shaft (supposedly producing
improved exhaust scavenging)
and gear-driven camshafts. The
chassis was all-new too; a box-
section aluminum frame and simi-
lar swingarm; the machine now
weighing it at a very competitive
436 pounds.
Gestation Period Over
Which more or less brings us
to the point of the story—the
VFR750R or RC30. While the
RC30 was technically based
on the latest evolution of the
VFR750F, the resemblance was
superficial, the attention to detail
reflecting the fact that every
RC30 was built by a small team
of dedicated technicians at the
Honda Racing Corporation.
Beginning with the powerplant,
the major difference was the
reversion to a 360° throw for the
crankshaft, upon which sat titani-
um con-rods—the exotic material
also used for the valves. Cam-
shafts ran in needle-roller and
roller bearings, acting directly
on the valve stems; the elimina-
tion of rocker arms allowing for
a more compact cylinder head
casting and for the inlet ports to
be realigned by tilting six degrees
higher to produce a more direct
path from the carburetors to the
combustion chambers. The stan-
dard 38° included angle for the
valves was retained. No oil cooler
was fitted, but oil temperature
was reduced by running engine
coolant through a small circular
radiator mounted adjacent to the
oil filter. Two large radiators (one
with fan assistance) carried the
engine coolant.
Chassis-wise, the RC30 was
closely based on the aluminum
twin-spar RVF750 with what
Honda called the Diamond frame
concept which used the engine
unit as a stressed member. The
RVF had made good use of the
Elf-patented single-sided swing-
ing arm (Honda paid a royalties to
the French fuel company for each
item produced) with the wheel
retained by a single nut which
allowed rapid wheel changes
where the rear sprocket and
chain remained in place, and the
RC30 retained this feature.
Interestingly, even though the
wholesale transition to front and
rear 17-inch tires was under way
(which would subsequently ren-
der the formerly universal 18-inch
hoops obsolete and largely unob-
tainable), the RC30 employed an
1990 HONDA RC30
R I D E R E V I E W
P82
The RC30 is
not what you
would call a big
motorcycle.
