The MAM Journals-Honda RVF750R RC45

When the World Superbike championship began in 1988, Honda had the RC30 ready to race, and they won the first two championships, with Fred Merkel riding . The evolving regulations allowed 4 cylinder engines up to 750cc and twins up to 999cc, and understandably , Ducati took advantage of this .
Honda needed a new bike and, in 1994 they launched the RC45 to take them on . It proved to be a tough challenge . Often the maid but rarely the bride, they won the WSB title in 1997 but the bike enjoyed considerable success in other championships.
In this video , I go through the specifications of the homologation, road bike that they based their race bike on , take it for gentle ride and talk about its race record and what , Aaron Slight , the man who raced it throughout its career, thought about it.

Other videos that may be of interest include,

[Irfan]

The baby RVF400, was just as good a bike. It was quite popular here in Singapore back in the day. If you wanted something sensible, reliable and quick enough for your 2A license, you got the Honda CB400 Super Four. If you were a bit naughtier, you went for the RVF400.

[ZZRZX]

You are so honest and humble and no BS which is a rarity these days.

[kalidismail]

I've seen this and 916 when i'm a kid, love motorcycle ever since.

[mrdoodle]

Thanks for this, very interesting to hear Aaron Slight's comments. There was one for sale here in a Perth bike shop around 20 years ago for $45k. It's the only one I have seen for sale over here, apart from one a guy I know who has one as part of his collection.

[splodge]

I loved watching the Honda RVF 750 Endurance bike at the Bol d'Or 24hr race. Looked great in the Rothmans colours and still sounded fantastic towards the end of the race when the in line four cylinder engine of the Yamaha was getting decidedly tired and rattley.

[mm]

Wow! 3 of my absolute favorite bikes in that garage. What a great video. Thank you.

[davevandervelde]

I dont know what happened, but it is so hard for me to think this was 30 years ago. What a great era in motorcycle racing. (SBK and 500GP) I am a bit weird but I was obsessed with studying all sport bikes during this era and knowing everything I could learn.
Cool that Doohan used this paint scheme on his 94 GP bike after Rothmans moved their sponsorship money to Williams in F1.
The RC45 was hugely successful in endurance racing which is no surprise it is based on Honda's RVF750. To bad Ducati was given the advantage to have larger engines and therefore was able to have more SBK success. I read that Ducati was so committed to SBK they had brand new factory race motors in crates to swap out if needed even multiple times in a race weekend.
I have owned multiple cbr 600's, 900's and 1000's so I am abit of a Honda fanboy. Should have bought one of these but my children wanted to eat.

[MotoMark]

What a beautiful bike 😍 This & the Kawasaki ZXR750 are my two favourite bikes of all time. Japanese manufacturers really need to bring back twin round headlights in my opinion.

[TheChrysler]

Really looking forward to watching this one Michael. I want to be un disturbed with no interruptions and with a nice brew. That’ll be tonight in the midnight hour. 😌

[davidbarton]

Nice to see this classic Honda, I still get a buzz from riding my CBR400RR after recommissioning it last year, it's great for twisty's and you don't see that many too here in the UK. Engine is bullet proof with gear driven cams, like this RC45 I swapped out the rubber brake lines for braided ones and what a difference they make.

[philipcooper]

Beautiful piece of machinery. Bikes from the 90's and early 2000's were wild. Race ready machines with lights and licence plates. I used to own 1996 ZX7R P1 and every ride felt like a WSBK event.

[ianhalliwell]

You said it was surprisingly comfortable yet it certainly didn't look it to me. Being taller and heavier, not to mention older I'd need a cyropractor when, and if, i could get off it. Fabulous video as always Michael, i just love your comprehensive videos even when your showing bikes i would never ride myself.

[pcarragher]

Georious looking bike. Thanks Michael.

[RetroSuperbikes]

Great video as per usual Michael. The bikes of this era are just amazing. I'll be reviewing an SRAD GSXR this weekend.

[SteveFukuzawa-ut]

Was waiting for Honda to build rc45. Rode one in L.A. mtns. Only got 25-28mpg!!! Got better mpg in civic with a/c on! I like long distance, can't with this bike.

[georgeneofotistos]

Very enjoyable video mr Mam, I really liked all the insight. Being 46, I have a soft spot for the japanese superbikes of the 90s and I even treated myself wih an immaculate 98 Fireblade! Oh, the right hand switchgear is different on mine but the LH seems similar!

[brattonbiker]

One of the best looking bikes ever (to my eye, anyway).

[sambull]

Another world class review, thank you!

[delboy]

Being a Honda rider for most of the bikes I've owned, I always liked the RC45 and would have loved to have owned one. Unfortunately it's always been out my price range; back when it was released and probably more so now. Actually that's probably not entirely true. I could possibly afford one now, but I probably couldn't justify it to myself, as I know it would end up being a garage queen.

[MarmiteTheDog]

My VFR800 is painted in those colours, but I will be changing it back to a close-to-original finish this year. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on a very special bike.