wag: the rc was the line of bikes rc30, rc45, rc51 and the number went up with displacement....it's approximately the cubic inches, so maybe it was the original designed displacement. or it's just increasing in interations....like versions. someone will come along shortly and dispell my profoundly stated guess with actual facts.
RC stands for racing chassis doesn't it. I'm too lazy to click the link. The numbers, I don't know. I"m pretty sure they explain RC211V on Faster as RC= Racing Chassis 211 as 1st new design (**1) of the 21st Century (21*), and finally, V = the engine configeration.
American press. They named it the RC51 when the rumors started of a Honda Ducati and eventually Honda named it the RC51 (even though they hated the "name"). Or so the rumors went back in the day.
Hey, thanks for being a dick. I've tried google, wikipedia, etc. and still don't know where the 51 comes from. I thought someone "in the biz" might have known. Those of you who answered from your personal bank of knowledge, thank you. That is why I use forums and not google.
HRC= Honda Racing Corp. The 51 has nothing to do with displacement, just Honda's number they assigned to the One Liter Ducati Eater. The rest of the world it's an SP2, or the same model we call it RVT1000r. Many Honda bikes of the past were assigned RC series numbers, a 5th gen VFR is a RC46. A Hawk has an RC name also, but I don't know it. The RC30 is probably the rarest or worth the most.
http://www.speedzilla.com/forums/street-track/61517-found-these-local-dealership.html All 3 Honda RCs.
all RC51 owners are required to take an "omerta" and defend the motorcycle platform on every internet message board! The bike has no flaws!
I don't know if anyone outside of Honda really knows why they chose to market it as RC51. But I can give a long winded answer to why it's probably just a marketing name which supports what Prawn says. The RC30 and RC45 are from the vehicle description code within the VIN (post 1981), which are digits 4-8. I believe R is for 750 to 900cc displacement and S is >900cc, C i can't remember about but think it's just a call out for a street bike, and the following three digits refer to the model. The RC30 has VDS that are both RC300 and RC301. The 1 identifies that it is a California model. RC is most definitely not Racing Chassis. Note that the RC44 is the 750 Shadow and the RC46 is the VFR800. So, following that convention the RC51 is actually an SC453 & SC454 (CA). That is true for both SP1s and SP2s. That's the best i can figure.
Other than a wheelbarrow with a flat tire handles better? Riding on your fired up bar-b-que grill produces less ass heat? More people produce go fast parts for a Kio Rio than the RC51? Wait, those aren't flaws, they're character!
it's the first 4 numubers of the VIN .the old vfr's ('86/'87) started with RC24.the vfr 750r started with RC30, and so on and so forth.