What: 1992 NR
Where: Dublin, Ireland
Why: NR
Price: $84,995 or Make Offer

​Here's a rare opportunity to own the elusive NR, the mythical street version of the oval-piston NR750 factory endurance racer of the eighties. These bikes have long since reached the collector-only status of display pieces, too rare and valuable to risk on the road. This one is offered with only 13 miles on the odometer with worldwide shipping available. The seller doesn't provide much information in the listing, calling it "beautiful original condition" and number 60 of 200 made. They don't come up often but prices have been seen around $75K in recent years.

Speaking of the NR, here's an interesting video from 2010 of a Honda NR and an RC30 being uncrated and cleaned up. Might be the same NR featured above?

While rearranging the garage yesterday I realized that all three of my personal bikes were set up for a photo op. It also occurred to me how stratified the motorcycle market has become. Back in the day having more than one bike was a luxury reserved for the truly committed or those with more disposable income than most.

That one bike was meant to do anything you asked of it — from commuting to sport riding to touring, maybe even some mild off-road fun. It also helped to be of a certain age where spending consecutive days on the open road on a naked, rattling, temperamental British twin could be viewed as an adventure rather than an exercise in stamina and character-building (which it was).

My garages of the past have housed many brands and genres of motorbikes from Germany, England, Italy and Japan. Today I finally have one made in America, along with a British and Japanese model. If I had more room I'm sure I'd still have my vintage Honda XL500S dual-sport, covering most of the street motorcycling niches. We're very fortunate to be living in an era of such affordable variety in our sport. Bikes that were cutting edge a few years ago are now available at a fraction of their original MSRP, allowing us to fill our garages with the eye candy of our dreams.

What: 1985 VF1000R Interceptor
Where: Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Why: Beautiful driver
Price: Auction; opening bid of $6500

Available in the U.S. for only two years, the "R" model VF1000 replaced the one-year "F" as a complete redesign, offering greater complexity at the cost of a lot of sore backs and wrists. These two models are the only attempts at a big-bore V4 on Honda's part, so if you're after that kind of grunt, this is your bike.

This particular example is a Canadian version showing just under 47,000 kilometers and boasting lots of NOS parts, including fuel tank, forks and more. There's been some repainting and a Hagon shock installed. Our seller uses the terms "restored" and "original" in the same breath, but I would view this as a thoroughly refurbished rider. From that perspective the opening price of $6500 (no reserve) is at the high end for this model, but the seller's assertion that you couldn't replicate this for that kind of money rings true.

Count me on the "like" side of the aisle regarding Cycle World's remake. The writing is crisper, the photography at a higher level, even the paper stock has a kind of luxury feel. I have four moto magazine subscriptions so the change to a bi-monthly format doesn't bother me if the tradeoff is a higher quality read.

The latest issue features a bio on Miguel Galluzzi, a designer most famous for creating the Ducati Monster. Always a believer in the naked concept of design, he even worked a stint with Honda in the late '80s, but couldn't steer the company away from the plastic-clad fashion of the day. Galluzzi hated the "soft" look of the cars and bikes of that era, calling them "soapy."

I came of age in the golden era of naked bikes, the '70's, and so my eye is drawn to the un-faired "mechanical" look too — a basic motorcycle shape but with all the complex parts and pieces showing. But when fashion changed most of us went along for the ride. The new race-inspired full fairings made us feel and look the part.

Arguably the first fully faired modern production bike, and still one of the prettiest, is the BMW R100RS. Not at all "soapy," with sharp angular lines and just enough machinery showing to define a whole new look.

The 1983 Honda VF750 Interceptor would incorporate similar crisp lines in its half-fairing and was an instant success. The '86 remake brought a full fairing, but maintained the sharp tailored lines — and this is what I think sets the early VFR apart from much of the pack. 

The moto design world quickly devolved into a soapy mess. The late '80's and 90's brought us the GSX-R, the second-gen Suzuki Katana, the Honda CBR, and even the Ducati SS models. And probably the worst offender: the Hayabusa. All soapy blobs. But they sold well — fashion always will.

The VFR wasn't immune, of course. Growing a bit softer with the third and forth-gen models and culminating in the 1998 introduction of the very soapy VFR800.

A 1969 Triumph Bonneville 650 has the quintessential motorbike look, at least to my eye. If you have any 5-year old draw a motorcycle, that's pretty much what you'll get. But when you want to stir the soul and bring out your inner boy racer, nothing will accomplish that quite like a fully-clothed sport bike — as long as it's not too soapy.

Honda calls them "steps," but we might know them as footpeg brackets. And on Project 17 they were in pretty rough-looking shape from years of dirt accumulation and neglect.

At right are the left and right side assemblies broken into their component parts for cleaning and polishing, ready for reassembly.

And here they are assembled, ready to be installed onto the bike.

Getting to this point represented a few hours of cleaning, rust removal, ultrasonic cleaning, wet-sanding and polishing.

(Below) Here's an example of what you might face while refurbishing these components. This brake pedal is an aluminum part that is severely corroded. After lots of grinding, filling, sanding and polishing we're back to a useable part. It's not "restoration" perfect but is to the level of this project's finish.

​(Right) With the subframe still off the frame, this is the perfect opportunity to detail the swingarm and shock area. 

(Right) Here's a tip I use to help with the rear wheel installation.

The caliper bracket needs to be positioned in line with the wheel axle but it just wants to fall toward the floor, making life difficult. Lacking a third hand, I hook up a bungee to give just the right amount of support. Ready for the cleaned wheel and fresh Bridgestone.

What: 1998 VFR800 FI
Where: Cypress, California
Why: Freakishly low miles, pristine condition
Price: Auction with $7000 opening bid

Low-mile "collector" status bikes are coming out of the woodwork. Just after posting the 1999 800 below, I came across this equally low mileage fifth-generation 800 on eBay.

Our seller claims to be the original owner who developed a medical condition shortly after purchasing the bike, then relegated it to home decor duty for the next twenty years.

Showing only 1562 miles and presented in original, unmolested condition right down to the tires. In spite of some hyperbole regarding a secret Honda museum the bike is still in our seller's possession with a very bullish, but most likely unrealistic, opening bid of $7000. I would love to know what this example eventually sells for. Best of luck to the seller.

What: 2008 VFR800 VTEC
Where: Jersey City, New Jersey
Why: Great condition, great color, low miles
Price: $3870 or offer

The sixth-gen VFR800 changed up the Interceptor formula. Gone were the gear-driven cams, but new stuff included VTEC valve actuation, available ABS, and a new level of comfort and modern style. The model was produced from 2002-2009, when it was replaced with the completely new 1200F.

Here we have a beautiful example of one of the last of the generation in its subdued but elegant Sword Silver Metallic with matching wheels (no ABS). Showing only 8500 miles and said to be in excellent condition, garage kept and never laid down. Our seller also links four videos of the bike running and riding. If you're in the market for a VTEC VFR, then this one's worthy of a serious look.

What: 1999 VFR800 FI
Where: St. Clair Shores, Michigan (Detroit)
Why: Almost no miles (!)
Price: $5000 or offer

I just came across this fifth-gen 800 up for sale on eBay. Showing an incredibly low mileage of 1245, the seller claims to be the original owner and the bike to be in "pristine as new" condition. If the mileage can be verified then this is a rare opportunity to pick up a showroom example of the first generation 800 — featuring fuel injection but without the VTEC valve gear.

The seller's asking price of $5000 is extreme, but the "make offer" button is active. A more typical fifth-gen with average miles would be valued at around $3500. What does almost no miles add to the value? That's between the seller and buyer; good luck to both.

For our purposes carb syncing is the process of setting the individual carb's butterfly valves to open at the same time and same amount. The effect is to provide the same amount of air (and thus fuel) giving us the most power and smoothest operation. This is a crucial step in tuning any multi-cylinder engine, but especially highly tuned, high-performance ones like the V4 Interceptor.

It's a simple concept with the only difficult part being actually getting to the set screws. That's where the Motion Pro 90-degree Hex Driver comes into play.

(Below) In the case of the VFR, I snap on a 7mm socket to fit the adjuster screw. A straight blade screwdriver socket will also fit but is much more difficult to actually use. The reason is that we'll need to fumble around in the dark under the carb set to find the adjuster. The socket is just a more positive engagement. The tool doesn't hold the socket very well (seems to be common with Motion Pro socket tools) so I wrap a bit of teflon tape on the base to help out.

With the engine warmed and idle set at about 1200 RPM, and using number two carb as a (non-adjustable) base, adjust the other three to match. I do this at idle and at a steady higher RPM, about 3000. When I'm happy with the adjustments, shut the engine down, allow it to cool a bit and remove/plug the vacuum ports. There's some good video tutorials on YouTube for more tips. Job done!