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RC51...About to be mine


scheetz31

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About to pick up an 03 Rc51 on Friday.

One owner bike

18xxx miles

Two-Bros cans

PCIII

I mainly wanted to buy it for the sheer monsterous sounds that ive grown to love with the vee bikes. Will repaint it however...satin black right now, but not the greatest finish.

Any other RC owners out there?...What common problems have you run into with these beasts?

76234_239130592883479_65304247_n.jpg

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They are sweet bikes for sure, no common issues that I've heard, but I've never owned one either so its possible there's some common problems. Check for an RC51 forum, all answers would be there if anywhere. Congrats!

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Sold mine back in the spring to finance my track addiction. Loved it, but was rough for commuting or the track. Those Two Bros pipes are obnoxious. I know, I had a set on mine for a while. Loved the torque and immediate power delivery. It rumbles obviously, so has issues with electrical connections (i.e. grounds) vibrating loose now and again. A fair amount of tron issues, but then again, it's a Honda. They do that. All in all, incredibly sexy bike. I'll probably pick another up someday just as a toy. Depending on how tall you are (or in my case aren't) look at rear set and maybe hi-rise clipons. VERY aggressive riding position, hence the lack of comfort around town.

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They're cool, but hefty and thirsty. I think they'll hold their value fairly well too. I would enjoy a streetfighter's one myself.

I looked at a few but couldn't find one that was spared gaudy mods or had too many miles for the price. They all seem to get Power Commanders too. I don't know much about them but seeing a power commander on a bike is a turnoff to me.

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No major problems here. Other than...It's uncomfortable, it's less fuel efficient than my Honda Pilot, and it has this abrupt on/off throttle response at low speeds/RPMs, so if you're not really smooth, you look like you're riding a bucking bronco when you slowly cruise through a town (but the PCIII probably takes care of that). Enjoy it, and be careful.

Also, I see that it doesn't have my favorite mod -- the reverse shifter (1 up 5 down). All you need to do is remove the stock shift linkage and bolt on a shifter from the same era VFR and boom! you're shifting gears like the MotoGP boys. Check out rc51.org for this and other common mods.

Stock shifter:

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Reverse shifter:

post-6887-13690979582694_thumb.jpg

Edited by 02 RC51
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I don't know of any real issues mechanically. I bought one in 2000. It was modified with high compression pistons stage one moriwaki cams removal of the quieting gears and the soft rev limiter removed. It was tracked most of its life and spent most of its time in the 9-10k rpms.

Change the gearing will help with the tall first gear. Also tighten the slop in the throttle will help with the abrupt on/off throttle. I actually had the HRC throttle which was I think a 1/6 turn. I loved it because I didn't need to regrip from off throttle to WTO.

If you can find them the best sounding and one of the best performing slip on was the Moriwaki's.

I pulled the heads at 15,000 and the valves still didn't need to be adjusted

Last I heard my bike had over 40,000 miles and still runs like a top

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Main selling points for me...run for many miles, and the sound.

Im not a huge fan of the 2bros pipes, but its better than stock for now. Been trolling the rc forums a little bit and havent heard of Moriwakis, but then again i wasnt looking too hard either. I will have to find some sound clips for sure

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