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Honda VFR 750R RC30 Rothmans Replica

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Make Model Honda VFR 750R RC30 Rothmans Replica

Year

1988

Engine

Four stroke, 90°V-four cylinder, DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder.

Capacity

748 cc / 45.6 cub in

Bore x Stroke 70 x 48.6 mm
Cooling System Liquid cooled
Compression Ratio 11.0:1

Induction

4x 38 mm Keihin CV , Downdraft CV with manual choke

Ignition  CDI

Spark Plug

NGK CR9EHIX-9 (For a modern Iridium tip)

Starting Electric

Max Power

83.5 kW / 112 hp @ 11500 rpm 

Max Power  Rear Tyre

70.7 kW / 94.8 hp @ 8250 rpm

Max Torque

71.7 Nm / 7.3 kgf-m / 53 lb-ft @ 10500 rpm

Clutch Wet multiplate, sprag slipper on outer plates.

Transmission

6 Speed 

Final Drive Chain
Primary Drive Straight cut gears with pre-load
Primary Drive Ratio 1.939 :1 (64/33)
Gear Ratio 1st 2.400:1 36/15 - 83.2 mph at redline 12,500 rpm 2st 1.941:1 33/17 - 102.9 mph at redline 12,500 rpm 3rd 1.631:1 31/19 - 122.4 mph at redline 12,500 rpm 4th 1.434: 1 33/23 - 139.2 mph at redline 12,500 rpm 5th 1.291 :1 31/24 - 148.5 mph at 12,000 rpm
6th 1.192 :1 31/26 - 154.1 mph at power peak 11,500 rpm
Frame Backbone Type - Diamond layout with 3 section extrusions and cast headstock, engine lugs and rear section. Tig welded.

Front Suspension

43mm Telescopic USR fork Adjustable compression & rebound damping, single nut quick change front wheel clamps

Front Wheel Travel 120 mm / 4.7 in

Rear Suspension

Pro-Arm progressive rate, single sided/single nut wheel, inboard brake, Pro Squat linkage, adjustable for preload and compression & rebound damping

Rear Wheel Travel 130 mm / 5.1.in

Front Brakes

2 x 310mm discs, 2 piston calipers

Rear Brakes

Single 220mm disc, 2 piston caliper

Front Tyre

120/70 V17

Rear Tyre

170/60 V18
Rake 24°
Trail 94 mm / 3.6 in
Dimensions Length 2045 mm / 80.5 in
Width     700 mm / 27.5 in
Height  1100 mm / 43.2 in
Wheelbase 1410 mm / 55.5 in
Seat Height 785 mm / 30.9 in
Capacity Load 114 kg / 251 lbs

Dry Weight

185 kg  / 402 lbs

Wet Weight 206 kg / 450 lbs
Ground Clearance 130 mm / 5.1 in

Fuel Capacity

20 Litres / 5.3 US gal

Fuel Reserve 3.5 Litres / 1.2 gal

Consumption Average

6.8 L/100 km / 14.8 km/l 34.8 US mpg

Braking 60 km/h / 37 mph - 0

13.4 m / 44 ft

Braking 100 km/h / 62 mph - 0

35.1 m / 115 ft

Standing ¼ Mile  

10.9 sec / 199.5 km/h / 124 mph

Top Speed

244.3 km/h / 151.8 mph

Road Tests In Moto YB4 vs RC30

Moto Sprint Group Test

Motociclismo YB4 vs RC30

Moto Sprint Group Test 1990

Related Links  La RC30 dans la presse

 Hondavfr.de  

Clubrc30.net 

Technique RC30 

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Honda RC30 marked a huge leap forward in Japanese motorcycle design. It was the first Japanese bike to rival the beauty and build quality previously the domain of exotic specialists like Bimota. When it hit the market in 1988 the press were in danger of running out of superlatives. And dealers soon ran out of bikes to sell to the well-heeled enthusiasts who queued up to spend twice the price of a Suzuki GSX-R on the most talked-about bike for years.  And the talk was certainly no exaggeration. The RC30 combined the light weight, quick steering and fantastic rider feedback of a race bike with excellent ride quality, reliability and perfectly stable behaviour on even the most indifferent road surface. 

The RC30 - also called the VFR750R, but everyone referred to it by its factory code name -was based on the all-conquering full-factory RVF750 Endurance and Fl bike. When Fl gave way to World Superbikes, one-off bikes like the RVF were no longer eligible, so the RC was designed from the start as a limited edition road bike, intended to sell just enough to qualify for World Superbikes.

Crucial parts - such as chassis, engine casings and carbs - can't be changed under WSB rules, so they needed to be ready to race. In other areas, Honda were free to concentrate on making the RC30 reliable and user-friendly for the road, knowing that those parts could be changed for racing if necessary. 

The RC's V-four is a superb road engine. It's smooth, extremely powerful and very reliable. It's also instantly recognisable - you can't mistake the sound or feel of a Honda V-four, whether you're sitting on a standard RC30 blipping the throttle, or sitting by the side of the TT course listening to a tuned example on full throttle.

The RC has a rich droning exhaust note that never really sounds as though it's working hard. On die road, it probably isn't - even first gear on the RC's close-ratio box is enough to take you to 80mph, so full load in top gear isn't something the RC has to put up with very often.

On the track of course, hard work is what it's all about. A full factory race kit was available from the start - containing everything from modified pistons to new camshafts and crankshafts - as well as kits from the many independent tuners who brought their skills to bear on its complex V-four engine. And the RC30 was born to race. It raised the stakes in the fledgling World Superbike Championships, dominated the demanding Isle of Man TT course and became the bike to have if you wanted to get anywhere in World Endurance. It would be a long time before the other manufacturers caught up.  Visually, the RC shouts its race credentials with its single seat, its smooth, uncompromising lines and its single-sided swing arm at the rear. The latter was designed, like the quick-change mechanisms on die front forks, to waste the minimum time on pit  stops in 24-hour endurance races. For the road it has no real function except to look good - and it certainly docs that! Hidden away above it, though, is one of the most perfectly set-up suspension systems ever fitted to a road bike. It tracks over bumps as though they don't exist, and it would take a racetrack to make it misbehave. The forks, too, are well set-up they may not be fashionable inverted types, but it's the quality that counts.  It's a testimony to the excellence of its design that even now, eight years after its launch, the RC30 is still capable of top ten finishes at the TT, and it's still a stunning bike to ride on the road.

Source  Super Bikes  by Mac McDiarmid