In 1985, Honda opened up an American R&D branch, and one of their early projects brought both motorcycle and car engineers together. The bike engineers worked on the drivetrain, engine and frame, while car engineers worked on the body. Honda wanted to create something different – still with two wheels and an engine – but at the opposite end of the motorcycle market spectrum and of what customers had seen until then. The ultimate goal was to seduce non-motorcyclists by creating a friendly bike with an appealing name. In 1989, the Honda PC800 ‘Pacific Coast’ appeared in showrooms.
With the objective of creating a friendly bike, the engine did not need to be huge so engineers simply took the 45° V-Twin of the VT800 Shadow that produced 57 hp. Lots of rubber mounts were been put all around the engine in order to reduce the eventual vibrations to its minimum. To make it reliable and please non-motorcyclists that did not want to deal with any maintenance, it was shaft driven with a 5 speed gearbox. The machine was equipped with a pair of disc brakes for the front wheel and a drum for the rear one. From that motorcycle base, the car engineers and designers had to take care of the rest.
The first thing they did was cover the whole bike with plastic, believing that non-motorcyclists would not want to see any mechanical parts. This obviously did not help the ease of mechanical service: for example, changing the spark plugs require removing four separate panels. The other interesting thing the automotive side added was a trunk. Of course, it was not as big as a car could offer, but still, it was one of the biggest available on a touring motorcycle at the time. Despite good sales in the first year, the PC suffered from a bad image, notably due to its non-motorcycle look and attitude. The bike was removed from showrooms in 1991. Another attempt has was made between 1994 and 1998, but again, the magic did not happen.
Like any “outside the box” project that cars and motorcycle knew in their history, time helps to realize that these projects were actually interesting, and sometimes they were not that bad. The PC800 is a perfect example of this. Read more about the PC800 here on Rider Magazine.
The Pacific Coast featured here shows a little bit more than 78k miles, but it seems to be in pretty good shape in its original white color (VIN: JH2RC3407KM002969). The seat is in good condition and doesn’t seem to have any scratches. A small adjustable windshield has been added to the original one in order to give a better protection to the rider. The motorcycle is sold as-is by a dealer.
Find this PC800 in Merrimack, New Hampshire with a BIN of $2,450 or best offer