The annual Autumn Stafford Sale took place October 13 & 14 in Stafford, UK. As one of the big international auctions, it's closely watched as a gauge of the coming winter auction season. The sale's winner this year was a 1933 Brough Superior SS100 "project" which sold for $209,801. Might be the most expensive project bike ever. For us commoners, there were also a few more pedestrian V4's in attendance with two significant sales....

1992 NR 750
​$80,923

Showing only 875 miles, this example was originally a Swiss-market model. It still has the original battery, which is probably a good indication of it's condition.

1989 VFR750R (RC30)
$61,441

No self-respecting auction would be complete without at least one RC30. And this one is pretty special. It's never been used, showing only 1.5 miles gained from pushing around various collectors' display rooms in Denmark. The selling price confirms that RC30's values are on the rise once again. 

1994 RVF750R (RC45)
No Sale, value estimate ~$45,000

From the same Danish collector comes this unused RC45 showing only 2 miles. No buyers in the room on this day.

1992 VFR750F
No Sale: value estimate ~ $3000

I have no idea if this color scheme was a factory offering (probably not) but this third-gen looks pretty good. It came from the Netherlands with 41,600 miles on the odometer.

What: Honda RVF400
Where: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Why: Unique JDM import
Price: $10,000

Loosely related to our VFR400, this example was imported and titled in Colorado. No year is given but the paint scheme indicates that it's the final iteration of the model, the 1996 RVF400RT. One shouldn't be tempted to say that the RVF's are siblings to the U.S. market VFR400 — they are actually much different machines with few parts in common. The bike is more closely linked to the RVF750R (RC45).

This example has lots of upgrades and shows about 10,000 miles. The cosmetics are impeccable, while the white wheels and dash of "Uranus Purple" distinguishes it as a child of the 90's. The asking price is steep, but if 400cc sport bikes are your passion, then an RVF should be on your short list.

A few weeks back Patti and I took a two-day tour in central Kentucky. We saw a window of great weather and so looked for an area we could trailer to in a one-day drive. We chose a little college town south of Lexington called Berea and based ourselves at the local Marriott. I've seen the area from I-slab trips and a couple of low altitude flights in the past, and suspected that it would offer some scenic twisties. We weren't disappointed.

Our first day began eastward via rolling and climbing back roads through early morning fog patches, turning the dense forest ride into a serene and slightly eerie adventure. Not much was passed through the Sena headsets as we both lost ourselves in the mist.
(click on an image to enlarge)

Eventually breaking out on the four-lane Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway, we turned south to our exit on Route 77, aka Nada Tunnel Road. In short order we were delivered to the Nada Tunnel, a 900-foot single-lane curved and claustrophobic burrow through a chunk of solid rock. Better have a headlight on for this:

Day two found us southbound on Route 23, a beautiful four-lane eventually delivering us into Virginia. Breaking off onto Route 160 we pass through the burg of Appalachia and wind up the gorgeous switchbacks to pass back into Kentucky at the state's highest point, Black Mountain. This road was virtually void of traffic and a genuine treat to ride on a perfect day. At Cumberland we turn west via open and fast Route 119, eventually joining Route 92 into Williamsburg. Jumping onto Route 25 we go north to join Route 90, westbound through the Daniel Boone National Forest. This road is another two-wheeled treat and we stop at a scenic pull-off where a wood carver is selling his custom and varied walking sticks. We chat with him to get a sense of the area's flavor. Note the Glock .45 on his hip. This is open carry country.

Leaving the forest, we enter more open country and work our way northward back to Berea. Our impression of central Kentucky is one of quiet hills and lots of trees. The roads are in excellent condition — most of the two-lanes we rode looked nearly freshly-paved. We're used to the rough and broken tarmac of the upper mid-west, so these two day were a real treat. For a relaxed riding experience, Kentucky makes a perfect destination.

I bought this project three years ago in Ohio as a running daily rider. Originally red, white & blue, I've made the change to the pearl white available in 1986 as a "special edition" color. Pearl Crescent White then became one of two standard colors for 1987. Despite my efforts, I've never been successful in matching the original color so after a lengthy search I discovered a modern match from Kia; Snow White Pearl, found on their 2014-16 Cadenza model.

After complete mechanical checks, reassembly began, including a recovered seat and reproduction windscreen. The bike came to me with the optional rear seat cowl and center stand, two nice finishing touches.

All the maintenance has been brought up-to-date with a few upgrades like braided stainless steel brake lines and HH-rated brake pads. 

On the road, this Interceptor shines. I've always found the 700 version noticeably smoother than the 750 and this one is no exception. Starts and runs beautifully hot or cold and pulls strong to redline with that distinctive V4 cam gear drive whine. A beautiful example that will never lose value.

Contact me for information
[email protected]
​608-807-7829 call or text

Here's a link to the local Craigslist ad:
https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/mcy/d/honda-vfr700-interceptor-1986/6721480893.html

Here's a link to the photo album:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmk35zZS

After waiting two months for the paintwork to be completed this summer, I went to fire up Project 16 and found that the throttle response was off — indicating clogged low-speed jets.

These were new jets but I'd neglected to drain the float bowls, thinking I'd be up and running with less delay. Off with the fuel tank, side fairings, etc., remove the carbs...and I found three of the four jets clogged. One cleared with compressed air but two required more persuasive means.

I was surprised by this but probably shouldn't have been. Our government-mandated ethanol-laced fuels create precipitates with exposure to heat and moisture...and this was a hot and humid summer here in the hinterlands. These precipitates are the yellow-orange goo found in carb bowls and jets and can cause dried deposits in recesses if evaporated — like my jets. Luckily I have the resources to deal with this as a fairly minor inconvenience, though an aggravating one. If a less handy owner inadvertently allows this to happen it can mean a $300+ repair bill.

The Birth Of The Modern Sportbike

In the current issue of Cycle World, Kevin Cameron offers his version of the impact made by the 1983 Honda VF750 Interceptor. Cameron is well-placed to offer an historical treatise on the Interceptor. He, like myself, was a young motorcyclist at that place in history and felt the bombshell impact made by the introduction of the Honda V4's. Of course, he saw it from a professional tech geek’s perspective while my viewpoint was more sex appeal and the promise of speed and lean angles. Cameron even did a nine-page technical article alongside the road test in a 1982 issue of Cycle.

Today, Cameron declares the 1983 Interceptor the “first true sportbike.” His rationale is that this was the first time that the lessons learned from U.S. Superbike racing were applied to a production motorcycle. “Those lessons were that both engine and chassis must be designed to win Superbike races without the complete re-engineering needed in 1976-82.”

He also notes that Honda produced the bike as a homologation special without expectations of market success because no one thought that handling was important to sporty-bike buyers, only brute force and quarter-mile times. But here was a bike that did it better than anyone else — right off the showroom floor. In fact, factory race Interceptors (intentionally looking very much like the bikes at your local showroom) won the first six U.S. Superbike races in 1983. They didn’t get the championship that year but did the following five years. Beginning with the ’82 FWS 1000cc V4, its descendants would stretch through the range of VF models, generations of VFRs, the RC30 and RC45 racers and streetbikes, and, “yes, the V5 RC211V MotoGP and its V4 descendants ridden today by Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. The sportbike was changed forever.”

The day prior to the bike show (previous post) it was reassembly time for Project 16.

This project is a 1986 VFR700F which I decided to finish in what was a special-edition color for '86; Pearl Crescent White. I've found the original color impossible to custom match, so after a lengthy search I found a modern Kia color that looks to be a perfect copy. My painter put on two coats of pearl to get just the right tone. I then applied the reproduction decals and a few coats of clear finished the job. Here I have all the pieces ready for installation.

Some prep is required before the body parts are ready to bolt on. The fuel tank needs the new OEM petcock installed along with the fuel cap. The headlight and tail light also need to be fitted.

And here I've installed the interior air duct on one of the large mid-fairings and also applied the sound and heat shield. I couldn't source the original foam material used by the factory, so some modern self-stick foam/foil will do the job.

This Interceptor is in a very stock configuration with original mufflers and turn signals. I did need to recover the seat and mount a reproduction windscreen. As soon as Patti and I return from a horseback riding trip to Colorado, I'll get some photos and offer Project 16 for sale.

This past Sunday I decided to do something I'd never thought to do in the past — enter one of my bikes in a show, one where they actually judge the bike, not just look at 'em. The venue was the second annual Evanston MotorCycle Classic held along a closed-off block in downtown Evanston, Illinois. Evanston is a north suburb of Chicago and sits adjacent to equally beautiful Northwestern University and the Lake Michigan shoreline. The modern college-trendy downtown contrasts with the old-money neighborhoods and their classic homes.

The show is open to bikes of 30-year vintage or older, so my 1986 Honda VFR700F just made the cut. And I just made the show; I literally put the finishing touches on the bike the night before. I decided to trailer to the show (no current plates or insurance) and arrived about 30 minutes before the 10:00am designated show start. I found a nearby parking spot, unloaded, and rode the half-block to the show. Taking up my spot in the Japanese section, I got a coffee and started snooping around....

(Below) The show is in the block to the right in this photo.

(Below) The pearl white really made the Interceptor stand out. "Please don't look too closely at the license plate"!

​Only one other V4 was in attendance — this VF700. The photo doesn't show much of the, ahh, patina which graced this example. This bike was a year older than mine, so that officially made the VFR the newest bike here.

(Below) The oldest (by far) was this rusty beast. I didn't note it's maker, but the front tire was still holding air! In the background are a pair of 50's Cushman scooters restored to the max.

​And here's a nice old police Moto Guzzi flanked by two very pretty Laverdas.

(Below) This BMW hack was nicely presented and sported a very stylish sidecar fender. Lots of beautiful BMWs.

(Below) I was surprised to see that some of the spectator bikes parked along the opposite side of the street were more interesting than many of the show bikes. They formed their own show. This bevel head Ducati was sparkling in its polished aluminum and bright red frame.

(Below) Then there were these two polar opposites: The chopper (the only of its type on the block) was very nicely done and sported a set of clear wheels. I'm certainly not into the custom bike scene, but I've never seen this. It really caught my eye, even though it was clearly not intended to (or was it?).

The BMW R100GS was impeccably restored. I couldn't see a single flaw, and I looked closely. It was so perfectly clean I don't know how he even rode it to the event. It should've been parked on the other side of the street.

(Below) Near the show's beginning, I figured I had a shot at the Japanese crown, but it was not to be. At about 10:30 a guy rolled in on this 1962 Honda CB77. It was restored to the nines. I knew I was beat, and, indeed, he took home the honors for the day. Congratulations and well done.

The show ended at 2:00 and I packed up for the 45-minute drive home. But I chatted with some good people and ogled a great variety of great bikes on a perfect September day. And for once I was part of the show. I just might come back next year.

Here's a tip taken from the Factory Service Manual which allows you to accomplish three jobs with one trick.

​The FSM lists this under testing a fuel pump, but I use it for all three of the above. It's basically bypassing the fuel pump relay in order to force the fuel pump to operate. The job of the relay is to allow the pump to operate only if the engine is turning over — in case of an accident the pump won't keep spewing fuel just because the key is still on. So if we need the pump to operate without the engine running we simply bypass the relay by jumping the two contacts in the connector. Pull the connector, insert a jumper wire between the contacts and turn on the key. The pump will then operate, allowing you to test the pump, or test that the petcock's main and reserve are functioning, or drain the tank, or prime the carbs if they've been drained. Here's my jumper in place....

And here's what it looks like when I'm draining the tank or, in this case, testing the plumbing after installing the tank on Project 17. Next, I'll reconnect the line to the carbs and prime (fill) the carbs with fuel. If you skip the priming step, they'll need to fill while you crank and crank the starter. Priming is A Better Idea.

Project 17 finally got out for a test ride yesterday, probably it's first time back on the road in at least ten years. Everything went well so it's time to finalize the cosmetics and attend to all the final details.

First up is to replace the funky engine covers with some much nicer spares. This clutch cover is a big improvement.

Next up — start fitting the bodywork.