Ex-Joey Dunlop and Steve Hislop Honda VFR750R RC30 heads to auction
A Honda VFR750R RC30, raced by Joey Dunlop and others in the 1990s, is going under the hammer in the UK this summer.
Painted in beautiful green and white Castrol racing colours, this ex-Joey Dunlop and Steve Hislop Honda VFR750R RC30 is set to go up for auction in July.
The bike was raced by Hislop in domestic races in 1991, where he achieved a second-place finish behind Carl Fogarty at Oulton Park. In 1992, the bike was raced by Nick Jeffries at various road racing events, where he secured fourth in the Formula 1 TT. Jeffries would also go on to finish fourth in the Senior TT at the Isle of Man.
In 1993, Dunlop then took over ownership of the bike, which he raced with in Northern Ireland. Dunlop’s best result was a second-place finish at the Ulster Grand Prix.
Honda built the RC30 with the intention of winning the Superbike World Championship, which it achieved in 1988 and 1989 with American rider Fred Merkel.
This particular machine started life as a fully standard bike in 1991, before it was imported from the United States and stripped down by the Honda race team in Louth.
It was then developed using factory NLOB race kits, with the frame modified to Formula 1 specification, including flat-sided carburettors and a full race-spec engine.
The bike features a V4 engine with gear-driven cams, which is mated to a six-speed gearbox. Additionally, it houses a twin-spar alloy beam frame and four-pot front brake calipers.
Although Dunlop did not win a race with this particular bike, it does present a very rare opportunity to own a bike that was used by the road racing legend. Dunlop is second on the all-time Isle of Man TT winners list with 26 victories, which is seven behind his nephew Michael Dunlop (33).
The bike is being presented by Iconic Auctioneers, and it will go under the hammer as part of The Iconic Motorcycle Sale at Kempton Park 2026, on 18 July.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
