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Taming the Black Beast (RC51)

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Old 07-08-2008 | 10:11 PM
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Taming the Black Beast (RC51)

I typically don't like "other bike threads" on a bike specific forum but since the RC is a brother, OK more like a cousin, to the VTR, we have several dual or former owners of the RC, and many interested in Honda's other performance twin, I thought I'd go ahead and post this here.

Spent most of my very rainy Independence day weekend modifying my new 05 RC to be more street friendly. Can you spot the areas of modification in the pic:

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Note: one very important area I changed after the pic; added a taller and plusher sargent seat.

Last edited by superbling; 07-08-2008 at 10:15 PM.
Old 07-08-2008 | 10:33 PM
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Lower pegs and higher bars. I would love to see details on the bars.
Old 07-09-2008 | 01:39 AM
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Same Here!
Old 07-09-2008 | 07:42 AM
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You guys are missing one which is good as I hoped it would go unnoticed.
Old 07-09-2008 | 07:59 AM
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rubber/ cushioned foot pegs. like the oem ones on the superhawk.
Old 07-09-2008 | 08:19 AM
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What happened to the bar end?
Old 07-09-2008 | 08:34 AM
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Different windscreen.
Old 07-09-2008 | 09:19 AM
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Sato std mounts, retaining the stock passenger pegs.

I'd put the stock turn signals back on for visibility.

Another beautiful bike, Doug!

I'm still just talking about it...
Old 07-09-2008 | 10:05 AM
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I'm gonna dig a little further back in history...I was actually looking for the Walmart cooler luggage.....
Old 07-09-2008 | 12:46 PM
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LOL, yeah the cooler is still around but unfortunately won't fit (easily anyway). I bought that EXL rear bag on a whim when someone posted a closeout deal on them. It should work tho' but now I won't be able to carry multiple packs of liquid refreshments back to the group after the ride!

Yes, pegs (moderate effort) and bars (little effort) have been relocated for MUCH greater comfort. The DB screen came with the bike so I won't count that as my mod but yes it does factor in. Bars ends are back on, just forgot about them before the pic. Proton flushmounts are actually very visible (bright) and I believe can be wired as running lights. If not, I'll ditch 'em for stock if need be.

Good, no one has caught the other mod.
Old 07-09-2008 | 02:57 PM
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the data plate isn't on the normal spot on the frame...

I give up
Old 07-09-2008 | 03:09 PM
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show before and after then i could tell all i see are the pipes pegs bars turn singnals bags maybe a tire or the SS brake lines
Old 07-09-2008 | 03:43 PM
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... the minivan in the background?
Old 07-09-2008 | 03:48 PM
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You blanked out the Sato badge on the canisters?
Old 07-09-2008 | 04:19 PM
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ohhh, I see it. The grenade. Just below the the 1000R...
Old 07-09-2008 | 04:51 PM
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You ditched the plank and put a seat on that beast!
RC
Old 07-09-2008 | 05:09 PM
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Originally Posted by superbling
LOL, yeah the cooler is still around but unfortunately won't fit (easily anyway). I bought that EXL rear bag on a whim when someone posted a closeout deal on them. It should work tho' but now I won't be able to carry multiple packs of liquid refreshments back to the group after the ride!

Yes, pegs (moderate effort) and bars (little effort) have been relocated for MUCH greater comfort. The DB screen came with the bike so I won't count that as my mod but yes it does factor in. Bars ends are back on, just forgot about them before the pic. Proton flushmounts are actually very visible (bright) and I believe can be wired as running lights. If not, I'll ditch 'em for stock if need be.

Good, no one has caught the other mod.
Whose rearsets and are the OE footpegs lower than OE? And whose clipons and how much higher/rearward are they?

Those the OE mirrors???
Old 07-09-2008 | 07:25 PM
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New mirrors, and of course a deer whistle.
Old 07-09-2008 | 07:40 PM
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I'd say you could call them half brothers. Some people that know about the RC, but not that much about the SuperHawk, think the SH has an RC motor.

Those bars make it look quite comfy. Nice.
Old 07-09-2008 | 07:44 PM
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Oh, and I could have used the deer whistle last August when a 6 point buck crossed in front of me on Sunrise highway. It passed 8 feet in front of me at 50 mph.
Old 07-09-2008 | 08:49 PM
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GREAT guess on the data plate. Man, I would have never noticed that on someone else's bike but that doesn't really have anything to do with "taming an RC51" does it? Nor blanking out the sato badges, deer whistles, mirrors or minivans. LOL

Now, the pegs are approx. 3 inches (75mm) forward and 1 and 1/2 inches (35mm) down. HUGE difference. Not pictured is a gsxr sargent seat that is also higher than the OEM plank (hard but nicely sculpted) giving even more leg room and better knee angle.

Next, the clip ons. Ahh yes, the clip ons are also much higher. I found the stock forward reach position to be no problem it was only the height. Digging around the 51 sites I found one reference to an easy and cheap (no $) solution. Take them off, flip them over, and put them on the other fork. BRILLIANT! Now you know why the bar ends were off in the pic.

Still no one can see the other mod. Hint it is very, very closely related to one the two mentioned above.
Old 07-09-2008 | 09:46 PM
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Originally Posted by superbling
GREAT guess on the data plate. Man, I would have never noticed that on someone else's bike but that doesn't really have anything to do with "taming an RC51" does it? Nor blanking out the sato badges, deer whistles, mirrors or minivans. LOL

Now, the pegs are approx. 3 inches (75mm) forward and 1 and 1/2 inches (35mm) down. HUGE difference. Not pictured is a gsxr sargent seat that is also higher than the OEM plank (hard but nicely sculpted) giving even more leg room and better knee angle.

Next, the clip ons. Ahh yes, the clip ons are also much higher. I found the stock forward reach position to be no problem it was only the height. Digging around the 51 sites I found one reference to an easy and cheap (no $) solution. Take them off, flip them over, and put them on the other fork. BRILLIANT! Now you know why the bar ends were off in the pic.

Still no one can see the other mod. Hint it is very, very closely related to one the two mentioned above.
The clipon swap is brilliant but whose rearsets and how did you graft the oe pegs?
Old 07-09-2008 | 10:40 PM
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The rear sets are from PP tuning which I've never heard of and came with the bike. I almost passed on the bike because of them and the PO didn't have the stockers but going by pics I could see I could set them back to a stock location.

I immediately did that after I got the bike home which helped very little with knee joint pain so I knew I'd have to "go radical" or seriously think about selling the bike (argh!). The PP's are made from a solid piece of billet with no thinning type of relief anywhere thus the thickness is the same throughout. The pegs and respective gear shift and brake lever pivots are all mounted to the same bolt. To make adjustments, that bolt is moved from hole to hole so I simply drill pressed a new hole as far down and forward as possible on the rearset and remounted everything. There were issues with the brake m/c and the gear shift linkage that were reasonably easy to over come.

A long test ride showed tremendous improvement in leg comfort but I'm greedy and more is better right? So I make a couple of lowering brackets that attach to said bolt on the rearset and extend downwards. Next, I gather up a couple of kawi footpegs I had laying around from my old superhawk peg lowering mod (old timers might remember them):

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I then bolt them to the bottom of the brackets which gives me almost another inch and then made the necessary adjustments to the shift/brake assemblies which are now at their respective adjustment limits.

It's almost too much now and I worry about cornering clearance but if you've seen the stock 51 footpeg feelers which are nearly 2 inches long you know there is a lot of latitude here. No biggie as I can easily make a shorter bracket. If I need to raise them back (track day, etc), I can unbolt the bracket and kawi footpegs and bolt the PP pegs back into the "normal" rearset holes. You can see the four stock locations drilled in the bracket in the picture in the first post. That dramatically shows how much I was able to move them.

The stock clip ons have about an 1/2 inch drop cast into them plus the down angle slope so inverting automatically gives one a 1 inch overall change near the fork tube plus an approx 2+ inch difference at the bar end. WOW! I am not in love with bar angle tho' and have a set of ducati 900 "hi-style" clipons coming. I'll see if they might be better.

Here's the before photo I previously posted that shows the "stock" locations for reference:

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and again the after:

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I'm somewhat let down at how easy this was. <grin> Although I don't think the "superhawkish" tank range will be quite so easy to solve. (ok, it is better but not that much when you live in an area that demands long rides).

Last edited by superbling; 07-09-2008 at 10:44 PM.
Old 07-09-2008 | 11:18 PM
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Awesome job, bling!!!!

I hope you have a stash of those pegs lying around! I'll bet they meet the concrete a lot sooner.

Overall, nice job on making a highly uncomfortable machine usable for more than an hour. I can't even sit on an RC51 because I'm too tall. Total torture rack for me. But your mods could make it possible...
Let us know how it all works out.
Old 07-10-2008 | 08:02 PM
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Although I occasionally grind pegs on the street, these do fold plus I think I only have them a tad below the stock 2 inch long feeler height but I'll probably move them up about 1/4 inch when I make the final brackets.

Unfortunately I don't have any major long distance rides planned till Oct. but I'll do some day long sighting runs before that. Family vacation will take up the next couple of weekends which puts me squarely into August...... in South Texas....... hmmmm. I should have planned this better! LOL
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