revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Anyone owned, borrowed, ridden, liked (or hated) one of these.

I rode the CBF today after week of driving and it is really not comfortable for my arm so I'm now definitely leaning towards a sports style bike for next year (going to give the CBF back in 2 or 3 weeks as it's starting to snow up here occasionally!! LOL)

There's a few options on 'the list' but I have always loved the look of the RC8 but never did ride one! (So yes, a test drive will be necessary! )


It will be an older one but there are a few around with anything from 15,000km to 65,000kms!! Will aim for lower kms but they will all have been tracked or twatted here I guess, so -

What to look for etc!!

Won't be getting anything till next year, just turning things over in my little brain on a Sunday afternoon!!


Pics cos - sexy bike!!






Oh, and given there is a list, aside from the obvious need for test rides, I'm sure I'll be posting similar threads about other bikes

@Whysub @Screwdriver used to have them.

This one failed to sell at auction today, think it only got bid up to £6k or so.

Lovely looking bikes.

I'd have one in a heartbeat if I could get it past Mrs Mango...

ChrisW wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 5:45 pm This one failed to sell at auction today, think it only got bid up to £6k or so.

Lovely looking bikes.

Absolutely no way I could import one sadly. Will have to find a decent one here (if I go for it!!)

mangocrazy wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 5:49 pm I'd have one in a heartbeat if I could get it past Mrs Mango...

Small bonuses of being single

In fairness it would have to be a 'one in, one out' arrangement, both to satisfy Mrs Mango and because I simply don't have enough space for another bike.

Anyone want a VFR? 50k miles, 36 years old, uprated wheels, suspension and brakes.

Go on, you know you're gagging for it...

If I bought another Honda at this point it would be an SP1!

Basically have accepted that any bike is going to hurt some so just buy a fun/stupid one I’ve always liked/wanted but never had while I can, and go back to what I know as the arm gets worse (ok, if, but I think it’s pretty guaranteed that it won’t improve from now!!)

If I had a garage I’d end up needing a second garage cos I’m sure I’d fill it! But I do need to find decent storage so I could use a bike in winter on dry days (probably not an RC8 tho!!)

There's a very Andy Sparrow Bloodrunners look to them, especially the tail and the hunched-forward stance..

I never had a go on one, but wouldn't mind if the opportunity arose (on a track....)

Owned both the RC8 and RC8-R at the same time. I rode the RC8 to Bratislava one year (and over several mountain passes in Austria), and to Croatia and The Balkans the following year. Great bikes, adjustable handlebars, footpegs and subframe meant I could get it ergonomically comfortable for me. And unlike most bikes I have had, the thinly padded seat was excellent. The right width, length and base shape saw to that. Did a trackday at Blyton, and it was better than I thought it would be. Plenty of power, but mpg not brilliant, even when pootling along on back roads.

Riding the RC8 and RC8-R back to back, I could tell the difference immediately. The suspension and lightweight wheels made the R much nicer on bumpy roads. Still very comfy once the bars etc. were set up for me. And I fitted a Ventura system rack, simple to do and unobtrusive, and perfect for 10 days away with their 50 litre bag.

Not much to report as downsides really. My RC8 had 40,000 miles on it when I sold it, and it was still in excellent condition, so they can last. The plastic tanks can swell, forcing the use of rachet straps to get the tank off and on again. And they are noisy, even my RC8R with the standard exhaust system. My RC8 had a JTS end can, very loud indeed. And a bastard to change the headlamp bulb if I remember correctly.

Spares were not an issue, as there was a KTM dealer near me, which I had been using for some 40 odd year. Apart from oil filters spark plugs and a headlamp bulb, I didnt need anything else that I can recall.

Didn't have the RC8-R long as bought it shortly before I decided to move from the UK, and getting either registered here would not be easy.
Only seen one out here, and that was being banged off of the rev limiter for about 10 minutes at the pre Valencia MotoGP party in Cheste a few years ago.

Oh, and I bought both of mine, a couple of years apart, from the same private seller.

Screwed, you reminded me that I had my RC8 (almost) flat out on one of the runways at the abandoned Zeljava Airbase in Croatia (fantastic place to visit) Two runways are still in good condition, and when we were there, the police didn't seem bothered, as long as we didn't cross over into Bosnia (just some concrete bollards to stop you).

Not sure what it got up to before I thought I'd better concentrate on where I was going to brake, and not look at the speedo, but it wasn't far off of running out of revs.

Mate has one, saw it for sale online in Scotland for 4k and he literally phoned the guy and got into the van and drove to the Stena. It's an absolute beast and it's bulletproof, he did Europe on it a couple of times and it's never missed a beat.

Me on my old one that I did actually try selling on this forum but to no avail...



Not as many miles under my belt on it as @Whysub managed on his bikes (impressive mileage mate!!!), but I know more than my fair share about them both from an ownership perspective, and also what to look out for and what you should and shouldn't buy...

Glad I've owned one for sure... Also glad I got out of it without losing too much on it in the end... If you buy one, take EVERY bolt out, loctite it, and do it up to the specified torque figures (plus a generous 10-20% extra) before riding it... TRUST ME!!! Things will fall off it...

Ultimately though, as incredible as the bike was to look at, and impressively comfortable as it was too, there's far better road oriented sports bikes out there in terms of usability and reliability too... But whilst I no longer own an RC8, it did start my passion for their LC8 engine and I'm now on my 4th bike with one, and probably covered nearly 30k miles on LC8 engined bikes now myself and hope to do many, many more too...

@Screwdriver @Whysub @mboy Thanx LOADS for the info.

I'm not expecting it to be remotely sensible and am expecting it to be totally not the 'right' bike for me and where I live!!

BUT - I've always wanted one and if my silly-bike times are more limited than expected, I think maybe I should just get one!! LOL

TBF, of all the bikes I had (ok, not ab ig list compared to most of you!!), only the 390 and the ZZR were sensible for the road OK, the BB looked sensible

Mind you, Mboy - I hope you are REALLY tall as that doesn't look remotely like a sports bike position

I'll go and test the few on the list in the spring then get a mate to help me find a good one (whichever I settle on!) - if it's the RC8, I'll be back to ask more questions about what to look out for! (He'd also be able to help me take all the bolts out and sort that side with


I'm a little bit more in love with this bike now having read these replies!

Great thing, lovely looking. However they're plagued with gearbox false neutral issues at times, stalling and a few electrical gremlins. The fuel gauge is random too.
I was a massive KTM fanboi but having ridden both the RC8 and RC8R multiple times, including a brand new bike i was the first rider to Demo, i bought and would always buy a 1098 over one of these, the 1098 blew it out of the water in each and every way.

Sorry... but you asked.

weeksy wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 7:51 am Great thing, lovely looking. However they're plagued with gearbox false neutral issues at times, stalling and a few electrical gremlins. The fuel gauge is random too.
I was a massive KTM fanboi but having ridden both the RC8 and RC8R multiple times, including a brand new bike i was the first rider to Demo, i bought and would always buy a 1098 over one of these, the 1098 blew it out of the water in each and every way.

Sorry... but you asked.

Brilliant info. I did ask for this reason. I wanted to know the good and the bad - not point saying ugly cos most people think KTM are just ugly!!

I may well still buy one (if I can touch the ground and ride it!) but at least I'll go in knowing things like that

Screwdriver wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 7:52 am They're not that small.

This one is!

That's awesome

They have an adjustable seat height and footpeg position to help with that as standard.

weeksy wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 8:05 am They have an adjustable seat height and footpeg position to help with that as standard.

It's getting more and more attractive despite the issues

Of completely no use to you Noggin but coincidentally I saw one just the other day, the first for a long time.

It stands out like very few other bikes do.

Noggin wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 7:33 am Mind you, Mboy - I hope you are REALLY tall as that doesn't look remotely like a sports bike position

5ft10 and a 33” inside leg…

It’s quite an adjustable bike but it is VERY tall for a sports bike!

Try one first… They don’t fit or suit many people. If you’re much shorter than me, forget it… I’ve had times when even throwing my leg over the bike has been a tough task if I parked it on a slight slope. I remember one comedy coffee stop moment where it was parked on quite a slope and I had to enlist a couple of friends to help me get onto the bike… For contrast, I now ride a KTM 1290 Super Adventure or a Gasgas SM700 Supermoto most of the time, both very tall bikes indeed, and both are easier to get onto than the RC8 was!

What @weeksy said about the 1098 is quite true… The RC8 was probably the most overhyped sports bike to have ever come to market! I remember lusting after the pre production bike in a 2005 issue of Superbike mag I think… It was 2008 before the bike was released to the public, and even by then they hadn’t sorted most of the gremlins out…

If you HAVE to buy one… Buy the latest bike you can find in good condition seems to be the rule. A late model RCBR with the slipper clutch (so 13 plate onwards iirc) and all the mods to the engine and the electrics to make it more useable… My early RC8 was laughably difficult to ride at slower speeds, less engine inertia than a 250 2 stroke, terrible fuelling below 4krpm etc… The later bikes improved somewhat, albeit they’re still agricultural compared to Ducati or even Aprilia V-Twins… In fact, for most of the time I owned my RC8, if someone had offered me another Gen2 RSV1000R as a swap for it, I’d have bitten their hand off for it! The Aprilia is a much nicer bike to ride and a lot more useable, though ironically not as comfortable…

The RC8 was a genuine experience and one I’m glad I battled through… On the right road, on the right day it was an incredible bike, and arguably the coolest bike design ever (people will walk past 916’s and 1098’s to come and talk to you about your RC8 worth a fraction of what their bikes are worth!)… But it’s not an ownership experience I could recommend to anyone but the most hardy and most experienced of riders that are prepared to see past all sorts of issues and treat the bike with the love and respect that it needs…

Scotsrich wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 9:07 am Of completely no use to you Noggin but coincidentally I saw one just the other day, the first for a long time.

It stands out like very few other bikes do.

They just do don’t they!!! Awesome machines