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2000 vs 2003

5K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  on1wheel 
#1 ·
Back in 2000 I had a RC-51 with Two Brothers exhaust, a powercommander, velocity stacks and an aftermarket air filter. That thing was a wheelie machine and would "indicate" a top speed of 189 when topped out :surprise: I have just recently found and purchased a beautiful 2003 RC-51 that has a Yoshimura exhaust on it. I installed a powercommander, a set of BMC filters along with new tires and chain and sprockets. The 03 feels kind of pouchy? Any ideas? Plugs maybe? It will wheelie but not as snappy as the old one did? Thanks!
 
#9 · (Edited)
By that logic may as well go 300. Hell, a great rider on a 300 will beat 600's on the track and street.

600's still don't pull 10.55's. If 600's are fast then RC51's are faster. Don't know or care about a 1/2 mile since the 1/4 mile is already at 131 mph. Slug, I think not.



OP, more than any other basic mod posted, the RC51 responds to gearing changes. Check out the gearing.


Even at mosport I run a 600 in hot shoe (fast) class on track days to 1:30 flat lap times. Enough to be faster than most liter bikes out there.

Cheers
 
#6 ·
i never said it didn't handle well, i said it's a slug, which it is. it's very overweight and very under powered. but that's fine it doesn't pretend to be a horsepower giant.

how it does at a track day is pretty irrelevant. a good rider would clean house on bikes much slower than the 51.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Ok, but you're missing mine too ;). It seems you're not acknowledging any opinion but your own as valid. And on top of it, my post didn't have any crazy hyperbole in it. I tend to call a spade a spade every time here; I spent a dozen years without an RC51 because it's a flawed bike in some ways. And we've all extensively discussed the flaws here on the forum. But the hyperbole is indefensible imo. Posting hyperbole is by its very definition, over the top.

At this point I enjoy my RC51 and while not a liter bike power monster (which I have owned and loved deeply) the RC51 is not a "slug". I can power wheelie it in the first two gears to speeds well beyond the posted highway speed limit, and if not careful loop it. With a few basic mods and most importantly gearing, the RC51 is not a "slug". We're getting close to 20 years since the RC51 was released and with all the technology advancements it's still faster than current 600's. Look at what the last 20 years did to the Corvette, where we now see new cheaper 2.0 4 cylinder cars that are even quicker.

Sorry about the mini rant, but let's try to raise the bar in life, not lower it.

Many of your contributions to the RC51 community are great. I hope to see and celebrate more.
 
#11 ·
could be a combination of the throttle bodies and swingarm. Honda smoothed everything out for the street on the SP2. Even the brakes.

Could also be your tune on the powercommander. Did you have custom tune done?
 
#15 ·
My RC51 is not a slug. It is a turd.

That being said it does everything my ZX10 does it just does it slower and with way more effort. :grin2:

Truth be told as it sits right this second with the TTX-GP shock it actually gets the power down better at higher lean angles way earlier than I care to test the Zed-X which is an awesome advantage for about 35 feet exiting the turn then the real literbikes disappear like a fart in a hurricane once they can open up the barn and let the horses run free... I've learned the hard lesson about sneering at 600's too. One recent national 600 champion as well as his teammate have decimated me on the track so many times I cannot even count them. Pro riders are just in a different league from most of us and I'm fairly quick for an old fat bastard.



 
#16 · (Edited)
No custom map I 'm running the map for the Akropovic exhaust, aftermarket air filters and flapper removed? It was the closest thing I could find? I have the Yoshimura exhaust, BMC filters with the flapper valve removed. Any other suggestions for maps or anyone in Missouri that does custom maps?
 
#17 ·
It's the exclusivity and the soul. ..and the torque..oh wait, and the sounds, those gears whirring. It's the fact that in race trim it beat Ducati and won world championships. It's the rails we ride on while still flicking about like a 600. Its the bare bones race bike look and feel. Its enough power and torque for the street and track, although I agree with the above comment about Mosport, I've crashed trying to make up ground on 4 cylinders on corner entry and earlier throttle application only to watch them gain 20 bone lengths on the back straight
 
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