- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
I just noticed what looks like a very nice naked RB on the eBay Australia site. For sale by a friend of the owner, and finishes shortly. Interesting thing is it comes with a spare half fairing and stay etc, has new turn signals and is missing the factory plate on the bottom rail. Sent the owner’s friend some questions re frame number, plate etc but – perhaps not surprisingly – have not received a reply. If you are bidding on this, take a very close look before putting up the sort of money they are looking for!
There appear to be a couple of keen bidders who presumably aren’t members of this forum – or they would ask the same questions.
I think we all realise the Ebay can be a dodgy place sometimes, but of late there appears to have been a lot of High Value items going across Ebay that are fraudulent. As a potential buyer you contact the Seller who offers you a ‘Quick Sale’ but for you
protection wants payment through the Ebay ‘System’ by sending you and Ebay invoice. This gives the appearance of being valid but is in fact a fraudulent Ebay Invoice and does nothing to protect the hapless buyer if he sends off a large stash of
money.
With anything of this value the best advice I would suggest is only part with the money when you have the goods, in this case the Bike, in front of you.Travelled 900klm round trip to inspect this bike 3 days ago. No intention to buy really, just inquisitive.
Its been stored for years as an exhibit in a small very isolated pub, but serviced regularly as he used to be a Honda mechanic. He started it for me in the pub. Much to the amusement of patrons. Engine was quiet and crisp. Numbers were Engine 2000063 Frame 2000071. Tool kit and owners manual intact.
The bike had minor issues but was a very good example. I offered $A20K which was initially accepted, however he was a difficult seller to deal with, and changed his mind wanting more cash. That was when I walked away. The bike has been sold to someone with deeper pockets than I. I suspect to the same guy who purchased the RC from the same place last week for $A30K.
The seller had some great 1100R dealer promotion memorabilia as well.JohnS
I travelled from Townsville to Melbourne about 10 years ago to see a RBi that had only done 75Km. anyone remember that one? It was part of a collection of British Bikes .. the only Japanese bike he owned apprarantly.. but as happens he died leaving them all for others to sort out. Greg, the guy who aquired it had it for a few years taking it to a few events over the years but not riding it. He wanted $30K… seemed overly pricey and a premium for being brand new. I was patient, even when the price came down to $24K.. but then was finally pipped to the post by someone with more money than sense it seemed. The bike was used by the buyers son.. who crashed it
One of a number that I had the opportunity to buy and now regret not doing so:mad:
Anyone know what happend to it after that?I have the engine and frame numbers somewhere…
Greg
Yes I live at Lavender Bay usually – but currently at my other home in China until end September. Obviously too much time on my hands here if I’m watching stuff on eBay!
JohnS (below) traveled down to see this RB. He found that it has a compliance plate and the numbers look kosher, but mileage is unknown and it appears to have been rebuilt – perhaps after hitting the hard stuff somewhere? Not that mileage is much of an issue with these! It’s apparently been sold after the auction – my guess something approaching $30K.
I wonder if anyone has run a VIN check on it. It’s odd that the numbers were not mentioned in the auction blurb and there was nothing about the compliance plate. Apparently it’s been unregistered for years.
Do you live in or near Sydney?
Cheers
Brian
Thanks Brian
Yes in Sydney so when your back may be we can catch up say hello
I understand they guy was looking around the $25k mark , i think it has a new speedo as well
Does anyone know the true number of Australian Naked RB’s/RB1’s manufactured?
Are there any obvious ways to tell if they are original Australian naked RB’s or just other market RB2’s with the fairing removed?
I know Australian bikes had different tail lights, short rear mudguard, different tacho, KPH speedo, horns and indicators on the front forks but these parts can all be found on other models and changed to make a lookalike. It states in this thread that the frame #2000071 and engine #2000063 and that the owner has the fairing and stay which would make it feasible this bike was originally an RB2. I am aware of what I believe to be Joeys bike, it is frame #2000029 and that had a fairing fitted when raced in the UK. You could also assume this would have been one of the first imported to the UK. So my question is. Would I be right to assume all bike with frame #’s 2000029 and above are originally RB2,s?Regards
Trev
Trev
There was 150 RB1’s built and the 1st 100 came into Australia for the 1980 Castrol 6 hour race to meet entry levels for the race some sold to normal buyers but a lot sold to various race teams in OZ & New Zealand. There was another 900 built for the world to choose from complete with the fairing. But even the RB1’s you had the option to take the fairing or not and they came with a complete race spares kit. My frame number is 63 for my RB1 from a standard buyer and not raced.There was 1000 each of the RC & RD built.
Terry
Yes I think those production numbers are probably right.
I don’t know a sure fire way to tell if a bike started life as what is now called an RB0 (no fairing) because an RB1 can easily be made to look like one with mostly CB900 bits. Honda obviously raided the parts bin when they found they needed unfaired bikes for the Castrol. I have an RB0 which Honda sent to Germany in early 1981 – with higher numbers (I’m not at home and can’t recal right now). The only reason I know the history is it was registered by Honda themselves and they obtained type approval for it there – as distinct from the RB1 which was already on sale. I have all the paperwork. They were considering marketing the RB0 as a distinct model – maybe as a result of the Castrol victory? – but never did. They sold it on to a private owner there in late 1985.
This may well have happened elsewhere, and as stated earlier it was possible to buy an RB in RB0 configuration for quite a while after the first Australian shipment was built.
Having one with numbers well under 100, and an Australian compliance plate, would make it a pretty safe bet. Other than that, I guess the only sure fire way would be if original documentation exists to prove the configuration. You’d think that anybody who raced one would have seriously looked at using it unfaired. The aerodynamics of the half fairing are decidedly iffy from personal experience. You’d need to be a Joey Dunlop to get away with it at TT speeds!
This is a very interesting discussion. No doubt there are others who can throw some light on the subject.
Has anybody compiled a list of known RB0 frame numbers?
According to Pete Molloy – who prepared Wayne Gardners Mentor Mortors bike for the Castrol – a few more than 100 originally came to Aus in the RB0 configuration in the lead up to the Castrol. Conventional wisdom is that just over 1000 RB of all types were manufactured by Honda. I don’t know where this figure came from, but it’s widely quoted.
I’m probably creating confusion by referring to the two RB versions as RB0 and RB1. This is fairly common now, but I think the factory actually called them RB-I and RB-II in the literature. Cheers Brian
Brian
The RB1 had all the mounts for the fairing and as I mentioned it was an option along with the race spares kit. And yes it is documented that there was actually 1050 RB’s manufactured and sold. Yes the initial quota was 100 units for NZ & OZ.
Yes and the last bike Peter Molloy modified was an actual customer bike because I met him at VJMC rally. And Peter is working with a friend on his race bike currently and I see him quiet regularly.
TerryTerry,
I looked up Peter Molloy when I was in Sydney a couple of years ago – to ask if he could write something for the Club Newsletter from his memory bank of years ago – but nothing transpired.
Maybe you could try again when you next see him?
DickHYes I’ll ask Pete when I see him if he’ll do something on the RB. He lives up at Umina now. Both he and his wife have had a few health issues in recent years. He has been maintaining my historic race engines for many years – including the Repco Type 740 F1 engine in my ex- Brabham BT24. By far the best race engine guy I ever met. Has forgotten more than I’ll ever know! He has an interesting view on the CB1100 engine – describes it as having a “soft top end” whatever that means. But generally a positive opinion of it. Unusual for him. He has done some recent consulting work for Aprilia and describes their engines as a “piece of shit”! He tells some hair raising stories about how they switched cams and changed the internals on the Castrol bikes. It really should be documented, but even today would embarrass quite a few people I dare say. He’s been coming down to Broadford with us the last couple of years – really enjoys that.
It’s interesting that the production total for all RBs is 1050. That certainly sounds right. The comment about a few more than 100 coming in for the Castrol in 1980 came from Pete. He reckons some of them had frame numbers well over 100. Makes sense if some were going elsewhere (eg UK).
Some of you guys obviously have a beter grasp of the numbers than I do. But we all agree these are bloody great bikes in any form. I bought a very clean VF1000R a few years ago. Was severely disappointed. Sold it off pretty quickly. Maybe I’m biased, but I don’t think Honda matched the RB until the RC30 came along.
How many RB,s are still in live in down under?
Is the price for a nice RB better than for a RC or RD?Regards from Holland.
Wout.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.