Yesterday Project 26, a 1986 VFR750F, was inspected and loaded in a HaulBikes trailer to begin its journey to the Portland, OR area.

This same truck and driver dropped off the bike back in March, and it's now finally off to its owner who will shortly have his first look at this gorgeous Interceptor.

Safe journey, and many happy miles ahead.

SOLD: $336 (shipped) via eBay auction

Third-gen VFR rear wheels have long been a desirable cosmetic upgrade for later model VFRs. Trouble is, they're getting fewer and farther between. Most are still attached to their donor bikes, after all.

This wheel, in average condition, and listed with no cracks or other damage recently went for $336, including shipping. I sold one of these a few years back for $170. Guess I should have held on to it for awhile.

I purchased this 1986 VFR700 F2 back in February and was able to get a start on its refurbishment before being superseded by a couple of clients' projects; the forks were rebuilt and engine checks performed. Now it's time to get serious.

In the past few days I muscled the SuperTrapp slip-ons off the bike — the term "slip on" definitely no longer applies after decades of corrosion has set in. My plan is to replace them with a set of custom shortened OEM mufflers.

I was working my way toward the swingarm removal — turns out that the rear chain guard mount had been broken off at some point. Fortunately, the mount was still bolted into the chain guard itself so it will be a quick aluminum welding repair.

The swing arm finish is pretty roached, so I'll plan on stripping that to a polished finish. I found that the sprockets and drive chain are worn...and a red flag — the chain has a clip-type master link (not good) so they will also be replaced while everything's apart.

Back on March 23d, a transporter dropped off this 1986 VFR750F, direct from Austin, Texas. Owner Don B. and myself had worked together to find this bike as a refurbishment project for Don to add to his collection back home in Oregon. Don had it shipped to me and I set to work on a complete "sympathetic restoration" from head to tail.

The bike was stripped to the engine and frame, then each component and system rebuilt, refurbished or replaced to make this example the best it can be. With only 6600 miles, Don's goal was to keep as much of the factory original parts as possible, which we did. The bike is in stock tune, with only a K&N air filter as a nod to better breathing. I had my doubts about the cosmetics when first laying eyes on the bike — there was even some white house paint spilled on the tail cowl — but many hours of attention brought the original paint and other finishes to a high level. This Interceptor proudly wears its original mufflers in excellent condition along with the seat, windscreen...even mirrors and turn signals are factory survivors. This is, in fact, the second-lowest mileage VFR I've ever seen on the road, and certainly one of the best second-generation survivors out there.

The bike is currently under cover, waiting snuggly in the corner for Don's shipper to bring it home. My hope is that Don sees this VFR in the same light as I do; an exceptional piece of sport bike history to be enjoyed and cared for with the respect and dignity it deserves.
Photo album.

What: 2007 VFR800 Anniversary Edition
Where: Tampa, Florida
Why: Low miles, as new
Price: $5000

They may not have been a hot seller when released in 2007 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Honda Interceptor, but the one-year red/white/blue model has managed to hold its value better than most sixth-generation VFRs.

This particular example is a little special, showing only 5100 miles in original spec. The seller is the second owner and has even sourced new OEM luggage and fuel tank. The only missing ingredient for the perfect Anniversary recipe is ABS brakes.

SOLD: $2750 via eBay auction

Here's one for the canary yellow Interceptor crowd. Available only for the Y2K model year, the Pearl Shining Yellow VFR800 has its own following, and this example from the Oregon coast shows ~29K miles with a nice list of upgrades from Ricks, Helibar, Throttlemeister, Giza, RKA, Givi and Corbin. It's an original-owner bike that has been stored inside, well-maintained, with "nearly perfect" cosmetics.

After 29 bids, the buyer got a great deal. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll say it again: VFRs are the best used bargains out there.

SOLD $2662 via eBay auction

Here we have a classic example of how a non-standard paint job can affect the value of an otherwise desirable motorbike.

This 1985 VF1000R is represented to have only 7397 miles with most of the maintenance up-to-date, running well and a clear title. At some point a not particularly unattractive blue and white paint scheme was applied, but underneath it's still an "R" model big-block V4. If this bike had been repainted in original colors I would bet that the value would be closer to $6000. Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with owners customizing their ride, as long as we go into it realizing that we may be among the few who appreciate the effort.

My usual approach to refurbishing rusty bolts/nuts/screws is to soak them in a rust remover overnight and then polish or paint or metal treat them, but sometimes I want to leave the bolt in place, as in the case of the engine mount bolts on Project 26.

In this case I manually remove the rust with brass rotary brushes mounted on a drill or Dremel. I get these in a packaged selection from Harbor Freight. 

Next, I coat the cleaned bolt with a metal treatment. I like this product, Corrosion X. It's an aviation-based mil-spec product originally developed to protect the aluminum panels subject to jet blast on Blackhawk helicopters. I've used it for years on aircraft and every vehicle I've owned. It's a penetrant, a long-lasting lubricant, and it stops corrosion dead. It's even safe on electronics and environmentally friendly. Good stuff to keep handy on the shelf.


The finished bolts are now ready for another 30 years of service.

Project 26 is nearing the finish line, and as I tackle the body panels and other cosmetics piece-by-piece, I eventually had to face the windscreen. The camera has a hard time picking up the details, but this scuffed and scratched windscreen had me thinking that I might not be able to bring it up to the level of the rest of this Interceptor (upper photos).

But I attacked it aggressively, beginning with gentle wet-sanding on the front side with several grades of paper, beginning with 800-grit and progressing to 5000-grit. The backside was sanded with only 5000-grit. Then a low-speed orbital buffing with three grades of compound. After about an hour's worth of labor I was able to save this factory original piece, which is the goal of both the owner and myself (lower photo).
(click on an image to enlarge)

Today is Independence Day in the United States, when we pause to celebrate July 4, 1776, the day that the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence from England, declaring the original 13 states free from the British monarch's rule. It would take the Revolutionary War to cement that independence and lead to the formation of the United States. The war for independence had actually begun a year earlier, officially ending in 1783.

This year the traditional celebrations of fireworks, backyard BBQs and parades will be stunted, but we'll be back next year, you can count on that.
​Happy Birthday, America