning that customers were virtually getting their own works bikes built for them.
At the time of its launch to the public in 1988 an RC30 cost near double that of other super sports 750's, it remains a match for the latest generation of sports bikes but possesses an exclusivity that none of them can approach.
88013 would appear to be a very early Japanese market example; production started at RC30-1000001 and this is RC30-1000182. It was imported into the UK by the Eddy Wright dealership of Leeds in 2000 and at the time it was painted in Honda race colours with gold wheels. After eighteen months of being in his shop it was repainted in the correct colour scheme and fitted with UK dials (zeroed with no note of the original mileage) and R. Haslin bought it. He rode it back from Leeds but it was down on power so he took it to Dean Ashton's shop (Ashton Performance Centre) in Hornsea where it was fettled. He also fitted a VFR front wheel which gave a better tyre profile and set about improving it over the next 3,600 miles of use.
In May 2009 it changed hands and Nicholas Riley bought it on the 7th December 2013, he sold it through these rooms at the Sledmere House auction in November 2017, the mileage was 4,395. Our vendor was the lucky new owner and set about having the bike properly recommissioned. It was MOT'd in June 2021 at 4,420 miles and in June 2022 at 4,511 miles. He is now reducing his collection and this RC30 is now available for the next custodian
Sold with the V5C, 7th June 2022 MOT, a letter from R. Haslin and the UK history file. This awesome machine is ready for the road this summer.
There is no buy it now price for this or any other motorcycle or car, we are auctioneers and sell to the highest bidder on the day, thanks
Fees apply to the hammer price:
Room and Absentee Bids:
15% inc VAT*
Online and Autobids:
18.6% inc VAT*
