Has anyone here ridden an RC51?
 

A coworker of mine has an 04 RC51. He let me ride it today, and let me just say that it flat out rocks! As someone wise once said, "It's so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend it." :)

It kinda makes my beloved Super Hawk feel like a bit of a pig. It pains me to say that. :(

Jeff
redsuperhawk

If he's your co-worker - I guess you could afford one too :)

Next time you see the RC51, could you please see if the instrument cluster connector looks something like on a superhawk? I like the layout and all-digital displays of RC51, and wouldn't mind swapping mine for them.

Re: Has anyone here ridden an RC51?
 

Drat... double post. The site timed out four times.

Re: Has anyone here ridden an RC51?
 

Haha, that'd be nice if it were true, but our wives have different jobs.

I'll try and check on the gauge connection. But are you sure you want that? In my ride, which was about 25 minutes, I couldn't see the tacho with just my peripheral (sp?) vision... I had to actually take my eyes off the road and physically look at the tach. I couldn't even just glance at it. A bright red sweeping needle seems to allow better vision without actually looking at it. JMHO.

Jeff
redsuperhawk

Re: Has anyone here ridden an RC51?
 

I have never ridden an RC51 but have always loved the looks and the sound. Actually, one of the reasons I went with Superhawk was the love I had for RC.

It is good to hear from the SH owners who have ridden RCs, to get a feel for what the differences are.

Re: Has anyone here ridden an RC51?
 

I guess which one is a better buy depends on what you want in a bike. Now I don't find my Superhawk particulary comfy for long trips, and my wife HATES the back seat, but it's surely better for long rides than the RC51. I like the motor on the SH, it's very torquey on the low end, and for me, in first gear, it wheelies so easily. It's not the latest and greatest on the handling front, but I can scratch pretty good on my SH, and it's bone stock save for the exhaust and windscreen. I've had it five years and have been incredibly happy with it. I'm getting the itch to get something new, but it's not really the bike's fault. I'll probably end up keeping the SH a couple more years anyway.

The RC51 on the other hand, was not that comfy, but not terribly so... at least for my half hour ride anyways. The clipons are under the clamps, and that puts your hands very low, so my wrists were sore relatively quickly. But the reach on the '51 was crazy short, and I liked that. The seat was a slab. But it had a mega motor. Seat of the pants feel was not as grunty as the SH, but it pulled... HARD. And it had zero problems wheelying in first either. At 6k rpm the motor just went bonkers. Chassis felt rock solid stable, and it had incredible brakes.

I don't think I'd want the '51 as my only bike, but if the SH was split into two bikes, one comfy and one SS, the '51 would be a likely choice as the SS, especially since there's finally a new paint job for 2005. I never did like the silver/black/red scheme. I preferred the solid red version in the UK a couple years ago, but the black one is sweet.