  We consider the gravitational recoil due to non-reflection-symmetric
gravitational wave emission in the context of axisymmetric Robinson-Trautman
spacetimes. We show that regular initial data evolve generically into a final
configuration corresponding to a Schwarzschild black-hole moving with constant
speed. For the case of (reflection-)symmetric initial configurations, the mass
of the remnant black-hole and the total energy radiated away are completely
determined by the initial data, allowing us to obtain analytical expressions
for some recent numerical results that have been appeared in the literature.
Moreover, by using the Galerkin spectral method to analyze the non-linear
regime of the Robinson-Trautman equations, we show that the recoil velocity can
be estimated with good accuracy from some asymmetry measures (namely the first
odd moments) of the initial data. The extension for the non-axisymmetric case
and the implications of our results for realistic situations involving head-on
collision of two black holes are also discussed.
