Honda VFR750R RC30 Tribute Rothmans

[daniel-5zjw7]

Hi All,

I know there isn't a 'readers bikes' section so to speak, but thought I'd share this as figured some may be interested.

So no to start with its not a real RC30, but it does have a fair few RC30 parts on and really is a special build in its own right.

The bike was a frame up build (I can take no credit, all I've done is bought it and ridden it :-)) starting from a 95' RC36-2 frame

Here's some spec;

Frame;
RC36-2 frame fitted with RC30 rear subframe, RC30 dash/headlamp bracket, RC30 triple clamp, RC30 clip ons
RC30 Undertray, RC30 battery box
RC36-2 swing arm with modified eccentric hub, RC30 rear axle and RC30 sprocket carrier with Talon sprocket, D.I.D chain, underslung caliper bracket, caliper guard, T2R Racing carbon chainguard & hugger, titanium nuts sprocket and hub side, titanium bearing pinch bolt
Tyga rearsets, carbon heal guards

Engine;
92' VFR 750 engine (V4, gear driven cams)
RC30 airbox and air filter
Dynojet kit
Tyga race exhaust system with carbon can
RC30 upper and lower radiators and brackets
RC30 twin fans
RC30 choke set up
RC30 fuel tap assembly
Samco hoses

Suspension;
RC30 stancions and CB1000 big one fork lowers (RC30 style quick release), RC30 front axle, titanium upper and lower triple clamp bolts
Ktech 20IDS fork cartridges with Ktech springs
Nitron rear shock

Wheels;
RC30 aluminium front and rear wheels (18" rear 17" front), angled valves, Dunlop Roadsmart VI tyres

Bodywork
RC30 aluminium fuel tank, quick release fuel cap
RC30 tail section fairing
RC30 lower fairing
RC30 upper fairing/nose cone
RC30 infill panels
RC30 front mudguard
RC30 upper fairing/screen bracket
RC30 headlights, rear light and indicators
RC30 seat
RC30 rear seat pad
Zero Gravity double bubble screen
Alloy/carbon wing mirrors
All fasteners as per RC30
Rothmans paintjob by Dream Machine

Brakes;
Brembo RCS17 master cylinder, Brembo reservoirs and brackets
Brembo M50 calipers on custom Andras CNC adaptors
New discs all round
Venhill custom lines
Brembo rear caliper

Electrics;
RC30 clock housing fitted with CBR900 rev counter and speedo, RC30 temp gauge
RC30 ignition barrel
RC30 switch gear and throttle tube
RC36 loom
Shido lithium battery

Some other bits and pieces but that covers most of it! Fair to say ALOT of time and money spent... the beauty for me with this bike is that unlike so many of the real RC30's it doesn't need to be an ornament, it can be used and enjoyed whilst capturing alot of the RC30 spirit, it's a proper event to ride. On top of that it remains cheap to maintain. The only thing I would have changed is to to have left the 'R' off the VFR750 on the tail section.

Picture time (I apologise for the odd squished bug but its being ridden!);

Edited by daniel-5zjw7 on Sunday 23 June 21:13

Edited by daniel-5zjw7 on Sunday 23 June 21:14

Edited by daniel-5zjw7 on Sunday 23 June 21:59

[ssray]

It's a thing of beauty, I'm guessing it cost less than the £30k+ required to join the rc30 club?

[daniel-5zjw7]

Yes for sure, that said I'm not sure I could of justified what it actually cost to build. It was only completed last year but took a few years to put together, I imagine building one to this level right now would need even further commitment.

[Krikkit]

What a thing, very nice work indeed

[bogie]

Very cool bike regardless of RC30 or not, its a fantastic custom VFR750

[ThreadKiller]

Looks fab!

Edited by ThreadKiller on Saturday 22 June 09:38

[Yazza54]

Looks lovely and I'm sure makes the right noises. I bet it was bloody expensive to build though, curious how close to just buying the real thing.

[Dick Seaman]

That's a lovely thing

[daniel-5zjw7]

Thanks guys. Yes certainly makes the right noises, combo of airbox and exhaust, the nice thing is it's not *that* loud at idle or part throttle, but changes significantly above a certain amount of input.

Cost wise I don't know exactly, and I believe the guy that built it was an engineer and pretty handy, but I would say it was getting on for half of a real RC30. That said there is a good few grand in the suspension/brakes/exhaust/rearsets etc which you wouldn't have to have if just going for the RC30 look.

The value of RC30's of course means the parts prices are steep, I saw a rear wheel for sale the other day for £1200 alone

[croyde]

That looks

[slopes]

I like that, makes a change to the usual replica paint jobs

[rodericb]

How close to the RC30 bits go to bolting straight onto the RC36 chassis?

I had a lingering thought in my mind that a nice 90-93 gave up its existence for this but then I read it was a 95, smiled and thought yes, that's an excellent use for a 95....

Edited by rodericb on Sunday 23 June 03:16

[WhisperingWasp]

Fantastic! I had this in my watch list! Absolute beauty.

I think you have got a bargain here really. And like you say, you can just enjoy it without worrying about the value too much. Great buy.

Edited by WhisperingWasp on Sunday 23 June 12:00

[airsafari87]

Bag of st.

Give it to me and I’ll give you scrap value for it.

[richhead]

had a friend who had a real one from nearly new, he basically stole it, as the value wasnt really that high, sold it a few years ago for telephone numbers, but he didnt dare ride it much, always thought that was a shame.
This looks like a good compromise.
Good on you for using it.

[Tango13]

Interesting that some Rothmans liveried bikes had white wheels and some had bronze wheels.



Photo from Julian Ryders' book 'Hondas V-Force'

[daniel-5zjw7]

rodericb said:

How close to the RC30 bits go to bolting straight onto the RC36 chassis?

I had a lingering thought in my mind that a nice 90-93 gave up its existence for this but then I read it was a 95, smiled and thought yes, that's an excellent use for a 95....

Edited by rodericb on Sunday 23 June 03:16

It doesn't look too bad, for the front subframe if you like it looks like one of the original bolt holes on the headstock bracket could be used, and the second one needed a new hole drilled, for the rear subframe some brackets have been welded on to the frame itself which the subframe is bolted to. Then for the fairings it looks like brackets have been made from the original mounting points to meet the fairings. probably one of those things that sounds dead easy but in reality is a different story!

Rest assured no VFR's were unnecessarily harmed in building this bike, in fact the RC36-2 chassis used came from an insurance loss bike, so it's pretty much the ultimate rebirth!! :-)

[daniel-5zjw7]

WhisperingWasp said:

Fantastic! I had this in my watch list! Absolute beauty.

I think you have got a bargain here really. And like you say, you can just enjoy it without worrying about the value too much. Great buy.

Edited by WhisperingWasp on Sunday 23 June 12:00

I do have a bit of history in terms of buying 'special' bikes only for my anxieties in terms of risk to get the better of me and selling up, here's two examples..

Ducati 748 SPS



Honda VTR 1000 SP2



This VFR is a little easier on the mind what with the main mechanical bits being standard fare.

That said I can't claim I'll be keeping it a long time yet, i just had to have it! This and the above two were/are second bikes to a more run of the mill CBR 600, which perhaps oddly I don't think I'll ever sell.

[toasty]

I hate fake goods. Company produced homages leave me cold.

But this is lovely and very, very cool.

[daniel-5zjw7]

Some pics of the VFR out in the wild today :-)