1988 Honda VFR750R Type RC30
Frame no. RC30-2000237
Engine no. RC39E2101194

• Iconic World Superbike Championship 'homologation special'
• Back to original road trim
• Registered in Germany

One of the modern era's few immediately collectible classics, the Honda VFR750R - better known as the 'RC30' - was created for just one reason: to win the World Superbike Championship, a feat it achieved in the nascent series' first two seasons of 1988 and '89. And while American Fred Merkel was bringing Honda its first two WSB crowns, Britain's Carl Fogarty used an RC30 to win the TT F1 World Championship in 1988 and '89, and the equivalent FIM Cup in 1990. No mere short circuit scratcher, the RC30 and its derivatives proved durable enough to win a hat-full of Endurance Classics too. That this latter requirement was also part of the design brief may be determined from the fact that a quick-release front fork and single-sided swinging arm - essential for speedy wheel changes - were part of an unrivalled specification that included a twin-spar alloy beam frame, 16-valve V4 engine with gear-driven cams, close-ratio six-speed gearbox, and four-pot front brake callipers. All of which did not come cheap: at the time of its launch in 1988 an RC30 cost £8,499, getting on for double the cost of other super-sports 750s. Despite the passage of time and progress of motorcycle technology, the RC30 remains a match for the latest generation of sports bikes but possesses an exclusivity that none of them can approach. 'No other bike from the late-Eighties is lusted after like the RC30,' declared Bike magazine, and few would disagree.

Currently displaying a total of 59,840 kilometres (approximately 37,000 miles) on the odometer, this RC30 was purchased by Karl-Heinz Kalbfell in 2007 and has recently been converted from race trim back to road trim. The machine is offered with the purchase invoice, (copy) German Fahrzeugbrief, TüV paperwork, and a substantial quantity of invoices.