Rolling Thunder High Performance Toys: Test Rides

Past Months Archives:

		Honda RC-51
		Triumph Speed Triple
		The Harley's Buell Cyclone vs. Triumph Speed Triple
		Honda VFR 800 Interceptor
		Suzuki SV650

		Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter

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Spotlight This Month: Honda RC51

by Ray Cannefax

Finally, we get to do the RC51 test ride. Three weeks after picking up the RC51 from Salt Lake Honda & Suzuki, we get the chance to put this marvelous bike through its paces. With the repairs from our little incident at 14 miles completed, we get to dance with the RC51. I'll tell you about the 14 mile incident after the test ride.

    Thanks to Salt Lake Honda & Suzuki's Dave (owner) and Bernie (Sales Mgr), we actually managed to get one of the first Honda RC51 that were released to the public. We picked it up for the second time just before the big Easyriders Salt Lake bash in Evanston, WY. Within the first few miles around Salt Lake City, the one thing that became acutely obvious is that this bike has an extremely smooth and constant power band. As I began accelerating in the RC51's high first gear and went through the gears, I was truly amazed that I was at a buck ten as I prepared to shift into fourth gear. I was nowhere near the 10K red line. Being over 100 mph so quickly truly amazed me since it was achieved so smoothly and effortlessly. No surge or peaks, just a steady and extremely rapid acceleration - FAST! The next day we took off for Evanston and the Easyriders Memorial Day bash (see our "Events" section for that story).

    One of the great biking roads in America, the Mirror Lake highway, runs south from Evanston, WY to Kamas, UT and I couldn't think of a better place to put this bike through its paces. By now we've all read all the other tests conducted at Willow Springs and other race tracks by the various magazines so we decided it was time for a real, "road" test. The Mirror Lake highway has it all - tight twisting sections, long straights, gentle and long sweepers and great elevation changes. Everything to keep you entertained for about 90 miles.

    I rode the first south bound 70 miles at relative ease, stopping at the Bar River Lodge for a bite and an evaluation of the RC51's characteristics. Just before leaving the Wasatch National Forest or reaching Evanston I turned around and headed back the way I had come.. The ride back to Evanston is another story. I pushed the RC51 to its max whenever I had the right frame of mind - focus and confidence tends to come and go - and I am now fully aware that I came nowhere near the limitations of the RC51.

Honda RC51

    In the twisties, lean angles became sharper and sharper, and I learned how simple it was to accelerate earlier and earlier while still in the turn, up to where I began twisting the throttle fairly hard right at the apex. It was in those tight turns that I began to gain an understanding and serious appreciation of the RC's braking capabilities. One article I read before the RC51 was released to the public stated that "the RC51's brakes have the power to stop the rotation of the earth." Well, maybe that's stretching things a bit, but not much. Like the RC51's power band, the braking was smooth, constant and without ny indication of fade. Man, those tight turns were fun! Learning how to blast out of the turns was even more fun!

    The long straights were just as exciting. I went into fourth at about a buck ten, into fifth at about 130 and short shifted into sixth around 138. Major crosswinds along these long straights took my courage to the test, and I recalled promising Karl, the service manager at Salt Lake Honda, that I would do my best to keep the bike from further harm. Judging by the reading on the tach and the RC's willingness to continue its smooth acceleration, a buck seventy five seems easily attainable. We're thinking that the Salt Flats might be a good place to go this summer.

    We had fun in the twisties, enjoyed the sheer speed in the straights, but the most real fun I had was taking the RC51 through the long, bending sweepers - leaning through the bends that seemed to last for ever. The two major sweepers I really recall were marked as 45 mph turns. Eighty to 85 in the first one seemed almost too easy. In the second one, I glanced at the digital speedo and saw what looked like 92 - pushing it, but still not near the RC's limit. How much faster could I go? I did promise Karl to keep the shiny side up and overcame my urge to go back and give those two long sweepers another go.

    So what did I learn about the RC51 that you may not have already read? A few things: First, this is truly the best production sport (racing) bikes I've ever ridden. It has constant and plentiful power and torque. The RC51 can be an amateur racer's ultimate dream - a bike to race on any track and also carve your local canyons with. It is okay, but not great for riding around town. I rarely made it out of second gear when I rode around Salt Lake City or downtown Evanston (no more tickets). First gear is a high first gear and until I got used to it, I did stall the RC51 a few times. The test ride also showed that the RC is responsive and to an extent forgiving. The brakes are marvelous. Straight line acceleration is smooth, constant and quick without those jolts between gears - probably because of the close ratio gear box. Accelerating out of turns is even more exciting - I can't recall a bike yet that I was able to give as much throttle near the apex as the RC51. And finally, I also learned that it's not a bike you want to do a long day on. The 150 mile trip on the Mirror Lake highway was enough to make me feel pretty good about settling into the Easyriders bash at the Evanston Fair Grounds and not wanting to do any more riding that day. Guess I'll have to figure out how to keep the ZX-11 that I told my wife I would sell.

    Now, back to the 14 mile incident. One of our contributing editors, Leif Anderson was taking the RC51 for a very simple familiarization ride around our parking lot, just to get a feel for the bike prior to taking it out on the road. From between two buildings came a white Chevy pickup owned by Western Water Group and driven by Manuel Martinez who, after the incident proclaimed to the police officer "I didn't even see the bike until I heard him hit my front fender." Then of course, Manuel's next comment was that the reason for not seeing the bike was because he was positive the bike was going "so fast". When I heard those idiotic statements, I flashed back on those bumper stickers I've seen so often "Start Seeing Motorcycles", which happened to slip out of my mouth as soon as Manuel stopped with his excuse.

    Okay, so you're wondering how things went with a Honda at a Harley oriented party? Sadly, even though the RC51 is a V-twin, the majority of the Harley crowd did not have the ability to appreciate and comprehend the marvel of the RC51. Honestly, if I were one of the Buell brothers or an H-D exec, the RC51 is exactly what I would wish the Buell could come close to being. But, we survived. No one made any rude comments or gestures - probably since they remember me from the days when I owned the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle shop and probably due to my affiliation with the Easyriders Utah store. The staff from the Easyriders shop, on the other hand, had a little different outlook. They think the RC51 is truly a great bike with fabulous engineering and riding characteristics. It's a shame that so many of the H-D riders just can't seem to get past their mental blocks and begin enjoying machinery and riding techniques that differ from the upright, casual cruising which is the only riding technique many of them know. It's probably because so many new, over 30, H-D riders, never developed the skills required to take a sports bike through its paces. Hence the "if it aint Harley, it's shit" attitude put forth by some of these newbies. I just regret that so many of these guys will never experience the thrill of taking a nimble bike deep into a turn, hitting the brakes, leaning it to about 50 degrees, feeling the g-forces and then powering out of the turn onto the next straight. Even though I love my FXR, I will never have the level of comfort with the H-D at speeds around or over 100 as I have with any of my sports bikes. It's just a different type of engineering, riding style and philosophy.

    In summary - If you can get your hands on a RC51. Do it. Do not wait. Do it now and experience the responsiveness of a true race bred machine that you can enjoy through your local canyons as well as at your near-by race track. And, as soon as you get one, fix the one thing that Honda screwed up on, replace the stock exhaust system.

    That's my story and I'm stickin' with it! Be safe!

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