Reader Peter R., from the far south of England, recently needed a few carburetor parts and shared a bit of his V4 history. Peter once raced a full HRC race-kitted RC24 in the World Endurance Series in 1986-87 and later the RC30. "I wish I'd kept the old VFR," he laments. Peter was kind enough to send along some photos. Here's a partial listing of his V4s:
(1) VF1000R
(4) RC24 (still has one)
(3) RC30
(1) NR750
(2) RC45 (still has one)

SOLD: $2651

This 1986 VFR700F should have fetched more than the final bid, and the reason for the give-away price was lazy marketing. 

This bike shows 28,600 miles in original condition, complete with seat cowl and centerstand, and appears to be in above average cosmetic condition with a unique repair to one of the plastic panels.

The original listing included all of 18 descriptive words with incorrect mileage and engine size. So...I tried to get more details on the bike by sending a personal email to the seller with six basic questions — three were answered (15 words) along with four additional photos.

It will forever remain a mystery to me why some sellers consider it an imposition to actually provide pertinent details on an unknown machine that they expect to sell for thousands of dollars, sight-unseen, to a potential buyer hundreds or thousands of miles distant. I hope this isn't becoming the new normal in our virtual selling world. In any case, well bought.

Reader Phil R. has been on the hunt for his ideal V4, a VF500F. We've been in contact for several months as he sought out advice and encouragement before finally located this beautiful example in Wisconsin. I can see that Phil is off to a fine start — there's a lot you can do with some metric tools, a dead-blow hammer and a tall can of WD-40.

This evocative image is courtesy of Allard Appel from the RC24/RC26 Facebook group. He recently enjoyed this view on a ride into Luxemburg. That beautiful front end assembly consists of VTR1000F forks, CBR600 F3 wheel, VTR 4-piston calipers with EBC pads and Bridgestone S21 rubber. He describes the modified bike as "amazing."

Our vintage VFRs came in a variety of colors. Here in North America, we got the iconic red/white/blue, blue/gray, several reds, pearl white, silver and black. But, between other markets and customizers, we can get more ideas if we feel like a change. Here's a few examples….
(click on an image to enlarge)

SOLD: $4600

Recently sold via eBay auction, this 2007 VFR800 Anniversary Edition fetched $4600 with only four bids. This example, from the Houston, TX area, shows about 22,000 miles and the sparse description states "no accidents." The photos show an aftermarket seat, windscreen, levers, RAM phone mount, smoked signal lenses, some wheel stripe decals and rear fender eliminator.

Auctions give us a real-life idea of current valuations, but this one might have done a little better with some more thorough marketing efforts. Well bought.