I recently finished maintenance and refurbishment of the drive end on Project 37, a 1993 VFR750. This is the first generation of the V4 line to utilize the beautiful and efficient Honda/ELF designed single-sided swingarm. There are desirable maintenance advantages to this arrangement, in particular drive chain alignment and wheel removal/installation. But, removing the rear brake disc isn't on that list. The disc is held captive behind the stub axle, so removal requires disassembly of the axle assembly, which I'll cover in the next post.

One look at the cosmetic condition of that brake disc and I knew it would not fit with the rest of this VFR, which is receiving a full repaint and detailing. No, it would need to be addressed, so off it came. These discs are stainless steel, but the center and outer edge portions are painted; the photo above showing its sad state. I've done many of these discs and the first thing on the list is checking for true, then a thorough degreasing followed by sanding with 400-grit wet paper and taping. The photos below show the progress after those steps. In the left photo, sanding marks are visible on the braking surface itself, which I scuff with 100-grit dry paper to remove any glaze and years of ground-in brake dust and dirt.

After painting, the part is looking new and ready for reassembly onto the stub axle. Visible behind the beautiful 8-spoke wheel, this component will now be a bit of eye candy instead of an eyesore.

I recently found myself in need of removing both wheels simultaneously from Project 37, a 1993 VFR750, as I wanted to avoid a second trip to my tire mounting guy. Lacking a center stand, I couldn't figure out how to raise the entire bike while on the lift, but, using two floor jacks, I was able to make it work on the floor. It may look a bit wonky, but is actually very stable. While I was at it, I also removed the forks and triple trees for service.

Here's another approach using a single-sided paddock stand together with a floor jack. I think I could remove the rear wheel in this position but I've never been brave enough to try.

And reader Michael S. sent along this pic of his handy rolling chassis lift. Beginning with a furniture dolly, Michael built up rear supports under the center stand bosses and front risers under a bar passed through the small frame eyelets found on the 2d-gen frames. Both wheels are off the ground giving full access to the front and rear suspension and the entire bike can be rolled around the workspace — nice!

SOLD: $3650

I had been watching this auction with interest as I've noticed an increase in attention to the VF1000F variant of the 1st-gen Interceptor lineup. Always considered the red-headed step-child of the VF series, the "F" model ended up being a one-year effort, quickly superseded by the hi-tech "R", already available in the European market.

But I've always thought that the "F" never got fair recognition for its mission; that of a big-bore version of the VF700/750. With the same great looks, comfortable ergos, straightforward engineering, the panache of a V4 powerplant in a world of air-cooled inline fours...plus the added punch that only more cc's can provide.

This example shows only 10,347 miles but is in need of mechanical sorting resulting from a few years of disuse and deferred maintenance. But the bones are good — original, unrestored, minimal corrosion evident, nice paintwork and good mufflers. I would consider this to be a great candidate for a light sympathetic restoration. Someone got a fun and rewarding project.

Next on the Project 37 list is the front suspension and steering bearing replacement. I begin with fork disassembly and inspection. These forks were found to be in excellent internal condition, which would be expected at only 16K miles, needing only oil seal replacement. Here we see the assemblies freshly disassembled and before cleaning.

(Right) Beginning with the third-generation VF/VFRs our forks advanced to "cartridge-type" fluid damping. What changed is the addition of the flow restricting cartridge (circled). The advantage of a cartridge is that it can be tuned to restrict fluid (fork oil) flow to a lesser or greater degree, allowing fine tuning of damping rates. This is accomplished mainly by the number of wafers stacked internally in the cartridge (a simplified explanation). Instead of being limited to altering the size and number of restrictive holes (arrow) in the damping tube as done with the earlier forks, the addition of the cartridge gave the VFR a step up in suspension sophistication.

Specialists like Race Tech also offer upgraded cartridge kits for the early VFRs, usually referred to as "emulator" valves, along with springs, fork parts…even in-house rebuilding services. So, if you feel that your suspension could use some modernizing, there are options. In our case a careful reassembly with 10-weight fork oil is as far as we'll go with this project.

Here in the northlands, we're enjoying a "cold snap," as it's euphemistically phrased in these parts, so I spent a day at the indoor workspace, tackling the various hydraulic actuators on Project 37. These include the two brake master cylinders, clutch master and clutch slave along with their associated assemblies. The neglected clutch fluid on this bike meant extra cleaning of those components plus a new sight glass, but everything went together well. I always break these assemblies down to their individual pieces, clean, inspect, polish, etc., and reassemble with fresh rebuild kits from K&L. The right-side foot brake assembly in particular is a lot of detail, but you're rewarded with a smooth operating, good-looking part.
​Next, fork assembly and mounting.

With Project 37's body panels away for painting, I'm tackling the brake systems. This bike will require a full rebuild, including all three calipers, brake master cylinders plus the clutch hydraulic components.

Jeff, the owner, has chosen to go with complete caliper rebuild kits from Brakecrafters. These were sourced directly from the company via their eBay store and cost about $60 per caliper.

What: 1985 VF1000R Interceptor
Where: Elkhart Lake, WI
Why: A striking example of an iconic model​
Price: Bidding at $4050

UPDATE: Sold for $11,000, then relisted for $12,500 BIN or make offer.
The VF1000R needs little introduction. Built and styled for European endurance racing, the "R" was offered in the U.S. market for 1985-86 and is a Honda collector's staple.

This example shows 27,569 miles and is offered from Throttlestop's collection. The photos show an original condition bike with a near-perfect paint presentation — I suspect it must have had a quality repaint at some point. They state that the mufflers are original, but they look like period slip-ons to me, possibly Cobra brand. The eBay listing has lots of hi-res photos and the bike claims to have been recently serviced. There's also a short running video included in the listing. It looks like a nice one. The listing ends Monday, Feb. 7.

Throttlestop is a collector vehicle seller, repair/restoration and museum facility, located adjacent to the beautiful and storied Road America race course in the rolling hills of the Kettle Moraine State Forest in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The museum is open to the public (fee applies) and Throttlestop hosts a cars & coffee type event during the summer months.

After many hours of cleaning, repairing and sanding, the 18 individual pieces from Project 37 are finally ready to be delivered to the painter. Fortunately, the wheels cleaned nicely, again with hours of detailed labor, but being able to mount the bike's original wheels is a good thing. I have a reproduction decal set on hand, which I will apply to the fresh color and then back to the painter for clear coat. We have settled on a Chrysler pearl paint code, which we will tweak for the best match to the original Pearl Crystal White.  Steve at Steve Nick Customs, Woodstock, IL, is the paint artist for this project.