RC51, a good touring bike?

[KruelHouse]

I have nothing of value to add to this thread that hasn't already been said.

Touring an RC = an entire weekend of sore ass (better start hitting the squat rack)

Riding an RC in the twisties = Fun as FCUK! You may return home with sore wrists, abs, and a gallon of sweat soaked up under your leathers.... But at least you'll be sporting a grin rivaled only by the expression of satisfaction associated with being the recipient of "choice favors".

Tracking an RC = I haven't tried that yet because I sometimes feel that it would be cheaper for me to scoop up a cheap track bike than invest the time/cash in repairing the inevitable "incidents".

That said, I love my RC, and though I lust after many bikes (KTM RC8 being one of them), I don't see myself willfully parting with that machine.

My advice: Get one! Don't mod it for touring, just enjoy the hell out of it. There was a guy on the RC Forums a few years ago who commuted like 200mi. round trip each day on an RC. Wound up putting like 100K miles on it. So touring could be done... Just wouldn't be comfy.

http://www.speedzilla.com/forums/rc51-general-discussion/33583-99-000-miles-still-tickin.html

[RVTPilot]

Tracking an RC = I haven't tried that yet because I sometimes feel that it would be cheaper for me to scoop up a cheap track bike than invest the time/cash in repairing the inevitable "incidents".

Though I have only two track days on my RC, IMHO it does well at the shorter tracks like GingerMan if you want to stay within the reach of the 1k inlines. It's just as much of a handful to 'flick' (if you want to say that you are flicking around an RC) as it is on the twisties, but it is a really fun bike on thosetypes of tracks. At Mid Ohio, the long straights show its weaknesses well, though its low end torque was handy in the esses. And cost is what is keeping me from making it a track-only machine right now, as being that niche bike, the replacement parts are not quite so easy to find, and what is found can be expensive. Still, I am a proud RC owner and love mine. I like the fact that not everyone has or even likes one, for that matter.