Over this past winter, I stumbled upon moto-journalist Neil Graham's El Camino video series on YouTube. I liked his genuine style and well-filmed approach to moto-related subjects and now he's begun posting episodes from season two; see the trailer below. Neil also hosts a podcast series, "The Lowdown Show."

NRs don't surface too often and it's always interesting to see where the market is at when they do. On the weekend of May 31, Sothebys is hosting a unique auction in Toronto — the Miles Nadal collection of cars, bikes, memorabilia and sneakers, which he calls "The Dare To Dream Collection."

The NR pictured below will be offered on Saturday at no reserve. Click on the image for the auction link.

Just a random internet photo: There's lots of interesting stuff in this shop, but what caught my eye, of course, is the impressive line of VFR400Rs, which look to be the NC30 version. I don't know what's going on here, but I suspect it's an auction situation.

What: 1991 VFR750
Why: Low miles, original, WOW!
Where: Topton, Pennsylvania
Price: $6500

I always get excited when a pristine, original survivor shows up on the market, and here's a "perfect" example. The seller's description says it all: "Stock, unmolested survivor. Mint."

Showing an incredible 4846 miles, this Italian Red beauty still sports its original rear fender, muffler and everything else, near as I can tell (with the exception of fresh tires). This second year of the Gen-3 Interceptor features a gray seat and muted gold-ish wheels — a one-year only wheel color. The asking price is up there, but represents the rarity of a classic VFR in this condition. If you'd like to savor the V4 ownership experience with a bike that looks like a perfect restoration…but isn't, here's the one you want.

What: 2008 VFR800A
Why: Low miles, 1-owner, nice!
Where: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Price: $5500

​Spring is in the air here in the upper Midwest, and the bike classifieds are alive. I've featured a few 800s lately, but when an optioned-out, 8300-mile, one-owner 6th-gen pops up, I think it deserves a mention.

This example shows beautifully in its Sword Silver Metallic and features two hard-to-find factory options — color-matched saddlebags and ABS. The rear fender has been removed and there's a couple of garage scuffs to show her age, but otherwise original condition. I spoke with seller Matt, and he shared that when he purchased the bike in 2010 as a left-over, there was also an unsold '07 Anniversary Edition on the floor; "I took a long time to make up my mind which one to buy and there are still days I wish I would have went the other way, that paint scheme was truly classic. But, the grey has been an understated beauty and fit my personality a lot better anyway! They offered me the same deal on either one...about $9500."

One-owner, low miles, pampered, never down, clear title, "runs like new" and a fair price. What's not to like?

October, 2017
WD-40 is versatile stuff. Invented in 1953, it was developed for the aerospace industry by the appropriately named Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego, CA. The "WD" stands for "water dispersant" and the "40" presumably indicates the 40th development attempt. It was first made available to the San Diego consumer market in 1958 and the rest, as they say, is history. An interesting side note is that the inventors never patented the formula, allowing it to be kept as a trade secret, which it is to this day.

WD-40 is also a lubricant, though a low viscosity one. After application the thinning agent evaporates leaving behind a very thin film of oil which protects from moisture, and thus corrosion. Its lubricating qualities are for very light-duty applications, like throttle linkages or zippers. WD-40 can be used as a parts loosener in a jam (no pun intended) and, of course, it displaces moisture, like on water-soaked ignition wires.

There are more job-specific chemicals available, but the attraction of WD-40 is its versatility, making it useable for many tasks. Here, I'm using it as an adhesive remover, scraping with a plastic-bladed razor. I also use it as a general, gentle degreaser, and for removing chain grease on the rear wheel and anywhere else that stuff goes. It will remove light surface rust and could be used as an electrical contact treatment, but I tend to use di-electric grease for that job.

I will always have a can or two within reach.

The NR750, Honda's exotic engineering masterpiece, featured an oval-pistoned, 32-valve, 750cc V4 engine revving to 14,000 RPM. Only 700 were produced worldwide and it laid claim to the most expensive production motorbike in the world at $50,000 in 1992 — about $110,000 in today's dollars. Pretty crazy stuff from 32 years ago.

​Iconic Motorbikes currently has one in the shop and shared some photos without the bodywork.

What: 2007 VFR800 Anniversary
Why: Lo miles, nice extras, price
Where: Folsom, California
Price: $5500

Did the recent BaT Anniversary Edition auction get a little hot for your budget? Me too. Here's another chance for a very similar example…and much less dinero.

​Showing only 11,444 miles, this example sports a full Delkevic/Leo Vince performance exhaust system with a Power Commander to take advantage. There's a few more goodies including an aftermarket windscreen and a set of sexy white wheels, including the coveted 8-spoke rear. Our seller claims the bike has never been dropped, has had a recent professional inspection and a clean title. Here's your chance….

What: VFR1200X DCT
Why: A sporty ADV bike?
Where: Bakersfield, California
Price: $10,000 OBO

​It's been 12 years since the introduction of this model but I'm still a little befuddled as to why the big V4 was developed into an adventure-style bike. I add the word "style" here because the bike was never really intended to be a serious off-road contender in the big-bike ADV wars — this is a street-oriented bike, as suggested by its Euro-name, "Crosstourer." And I guess that's the key; this genre has effectively replaced the traditional sport touring models, i.e. Honda ST1300, Yamaha FJR1300, etc. Comfort, practicality, weight savings, and the realization that triple-digit touring speeds is not a thing anymore, if it ever was. Not great sales successes in general, the VFR800X (Crossrunner) and VFR1200X left Honda's lineup in 2021. Only the 1200 was available in the U.S., and I think only for the 2016 & '17 model years. The engine was a re-tuned version of the 1200F, with lower horsepower but a broader torque spread.

I found this interesting example listed on ADVrider.com. Showing 10,301 miles, the colorway has been changed to a Nicky Hayden RC51 look, unique and better-looking, compared to the original staid black. The sporty looks have been carried over to the seller's choice of modifications — a long list of comfort and performance items, from suspension upgrades to cruise control and much more. This is the DCT version, and one of more interesting changes is the addition of a rear brake lever attached to the left handlebar — there's no clutch, so the seller simply brought the rear brake to the handlebar…interesting. And I should mention the change to the 1200F rear wheel — the very cool rim-spoke original rim has been replaced with the cast version to accommodate a wider tire. The seller states that all stock parts are included as well as records and receipts. Visit the listing for all the details.

The asking price initially struck me as on the high side, but after some research, it seems to be in line with others offered for sale, and none that I found with such extensive/expensive farkles. Some lucky new owner is destined for lots of long-distance adventures on this unique VFR.

I sometimes find filler caps which are reluctant to close, requiring lots of force or a key that doesn't want to snap back to the locked position when pushed downward. The issue is likely not the lock, but rather the aged rubber tank seal.

This seal is not available from Honda as a separate part number so, short of fabricating a new seal, we need to rejuvenate the existing seal. Rubber parts can be softened by soaking in wintergreen oil, but here's a quicker fix: I just warm the seal with a heat gun for about a minute, then immediately close/open it a few times to reseat the rubber. Note the towel covering the tank opening — remember there's gas fumes trying to escape and a heat gun would be an excellent ignition source! This works great and seems to be a lasting fix, as long as the cap is used regularly. One more reason to get out there and exercise our old bikes.

If you'd rather go new, cap assemblies are still available from Honda for the Gen-2 onward: $200-263 (the Gen-2 California-spec cap is NLA).