The Joey Dunlop OBE MBE, 1999 Ulster Grand Prix-Winning, 1999 Honda RVF750 RC45

• Genuine HRC works machine
• Campaigned internationally by Joey until his death in 2000
• One of the last big bikes Joey ever raced
• Kept on display in Joey's Bar in Ballymoney
• Offered for sale by the Dunlop family

If Joey Dunlop's RC30 symbolises the beginning of his greatest era on the Mountain Course, then this RC45 represents its closing chapter: the machine on which Joey scored one of his most emotional victories and which he was still racing, and winning on, at the very end of his career.

Introduced in 1994 as the successor to the all-conquering RC30, Honda's RVF750 (RC45) was an evolution in every sense. Still a hand-built homologation special, the RC45 was powered by a 749cc fuel-injected V4 engine with titanium con-rods, gear-driven cams and revised bore and stroke dimensions, producing around 120bhp in road trim and considerably more in racing specification. As far as the cycle parts were concerned there was a stiffer alloy twin-spar frame, fully adjustable Showa suspension and the latest Nissin brakes, making it one of the most advanced superbikes of its time (please note that this machine is fitted with works Ohlins suspension). Although initially overshadowed by Ducati's 916, the RC45 would go on to claim the 1997 World Superbike Championship with John Kocinski and multiple wins at the Isle of Man TT, North West 200, and Suzuka 8 Hours.

For Joey Dunlop, the RC45 arrived at the twilight of a career already unparalleled: by 1994 he had 20 TT wins to his name and was approaching his fourth decade of racing. Yet he adapted to the RC45 with trademark smoothness and determination, campaigning it at the TT, the North West 200 and Dundrod. Its defining moment came at the 1999 Ulster Grand Prix, one of the most scintillating races of the decade. Joey – then 47 years old – lined up against a new generation of challengers including David Jefferies and Ian Duffus on factory-backed Yamaha R1s. What followed was a classic six-lap duel at over 120mph average speed. Dunlop and Jefferies swapped the lead repeatedly until the final laps, when Joey edged clear to take a famous win – his 24th Ulster GP victory – to the roar of the Dundrod crowd.

Joey continued to campaign the RC45 internationally right up until 2000. In July of that year he travelled to Tallinn, Estonia, to contest three races in support of the fledgling local road-racing community. That Sunday he won both the 600cc and 750cc races, underlining that even at 48 years of age he remained at the very top of his game. Tragically, during the 125cc race in worsening weather conditions, Joey crashed and lost his life, bringing to a close one of the greatest careers in motorcycle racing history. This RC45 is one of the last big bikes he ever raced, and one of the last on which he stood atop a podium, making it a profoundly significant survivor.

This machine is one of three or four RC45 team bikes prepared by Honda, featuring an unstamped factory race frame and engine, as was customary for HRC machines; instead, this machine has a riveted frame plaque (stamped 'JH2SC33AXVM103276', which relates to a scrapped CB900RR). This would have been used solely for carnet purposes when travelling to international events. The engine is the last RC45 unit built by renowned tuner, the late Steve Mellor (the 'M' of race team V&M).

Since Joey's passing, the RC45 has been preserved by the Dunlop family. For many years it hung dramatically from the ceiling of Joey's Bar in Ballymoney, which has become a shrine for fans from around the world. Like the RC30 in this sale, it has been displayed only at significant commemorations, most recently during the 25th Anniversary events marking Joey's death, when it was ridden by John McGuinness in the 'Joey 25' parade laps at the Classic Bike Festival at Bishopscourt in August 2025.

Offered now for the first time, this RC45 is far more than a race-winning superbike: it is a symbol of Joey's enduring competitiveness, his loyalty to Honda, and his love of pure road racing. It represents a rare opportunity to acquire one of the most important machines of his later career: the bike on which Joey thrilled the Ulster GP crowd in 1999, and one of the last he ever raced and won on, it is a piece of road-racing history of the highest order.