Some of these people are kidding. this is above and beyond making a profit. But the old 'buyers market' applies. How much would it cost to recommission? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-VF...166756?hash=item23bd712ee4:g:kZEAAOSwLzZc6cYf
And will still need to spend a fortune on it going through it as it’s been stood for so long unless you don’t intend ever riding it?
And that was my question: how much to recommission to ride? All oils and fluids, drain carbs and tank, new tyres. Fork seals could be brittle or perished, Swing arm lubricant dried up. I can see £2 - 3,000 mounting up. There'd be a lot of better opportunities (not necessarily on bikes) to drop 80 big ones!
At the end of the day however buys this is like me having a 20 quid note in my pocket ...small change then one day it will still be worth the same or indeed more ...it's what is worth to the buyer..
Yeah, there'd be some serious bragging rights to owning a new unregistered version. But to register it and ride it only around, for instance, a 30-mile loop, would devalue it back to the current going rate of £30,000 ish. Maybe a lotto winner with money to burn might pick it up, or it could become the third bike in @Lozzy 's growing collection.
This one has passed between dealers over the last 10 years or so that i know of, each chucking their markup on it and now looks like the current owner is trying to cash in. I paid £6750 for mine back in 2002 which was top money for a RC30 back then, and i have put loads of miles on it, commuted on it, track days, rain, snow and scorching sun and had a ball on it. Funnily enough i value it today around 25k in the real world which is just staggering and is one of the few bikes not showing any signs of a slow down appreciation wise. Are they worth that - no are they hell. if they were still priced around 10 - 12k then yes, the issue is parts and maintaining them correctly these days. Also as values keep climbing it seems almost daft to keep using it however i look at it this way, If i crash it, blow it up or what ever - i break it for spares and double my money so can't go wrong really. Far too many of these are bought by speculators and collectors with no intention of ever riding them or letting out of some air tight dungeon which i think is just wrong. They are a fabulous bike to ride even today, and with some light mods are still enough to excite and get the heart racing. They don't feel that fast but numbers still climb at an alarming rate. As said i fully intend to take mine to eurpoe next year, and every single ride is a memorable and fun event, i am lucky enough to know i have owned and thrashed a RC30 and that alone is worth the asking price these command. If you have ever fancied one, can afford one (or have funds sat earning zero interest in a bank) then buy one, buy one now. Don't get some pristine garage queen or you simply will be too afraid to use it. get a good used one and thrash the taters out of it and enjoy. I think you can make out the smile from me from a very wet Oulton Park not so long ago !!
Just to add to this, i am lucky enough to own a few interesting bits and pieces, some older, some newer, some way way more powerful and tricker than the RC30 But not much beats the grin factor the RC30 gives me. That said i have some 400's too, and a well setup and sorted NC30 also is not far off the experience. I have said before and will say again, if i had to sell up and sell all my bikes and keep just one for life, to do it all on, it would quite possibly be my UK spec NC30 i keep. Sure the RC30 is a better bigger and faster bike, but the fun the 400 gives is still intoxicating and it is all too easy to forget after not riding one and being used to riding more modern faster bikes, only to have it all come rushing back why you love bikes when i ride any of the 360 degree V4's I also think the UK spec or 89 NC30 looks proportionally perfect compared to the RC30, most think they are identical - they are far from it. See these pics and you will see what i mean
I'll always love a guy with a nice pair! I actually like 'pristine garage queens' and have a couple myself, but still do ride them and enjoy them. Congrats to you for enjoying yours. There's certainly a lot to be said about the merits of a bike that's used versus one that's not used.
Nothing wrong with Garage queens, and so long as you use them - that said its your property, you own them and you do as you see fit. Some owners buy them never to use them, and have no idea what they are missing out on riding experience wise in case they devalue a couple of quid.
I commend you sir! Nice to see such a refreshing attitude to these type of bikes mate, always good to see them being used properly in all conditions and just enjoying them for what they are
I know you would expect me to jump on this, Raph. 'Properly' is, of course, subjective. I often draw comparisons between myself and a philatelist (stamp collector). Is a stamp collector frowned upon for hoarding his stamps instead of using them for their 'proper' purpose? Is a coin collector castigated for removing coins from circulation? What about a doll collector? Would he or she be criticised for removing dolls from children's enjoyment? And then there are the rarer collectors. Let's take lawn mowers. Would he be criticised for not mowing lawns with his prize collection? What about those with thousands of Matchbox and Dinky cars? Depriving children of toys? Hardly. It seems inconsistent that a collector of motor vehicles draws such attention for his or her collection simply because the items are not being used, or to quote @CRM , 'thrash the taters out of it'. (Here, I concede that in doing so, CRM has kept his bikes in immaculate condition) Probably the most important point in all this is that as collectors, we enjoy our bikes just as much as the next guy or gal, with the only difference being that they don't attract as many miles.
