What: 1994 RVF750R (RC45)
Why: Rare, low miles, original owner
Where: Torrence, California (LA)
Price: $69,000

If you're still reading beyond the $69K price, you must know what's on offer here. Produced by Honda's HRC division for World Superbike competition, 200 road-going homologation RC45 examples were built, with only 50 going to the U.S. This model was an upgrade replacement for the iconic RC30, notable changes including fuel injection and shortened stroke. The U.S. model was rated at only 101 HP, the Euro model at 118, but the full-on race bikes could go to 190 HP. The bike distinguished itself with many important titles, including:
1995 AMA Superbike Championship
1996 Daytona 200
1997 WSB Championship
1998 AMA Superbike Championship
FIM Endurance World Championship SIX times!

This particular example, #43, is offered as an original-owner with only 3050 miles showing, and "total stock, untouched." Arguably the worst ad I've ever come across for such an exclusive and expensive motorcycle, it includes six bad photos and only 18 words in the description. I guess our seller assumes the bike will sell itself, and that's probably true. The most recent comparable I found is a 903-mile example sold on BaT 15 months ago for $66,500 (+buyer fee), so the asking price is in the ballpark. These bikes are few and far between, so here's your chance to own a piece of superbike history.

I'm always on the lookout for parts bargains. They're not as common as they once were, but a sharp eye can still spot one now and then.

Here's a great example. This is a New Old Stock Gen-2 rear Disc Pad Pin Kit from EBC. I've never seen one of these but what a bargain! This kit contains a collection of hardware you may want or need for your caliper rebuild, not commonly found in a caliper seal kit, for example.

From left to right in the photo, we have the no-longer-available "hanger" and its attaching bolt which secures the pad pins, followed by the two pad pins, and finally the pad spring. The pins and spring are still available from Honda, but if you were able to purchase all of this separately it would total about $70.

Our seller has this kit listed for only $10 including shipping! And, within one hour of my adding the listing to my eBay Watchlist, I was sent an offer for $9.50 — that's a little discount trick I've often used over the years to save a little on the many parts I've had to buy.

I don't have a need for these parts, but if you're doing a complete caliper rebuild, maybe you do. The remaining parts required would typically be piston seals (K&S 19-1005) and the lower slider "sleeve," Honda part # 45111-MA3-006.

In the latest issue of Rider magazine, I came upon this on-road review of the Bridgestone Battlax BT46. These tires would be spec'd for the Gen-1 and Gen-2 VF/VFR models, as they're bias-ply construction — later models wore radial tires. There's very few tire choices out there for the 16" fronts/18" rears in the correct OEM sizes. I've sampled them on the Gen-2 but have always returned to Bridgestones, first the BT45, then superseded by the current BT46. There's more selection if you want to stray from original sizes but I've always found that the engineers got it right to begin with.

Our reviewer tested these on a newer Royal Enfield 650 and came away very impressed, with comments like, "reassuring grip," "predictable behavior, "clear feedback," and "precise handling and confidence in every corner." I agree; these tires are grippy, versatile and priced right. They even sport current tread design, giving a touch of modernity to our old bikes.

Also shown below are current prices from Rocky Mt. ATV/MC (Gen-2 VFR).

As a handy new year's bonus, posted below is a PDF file of an index to the major technical posts on this web page since the inception of V4 Dreams nearly ten years ago (!). It's provided by reader Michael S. through his thoughtful and generous effort. My web hosting platform doesn't provide for a search feature for the the "Archives," so I'm very grateful to Michael for indexing some 115 months of posts.
Scroll through the index on this page or download by moving your cursor near the bottom and clicking the download button.