Car and Motorcycle

Used Bike Guide : 2002 Honda VTR 1000 RC51 SP2

Bored of waiting for impressive new Hondas ? Then look to the past, for the glorious V-Twin Honda VTR 1000 SP2.

When Honda decided to follow the Italian herd, not bothering to homologate its RC45 further, and build a v-twin machine, Honda VTR 1000 RC51 to go racing, things initially didn’t go well when the racer made it to production back in 2000.


The Honda VTR 1000 SP1 (or RC51 in the States) wasn’t without its faults, not least a dodgy throttle (not surprising when massive 54mm throttle bodies were delivering the fuel) and thirsty motor, but you could see the basis of something special had been built once you’d had time to set things up. Classy touches like the gear driven camshafts and twin injectors upped the kudos of the SP1 massively.

The bike came to fruition when the Honda VTR 1000 SP2 was built, with more refined injection (but even bigger throttle bodies, at 62mm), less weight, a more rigid chassis and swingarm (the latter effectively being the race kit part from the SP-1) and revised geometry. With a bit of fiddling with the geometry (pitching the bike on its nose) it could really get to grips with cornering and fulfil its true potential as a WSB replica machine.

Both are pretty bulletproof, with niggles relegated to a handful of unlucky/abusive owners. And both command big money still, although are considerably cheaper than the RC45 that it effectively replaced. Honda VTR 1000 SP2 was never a huge seller, with the market still preferring their twins to be painted red and come from Italy, so haggling will only get you so far. Most are low mileage, plenty will have tasty (and tasteful) cans on them, and owners are the types that cherish the most excellent example of Honda’s heritage.

The Reason Why You Need Honda VTR 1000 SP2 : You respect engineering. And like booming bikes !

2002 Honda VTR1000 SP2 Prices : Much under £ 7,000 and count yourself lucky.