The third generation Honda VFR (1990-1993) probably gets the least love of all. The redesign of the lithe second-gen gained weight but not power, and added tech but not style.

Still, this was a better package. Beefier forks, radial tires and chassis tweaks brought the handling up-to-date, and the RC30-inspired single-sided swing arm added a ton of cool factor (even if it was hidden behind an uninspired muffler). 

The Interceptor name was dropped and the VFR was now entering its new role as a gentleman's sport bike; AKA sport-tourer.

What makes this one special? Well, it appears to be an unmolested, well-kept, adult-owned example of the first-year 1990 model, and not a lot of these survived second-hand 20-somethings thrashing the life out of them. Good plastics are unobtanium for this generation and finding one with good cosmetics is a bonus. As is the low mileage—only 12,850. Available only in arrest-me-red and sporting white wheels and grey seat, the bike preserves the look of the era with a bit of modern flair.

Currently at $1175 with reserve not met, the eBay auction ends on April 15th.

Update: Auction ended, "item no longer available."

With the brake hard parts ready and waiting, it's time to attend to the leaky forks. Removal and tear-down went smoothly so it's on to the bench for cleaning and seal install.

This gives a good opportunity to detail the front of the engine with the wheel and forks out of the way as well as cleaning the front wheel and mounting up a fresh Bridgestone BT-45.

Then it's on to the rear wheel.

Project #19, an '86 VFR700, has been exposed to leaking fork seals for quite some time, apparently, and here's the collateral damage — the fork oil runs down the fork leg, onto the caliper and then onto the disc rotor and brake pads. In the meantime, road grit collects and turns the whole affair into this sludgy mess.

I completely disassemble the calipers, scrub everything with degreaser and run them through the ultrasonic cleaner a few times.

New seals are fitted and if the caliper pistons aren't corroded they can be reused. If not, they're $60 a pop, and the fronts are only available from Honda (K&L offers an aftermarket rear). The slider pins also need to be checked for gouging or corrosion and replaced if necessary, about $8 each.

In this case I've fitted Galfer HH pads front and rear, and will add Galfer stainless lines when they're refitted. Better than new.

Is this the look Honda should have gone after for the sixth generation Interceptor? Courtesy of spotthedogg on VFRdiscussion.com, this 2003 is one I'd be proud to call my own. Based loosely on the '07 Anniversary Edition scheme, the subtle three-color is all paint, no vinyl striping, with the black exhaust and frame complimenting the package. I've always felt that the factory underplayed the single-sided swingarm by not showing off the naked right side of the wheel, but the choice here of pearl white addresses that. Plus, I'm a fan of white wheels, must be an 80's thing. Here's the forum thread: (may require registration):
http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/49749-my-journey-into-custom-paint/

With the required pre-start maintenance complete, it was time to hit the magic button and see what we have. With a set of freshly cleaned and jetted carbs mounted, the 700 fired immediately and ran well. I double-checked the carb sync, but it was spot-on. A major concern was the charging system, as some repairs had been done by the previous owner, but the system is charging normally. Here's a short video. Very nice exhaust note with the dual aftermarket slip-ons. Next on the to-do list—brakes.

From beautiful (not really) Beloit, Wisconsin we have this exceptional 2001 VFR800 offered on eBay. Showing only 4135 miles, in "perfect working order" and "the closest you will find to a new one unless you find one in the crate," according to the seller's description. Extras include a Scorpion pipe, a set of GIVI bags and mounts (not mounted), tail rack and higher bars from a Honda Hawk GT.

The fifth-gen VFR brought the line into the modern era with fresh styling, the addition of fuel injection and, sadly, the end of the iconic gear-driven cams. This 2001 model is the final year before the VTEC engines were fitted to the Interceptor line.

With an opening bid of $3200 (no bids yet), the auction closes April 7th.

Update: With nine bids to $4050 the reserve was not met — no sale.


Update, April 22: Relisted at $3200 opening bid, new item number 301937766324

Before firing up Project 19 there's some details to attend to:

Once the valve check is finished (only four in need of adjustment), the compression is measured. A proper compression check involves a warmed up engine, but most of my projects aren't so fortunate and I have to settle for a cold check on cylinders/valves that may not have been run for years. Still, any compression check is a good indicator of major internal engine issues and so is a must-do. Project 19 does well with all cylinders reading between 140-150.

Next up is an issue I occasionally see with the side fairing support posts. The post's threads sometimes jam in their frame bracket and upon removal the soft aluminum threads twist off. The fix is a careful center-drilling of the old post material (trying not to damage the old threads) followed by re-tapping with the same thread size. Only once have I had to drill & tap to a larger diameter thread. Both sides of this bike were damaged.

Well, this can't be good. Here we have a fried 3-wire connector between the stator leads and the regulator/rectifier. When the R/R fails the wires heat up (they carry about 75 amps IIRC) and the high resistance in these little blade connectors results in this mess.

This is a fairly common problem with this era of Japanese bikes and Hondas are not exempt. As late as 2005 Honda had to issue a VFR800 recall for this sort of thing.

The problem stems from a bad R/R design and is way more complicated than my analog brain can follow, but the real fix is a better R/R, like Rick's (http://ricksmotorsportelectrics.com). This particular bike has an unknown replacement R/R in place so I elected to make the repair and test the charging system later when the bike is up and running.

And here's my repair. No high-resistence connectors for me. Nope. Hardwire the stator leads with a solid soldered joint. Leave as much excess wire as possible so a future repair can be easily done.
​NOTE: The three yellow wires are not particular about their partners —  they can be reattached to any one.

After individually wrapping the joints, the entire length is taped and tucked into place. Job done.

All that's left is to mount up a carb set, top off the coolant, fire the engine and see if the electrons are moving as they should.

Work has begun on the newest member of the hoard, #19, an '86 VFR700. Back in the day there were both "49-state" models and California-spec bikes. The difference is in the plumbing—emissions plumbing, that is. These were part of the first wave of "EPA" bikes in the U.S.

The various bits of hardware, shown at left, accomplished two things (as far as I can tell). The charcoal canister cleaned up some of the carburetor venting and the air pump injected air near the exhaust port of cylinders #2 & 4.
​
The idea was that the fresh air will give any unburned exhaust gas a chance to burn itself up after leaving the engine, thus producing cleaner exhaust at the tail pipe. On the next generation of VFRs, these injection ports were added to cylinders #1 & 3 as well. The whole contraption was obviously effective enough to satisfy the feds back in the day, but 35 years later it all produces a lot of potential leaks and no way to test whether it actually still functions as intended. So, I vote to eliminate the system as a whole.

The fix is pretty simple. Remove all the hardware, plug the carb ports (five total) and plug the air injection port at #2 and 4. My cheap & simple fix for the injection port is to cut the port fitting off of its long metal tube, tap a course 3/8" thread into the (former) air passage, fit a shortened bolt coated with gasket cement or JB Weld, give it a coat of black engine paint and bolt it back up to the engine block. "Job done," as Edd China used to say.

To my knowledge this emissions system is the only difference between the two versions. 

This clip from the old TV show 21 Jump Street always makes me cringe...and not for the rider.

Number 18 is a 1986 VFR750 R/W/B with 10K miles showing. Yesterday I began stripping the bike to prepare for its first start-up in at least seven years. This always begins with removing the bodywork followed by getting the carburetors on the bench. With the fuel tank off I was greeted by this "high performance" modification.

Peering through the many hi-speed holes I glimpsed some fuzzies, which past experience has told me would be a mouse house.  Sure enough. Amazingly, no other evidence of the little critters could be found. 

The carbs appeared clean and shiny. I once had project where the mouse pee had worked its way downward through the air filter and soaked the carbs, freezing the butterflies in place.

These look great. Problem is, the throttle shafts are locked in place, with no obvious clue why. That will require some further investigation.

With the carbs removed I found only a nice protective layer of shop dust in the cylinder valley, with the factory markings clearly displayed in pale blue. I've found these on all my VFRs and assume they were some sort of engine assembly notations.

With some fogging oil sprayed into the cylinders, the engine turned over normally by hand. Next up I'll adjust the valve clearances, do a compression check, remount a fresh set of carbs and see if she wants to run.

Update: Next day the engine fired right up and warmed up normally with a jetted set of carbs installed. The Kerker sounds great. All the valve clearances were .001" tight, and the compression readings were nicely consistent. Now I'll remove the carbs and begin detailing the rest of the bike.