Honda RC series

Although there is, strictly speaking, no Honda RC Series, the "RC" name has had a long and storied connection with both production and racing Honda motorcycles. The "RC" prefix has long been associated with racing motorcycles manufactured by the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), a subsidiary of the Honda Motor Co., Ltd. of Japan. Stretching from Honda's entry onto the motorcycle grand prix stage in 1959 to the present day, HRC-built racing motorcycles have been designated with RC-prefixes.

In the late 1980s Honda began to enter its production motorcycles in "superbike", or production-based, racing series, such as the new FIM Superbike World Championship. The most successful of these was the VFR750R, which eventually became better known by its Model Number, "RC30". Since at least the late 1970s production Honda motorcycles have been given Model Numbers corresponding to the displacement category into which their engines fell, and the VFR750R was the 30th production Honda motorcycle model with an engine displacement between 650cc and 899cc. Similarly, the Honda RVF750R is also known by the designation "RC45". However, the RC45's replacement, the VTR1000 SP-1 (Model Number: SC45) was marketed under the name "RC51", but only in the United States.