My advice would be to go with the RC, but then again I'm biased. I have an RC in the garage and about 50% of an RC worth of parts in the spare room.

For a 20min round trip commute, you're not gonna have a probably with the RCs stock ergos. Once (if) you start with the mods, those ergos could turn against you i.e. raised rear height/lowered front. But if the bike you pick up is stock, then your biggest obstacle is gonna be the seat. But like I said, if it's only 10 min to work, you're not gonna notice it. However, be warned, the RC has side mount radiators and it does not like going slow, first the mufflers (which are under your ass) will get hot, then the frame (the rear cylinder is between your knees right under the fuel tank and pointed at your testicles) and finally the frame and radiators. If your commute even has close to moderate traffic then she'll start to get hot, but she'll cool right down once you get into more open air. You're gonna need to slip the clutch until at least 15 mph (I've gotta slip mine 'til about 20-25). Aside from all that, the RC is a blast. I love it and will never badmouth it (wasn't badmouthing, just stating truth).

I can't speak for the Suzuki, but the RC gives me a chubby.

What do you want more two big jugs or 4 small(ish) ones?:boobs:

That paragraph describing the heat sounds exactly like the heat of a Buell.

I agree. Clean RC-51s will only become more difficult to find. Get the RC now while you still can. You can always get a Busa later and there are plenty of them.

The only real difference between the heat of the XB and the RC is that the Buell has a belly exhaust and the RC has the twin tailpipes. Other than that, the heat is VERY similar.

Right. But damn that rear cylinder starts ROASTING my fucking nuts in slow traffic. Not to mention the heat spewing from the headers on the right side.

I know your pain dude, I was riding with Rae once trying to help a teach a new rider. Long story short I had to pull back a little bit to stand up on the pegs and let my balls cool down some. Rae almost burned her hand on just the frame rail. I'm just glad there wasn't a cop around so I didn't have explain to boiling testicles. And don't get me started on slow ass cagers in traffic hogging all the damn air...

RC as a commuter? :?:

I've owned both. Still have the VFR, probably always will - put ~$4k in goodies to get the RC 'right' (mostly suspension) & ~15k miles (incl. several trackdays) on it & then moved on. The RC is a very sweet, very unique, downright visceral ride. But happy tooling around town at low speeds it is NOT.

- The motor likes to be ON or OFF throttle, and tends to stumble & lurch at slight throttle opening.
- The side mounted radiators guarantee that it gets HOT, FAST at low speed, and as Mike & Marko pointed out, a lot of that heat goes straight to your nuts. It was bad in NC summer heat - I imagine Houston would be much worse.
- The ergos aren't bad for a race replica, but for just cruising around/commuting, it's a torture-rack compared to the VFR or a more 'street oriented' bike.
- The turning radius is pretty bad, largely due to the big bulbous tank which tends to make you contort your arms to get it to full-lock.
- Fuel mileage/range sucks. I averaged 32~35mpg on the street & as low as ~20mpg track.

In summary: as a weekend-warrior/track-duty bike - hell yeah, but as a commuter bike to replace a Viffer - put down the crack pipe! :lol

But if you do get one, throw on a set of Sato low-mounts and then prepare to enjoy all the WTF?!? looks from the Harley guys! :rockwoot:

I saw/heard one rumble through State College this week. Didn't see what kind of cans in had, but man did it sound good.

it won't replace the viffer, just be alongside........:)

most of my commute is open hwy w/ very little traffic at this time.

I agree 100%. Is comfort important to you? If so, go for the Busa. The RC51 is just a flippin fantastic bike, but it's NOT comfortable, and it runs wayyyy hot. The Busa is a Cadillac on 2 wheels. :lol: