All Categories - V4 Dreams

Rank Your State

2/22/2017

A few years ago the Motley Fool (fool.com) published an article on motorcycle ownership ranked by state. I'm not sure why folks keep track of such things...but there it is. Statistics are a funny business, and in this case the rankings account for population, or "people per motorcycle" in each state. This explains why a low-population/cold weather state like Wyoming is ranked #5 and high-population/mild weather California is way down the list at #43.

In any case, the total number of registered bikes is listed at 8,410,255 (2011) or one motorcycle for every 36 people. I'm doing my part with eight (currently). Here's a link to the article.

Eraser Tech

2/17/2017

As my work takes me more and more into refinishing bodywork on my VFRs, I have the need to remove lots of decals. The red/white/blue bikes, in particular, are full of 'em. There's a few approaches to removal.

Sanding. An orbital or dual-action sander will take off anything in its way, including decals.
Scraping. The combination of a heat gun, razor and adhesive remover (and a lot of tedious work) will eventually get the decal off.
3M Stripe Off Wheel: I stumbled upon this gadget while browsing Amazon one day. It's essentially a giant rotary eraser wheel that promises to take off pinstriping, vinyl, tape, adhesive residue...and decals. Works great on metal without damage to the paint. Unfortunately, it can't be used on plastic — it will gouge it. I ordered one up for $25 and gave it a try. Here's the Amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00063VT0G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Chicago IMS

2/17/2017

Patti and I made our way to the Chicago International Motorcycle Show last week. We always go on Friday afternoon to avoid the crowds and that tactic worked well this year. Minimal crowds made it much easier to see and touch whatever caught our eye. It seemed to me that the manufacturers were in force this year, unlike some years past. Honda, BMW and Piaggio had impressive displays. Even Royal Enfield did a nice job. Lots of over-the-top customs and some really great vintage bikes were shown with plenty of room to drool. The only Interceptors in the joint were a pair of VFR1200X.

One of the more interesting "motorcycles" being shown was a 3-wheeler which I'd never heard of, the Vanderhall (vanderhallusa.com). Based in Provo, Utah, the company produces four models powered by a 1.4 litre turbocharged 4-cylinder with a 6-speed automatic and front wheel drive which weighs in at about 1400 pounds. It's a great-looking "bike" and Patti and I had to try it on for size — a little...ahh...tight. And with prices ranging from $30,000-$80,000 it may be a bit out of the budget.

Honda had an interesting rig to allow folks to "sample" their DCT transmission. The rear wheel was on rollers and a cute attendant walked you through the automatic and manual modes. What impressed me is that I couldn't hear or see any indication as the transmission shifted. I would really like to try one on the open road.

Overall a good show and, as always, a chance to shake the winter blues, at least for an afternoon.

Shortys

2/15/2017

With the newly refurbished engine side covers installed, Project 14 is ready to fire up for a sound test of the shortened mufflers — Shortys.

The mufflers are stock VFR units that suffered from assorted road rash, so with nothing to lose, I cut off the rearmost chamber (of four), smoothed the dents and scuffs, and painted the finished product.

The goal here was to create my own version of a custom exhaust while recycling a set of nasty mufflers. In the process of eliminating the last chamber in the canister, the exhaust gasses are no longer forced to make a 360-degree turn before exiting. This should really free up the exhaust pressure and, of course, free up some decibels too. I suspect they'll end up in silver paint...we'll see.

It really sounds great in the garage — can't wait to get it out on the open road. Give a listen:

Fresh Covers

2/15/2017

While the bodywork for Project 14 is away for paint, I'm catching up on some finishing touches, one of which is refurbishing the engine side covers. This bike has some mild custom touches so I decided to add a subtle touch of color and had the covers power coated in "Bronze Texture."

Once they were mounted up I wished I'd had the lower fork legs done the same. I think the covers will look great peaking out from behind the pearl white side fairings.

Along the way to redoing the engine covers I stumbled upon a bit of VFR mechanical trivia. This bike is an F2 model, and one of the changes from the earlier F affects the pulse generator coils, which trigger the coils to fire the spark plugs. These two coils are located under the clutch side cover and the F2 uses coils which are slightly larger than the F's. There's small bump-outs in the cover (red arrows) to accommodate the two coils and Honda had to enlarge the bump-outs for the larger coils.

Bottom line: The "larger" F2 cover will fit either model but the "smaller" F cover will only fit the F model. I was planning to mix-n-match the covers but fortunately figured this out before painting the wrong covers.

Pictured is an '87 but all the 2d - 4th generation VFRs are very similar.

If you've never seen a naked VFR clutch, here it is. The smooth disc in the middle is the starter clutch with the two pulse generator coils mounted above. Timing marks are visible on its surface.

At the lower right is the starter gearing. Under the clutch you can just see a geared chain which runs the oil pump.

There's a lot going on here.

To Each His Own...

2/11/2017

I came across this, ahh, interesting custom build last year on VFRdiscussion.com. It's in the Netherlands, and someone has gone to some trouble to put together their vision of a streetfighter/ADV Interceptor.

Beginning with an '86 or '87 VFR, the builder has grafted on a different fork, wheel and fender combination, along with some bodacious headlights and an aftermarket windscreen. The side bags show some real imagination while the tiger appliqué on the tank is just, well, a bit visually confusing. Finished off in babys**t brown and we're good to go!

I'm a fan of individualism and this guy's got it in spades.

Clean '92 For Sale In Seattle

2/9/2017

Click on image for the Craigslist ad.

What: 1992 VFR750F
Where: Seattle, Washington
Why: Clean & ready to ride
Price: $2750

I often preach the point that classic VFRs make for the best used bike choices out there, and here's another example. This 3d-generation model appears to be a well-preserved original VFR. Yes, it shows 36,600 miles but in the right hands that's not a concern to the next owner. Our seller claims "fully serviced" and fresh tires.

Finished in Granite Blue Metallic, the 92's appear as black till you get the sun just right wherein the blueish/purple metallic comes through. Very 90's. You can't go wrong here.

"Quotable"

2/8/2017

People magazine dubbed him "the Japanese Henry Ford ." They were referring to Soichiro Honda, and he was that and more. An engineer first, and a world-class visionary and industrialist, he founded Honda Motor Company in 1948. As president, Soichiro Honda turned the company into a billion-dollar multinational that produced the best-selling motorcycles in the world. Honda's engineering and marketing skills resulted in Honda motorcycles outselling Triumph and Harley-Davidson in their respective home markets.

Mr. Honda passed away in 1991 at the age of 84. Some of his philosophy:

"In the long run, there is no waste in life."

"Since I found pleasure in the fact that a thing of my own contrivance was proving useful and was appreciated by people, I was not paying much attention to profits."

"To me, success can be achieved only through repeated failure and introspection."

"Looking back, in my work, I feel that I have made nothing but mistakes, a series of regrets. But I also am proof of an accomplishment. Although I made one mistake after another,...I never made the same mistake and I always tried my hardest and succeeded in improving my efforts."

" What insures the future...is the philosophy of manufacturing things in the interest of people."

Prepping

2/5/2017

After further contemplation, and a few beers, I've decided on a different direction for Project 14. I think the bike will have a better shot at getting the look I'm after if it's finished in the original Pearl Crescent White. To accomplish that I would need to raid the parts hoard to put together a full set of clothes — tank and body panels. That makes this a bitsa bike, bits o' this and bits o' that. All of these bits will need reconstructive surgery, some more than others. Below is the bike with all of the parts repaired and test fitted prior to sending off for paint. Better to get everything plumb and square at this stage.

Here we have a left-side turn signal port which had a chunk missing from the lower left side of the opening. I cut out a section from another fairing that I have on hand just for pieces like this.

A combination of bonding, plastic welding, shaping and sanding and we have a successful repair. Next I dribble liquid Plast-aid into the factory seam surrounding the factory plug — this filler plug was Honda's solution to fitting the DOT-mandated turn signals for U.S. market bikes. I want that seam to disappear, and my painter will finish the job by bondo-ing the seam.

This is the tail light cowl and it was a mess — lots of cracks and both upper mounting tabs missing, which had to be fabricated with scrap ABS. These seams are all plastic welded with ABS rod.

Plastic welding is approached very much the same as metal welding: V-groove both sides of the crack and melt welding rod into the grooves. Then the weld is filed and sanded smooth, followed by filler, primer and paint.

Right side mid-fairing.

These cracks tell the tale of a crash sometime in the past. The upper duct was all but separated from the fairing due to the impact.

Many of these panels are salvageable. But it requires patience and the right tools — and professional painting is very expensive these days.

These parts will now go to the paint shop where the repairs will get a final finishing and the color coat applied. Then they will come back to me, be temporarily mounted on the bike so I can apply the decals, and then given back to the painter for the clear coat application.

Lots of time, effort and money involved in the final stage of bringing this Interceptor back to life.

4-mile VF1000R At Bonhams

2/2/2017

Click on image for the Bonham's link

At last weekend's Las Vegas auctions, Bonhams featured this 1985 VF1000R. Looking very straight, if a bit disheveled, this example shows an incredible four miles on the odometer. No ownership or other history is provided. What would you do with a no-mile 32-year old motorcycle? My guess is that it's most likely headed for another museum.

This model typically trades for around $10,000 but the big VF sold for a whopping $33,225 including the auction premium.