About the bike, Its an 89 RK model originally owned by Iain Duffus' postman (postmaster more likely).
It was raced by Iain in the IOM in the 91 Formula One where he came a respectable 10th.
After its short IOM career, Iain wanted to sell it as a full blown racer with all its HRC bits.
I think the price was too salty for most takers so a decision was made to put back all the standard parts and
sell it like that. Obviously the Tony Scott motor was retained.
It remained in Aberdeen until I bought it from a gentleman named Dod Merson in September 96. The following
spring I was stationary in traffic and an old lady decided to park her Nissan Micra on top of me.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed an excuse, and the funds, for a total refit.
The (unmarked!) frame and swingarm were sent to Spondon to be checked on their jig. All was OK.
The subframe and Maxton 3 spoke mag rear were scrap and had to be replaced. Fortunately a friend had
spares. The bodywork was sent to Dragon Paint for repair and repaint. The can it came with (a not very
nice carbon thing) was crushed in the accident and a full Termignoni titanium race exhaust was purchased. The
suspension was re-built by Maxton. One of the radiators bought it in the accident and a decision was made to
replace both with a cross flowed HRC set. The difference is amazing. They keep the engine cool in stop start
traffic even in the height of summer. Normally the HRC top radiator would restrict the turning circle but I set it
further back and the turning circle has been preserved. Electrically, the Honda rectifier was binned for a much
more substantial item and the rear light bulbs were replaced with vibration immune LED items.
Engine wise, servicing (valves, carb balancing, etc) has been done by ex-IOM GP winner Howard Cross.
I change the oil and filter myself once a year which sounds bad till you realise thats once every 400 miles!
When I bought it, it had 8000 odd miles on the clock and it now has 13823. Less than 6000 miles in nearly 13
years. In my youth I spent two years with a CB125 as my only transport. I no longer feel the need to ride in the rain & snow.
Although this a real pedigree race bike, I have never raced it. Not even trackdays. I just never felt the need to.
How does it ride? Well, its astonishing. Its everything people go on about RC30's for plus more.
Far more. The Tony Scott blueprinted motor comes from an era when if you sent a motor to Tony
(and he would agree to do it) he would be the person doing it from start to finish. Coupled with the
Termignoni exhaust and lack of quietening springs in the cam train, it makes for a very intense experience.
Its way faster than a standard RC (I have owned 2 stock bikes) and actually makes the stock bike feel a bit limp.
One year I took both bikes to the IOM and when parked up together the stock bike could
have been a ratted CB500 for all the interest anyone showed in it compared to the yellow bike.
Speaking of the IOM, it is eligible for the IOM TT Classic Lap of Honour. One of my racer
friends asked to enter it in 98 and sure enough that year he rode it round the closed circuit
with the likes of Freddie Spencer and Luigi Taveri. Braver man than me but I can see the attraction.
Could it be put back to standard? Well, yes. I suppose so. All the bits are original or HRC and I've kept
things like the original mirrors, pegs, end can, etc. I even have the very original Metzler back tyre.
But why? The stock bike is a race replica. This isn't a replica. Its the real thing.
Imagine going to an RC30 owners meeting with all the bikes parked up. You're walking along them,
"hmmm standard bike", "hmmm, another standard bike", "hmmm another standard bike", "hmmm Iain Duffus' ex-IOM bike".
Which one are you going to stop and look at?
If you do anything to a stock bike you're just depressing the price. Those £2000 Ohlins forks and
£1500 carbon fibre wheels have just added nothing to the price. At least you can improve the performance of
a race bike by adding tasteful period items without destroying its value. And when you drive it away you
don't lose three grand off the value.
The dirty subject of money... I am expecting offers over 12k GBP which is (inflation adjusted) the value
I paid for it in '96. It might seem like a lot of money for a bike but not to our European friends. With the Pound
at half what it used to be against the Euro, British bikes are a bargain. A new German R1 is £13.5k and
a new CBR1000RR is £14k. I'd rather it stayed in the UK but if no one is sufficiently interested here, it will be
advertised in Europe.
If you're seriously considering buying this bike, come and ride it or send someone you trust to ride it.
Bring money. Once you've ridden it you will sell your grandmother to own it.
Sorry I've got no current pics. The bike is in bits being cleaned and polished. These are pics I took last year.
I will post new pics when its tidied up. I have yellow wheels for the bike and the white and black ones
seen in the pictures. I think both white looks best but I just couldn't stand having to continually clean
the front wheel when it was white. Its your call. I can leave them as is or paint both white or both black
or you can have the yellow pair.
My contact details are mob 07711 026653 or work 0141 810 4000.
