Description
This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Motorcycle Sale at Kempton Park 2026 on Saturday the 18th of July, Kempton Park Racecourse, TW16 5AE.
The Honda VFR750R RC30 is one of the most revered motorcycles ever built — a machine that blurred the line between factory race bikes and road-going production motorcycles. Built by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) in the late 1980s, the RC30 wasn’t designed primarily to make money or satisfy commuters, it was created for one reason - to win races
During the mid-1980s, international motorcycle racing was evolving rapidly. The new Superbike World Championship launched in 1988 with rules requiring manufacturers to race motorcycles based on production machines
Honda realised that simply adapting an ordinary road bike wouldn’t be enough. Rivals like Yamaha, Suzuki, and Ducati were developing increasingly specialised homologation specials — motorcycles built in limited numbers solely so they could legally compete. Honda’s answer was the RC30 and the bike debuted at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, entering production shortly afterwards
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 wheel changes in race conditions, were part of an unrivalled specification that included a twin-spar alloy beam frame, 16-valve V4 engine with gear-driven cams, close-ratio 6-speed gearbox and 4-*** front brake calipers
First registered on 17/ 06/ 1989, the bike was supplied new to its one and only owner by Honda dealers Neil Young of Northampton (it was originally purchased by a Trust owned by him before being put into his own name)
It has covered a mere 1, 144 miles during its cosseted life having been used sparingly until 2018 when PDQ of Taplow drained all the fuel and prepared it for an extensive lay-up, where it has been correctly stored ever since in an air-conditioned environment. Recently fitted with a fresh battery and the starter motor tested prior to sale. The bike will require some light recommissioning prior to any use
Supplied with its original book pack, service record, owners maintenance manual, current V5C, older MOTs, several magazine articles on the RC30 and both keys along with numerous invoices from PDQ including the run sheet when the bike was set-up on the Dyno by them
Although the passage of time and the progress of motorcycle technology means that the RC30 is no longer a match for the latest generation of sports bikes, it has developed an almost mythical exclusivity that none of them can approach
A unique opportunity to purchase a one-owner RC30 with exceptionally low mileage, cherished in a Private Collection for many years and fresh to market
