Greatest (street-legal) V4 of All Time?

[sburns2421]

So which is it? Vote and explain you choice.

Banter ensues...

[Slwcreepin]

I say Aprilia because it is comfortable and it is a great all around bike that has high level potential with the ovrerall package. Plus it beats out the Ducati because it is not outragously priced.

[twin-nut]

I'm biased but the RC30 gets my vote. It has a good racing heritage and for me is the most beautiful Honda produced for the street. RC45 is up there with the D16RR for second.

[Ben710]

Aprilia for me, but it was a tough choice. The RC30 is an iconic machine. It´s a racer for the street, so it is made without compromise.

Same goes for the Aprilia. All of the adjustments you can make to the chassis (swingarm pivot, etc) are just plain overkill for any mediocre street rider, but heck, it´s a true race bike. I really like what they did with it.

The D16RR is sexy, but artificially overpriced. That really turns me off. If they made one for the price of an S version Ducati and kept the spare parts+maintenance costs at a sane level, it would have been a killer.

[mrgrn]

FWIW the ducati is to lure in money from buyers, it never won anything

the RC30 was handle built by 12 people and you could buy the HRC kit parts and win WSBK titles

[rjjablo]

Got beaten at the Drag Strip by a V-Max. I was running 100MPH in the 1/8 mile. I was on my 1994 YZF-750.

I learned how to properly launch an Cammy Inline 4 Motor of Death that day.

[JBs_SP3]

I voted "are you crazy" 'cos I think the poll should be widened to include the RC40 and the NC30 and NC35.

The RC40 or NR750 should get a mention just for being the only street-legal oval-pistoned motorcycle in history, now THAT is exotic. At the other end of the spectrum the NC30 and NC35 put 360 degree crank race pedigree into the hands of everyman. These tiny terrors continue to turn heads on streets all over the world and humiliate track day riders on bigger, more sophisticated equipment in the twisties 20+ years after their release.

[sburns2421]

I considered the NR750 but didn't include it because it was never legally sold in the US and were made in very few numbers. There are probably ten desmos for every NR. Twenty years on it remains the most exotic machine ever produced that anyone could just buy if they had the money.

As for the other smaller V4 models, they appear to be just sized-down small displacement bikes patterned off the RC30 and RC45. But to each his own.

[whitw wings]

Nc45!!!!

[johnyisthedevil]

vfr 750 didn't make the cut? so many awards, motogp dominating firing sequence that inspired the best bike on the grid? the one that Yamaha would later mimic in their "game changer" R1?

this poll is more rigged than a Bush election


edit
oops! seen and voted. I ain't erasing that shit though.

[nomo]

Clearly the RC30 : like nothing else when introduced , dominating race history and pedigree , rare , reliable , maintainable , and attractive . A distant second (though comparing apples and oranges) is the original VMAX , for being the fastest cruiser from 1985 until (agruably) the Rocket III of 2004 , and for its sheer rumbly bravado !

[Old Fart]

My top 3

The ape for the win. It's modern and well done.
RC30 as it's a timeless classic.
The Desmo although too $$$ and actually a pos.

The rest can be grouped in the meh category. Especially the surfer punk graphics of the rc45 which puts it in the classless trash column.

[DesperateSP2]

My vote goes to the Yamaha RZ500... though it does require so much effort to be made to work as intended (just like the Honda VTR-SP).
I personally incline for the standard RZ model over the exotic, Japan only RZV: the RZV was 30 pounds lighter, had a stiffer aluminum frame but also had a whooping 20hp less. Sure, the beast can be unleashed by fitting different carbs and pipes, but again it's so much extra work.
This was as close as you got to a 500 GP bike and 84hp on tap in 1984 were really... wow!

[duc1036]

RC30 for all the reasons already mentioned.
Too bad there is no current equivalent currently offered by any manufacturer.

*NOTE* I do not mean a V4 strictly speaking, not that I would mind.
I mean a homologated, low volume, modern, production race bike like the RC30 or R7.

[cheekybloke]

My vote went to the RSV4 but only just the RC30 was very very close behind for me.

[vfrrider]

Voted old school, VF1000R. Kinda muscle bike like.

Larry
VFRrider

[RAZR51]

VF1000r
Coolest bike I've ever owned

[SailorJack]

Gotta vote for what's in my garage. Love the Honda V4's. Especially the older ones.

Hope Honda wakes up and gives us a sporty VFR someday.


By smackdoogle at 2012-03-17