The eighth generation Honda VFR was introduced in 2014. I think it's safe to characterize its sales as, ah... lackluster. I'll leave the speculation as to the reasons why to marketing professors everywhere, but suffice it to say the "new" VFR800 was a very comprehensive update to the sixth-gen VFR and is, by all accounts, a great ride. I will note that with sport bike sales tanking worldwide Honda still chose to clothe the VFR in full bodywork, and today's buyers are just not feeling it. But underneath its robes beats a modern and thoroughly sorted sport-touring package. And a V4.

The good news is that for those of us in the know there's a supply of leftover 2014 and 2015 models with prices firmly in the used bike class. I've recently come across two examples; both Deluxe models. I think the Deluxe is the one to look for, as the included options more than make up for the $1000 upcharge. This includes ABS, traction control, adjustable fork, remote shock preload, self-cancelling turn signals, heated grips and center stand. Original MSRP on the 2014 VFR800 Deluxe was $13,500 in a choice of Victory Red or Pearl Glare White. Personally, I'm a sucker for pearl white.

First up is a red 2014 offered by Sunrise Motorsports in Searcy, Arkansas. Their eBay price is $7799. No word in the listing about additional dealer fees, so that's worth investigating. Fair warning; Sunrise requires a non-refundable $500 deposit.

Here we have a white example located in my backyard at Sportland 2 Powersports in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. This is a 2015 Deluxe model and is listed at $7976, excluding "dealer setup, taxes, title, destination charge." 

Choose your color!

As I progress through the rebuild of Project 22 I'm coming across more fun mods and extras.

Here we have a piece of tech-wizardry from a company called Nology. These are HotWires, the "most technologically advanced ignition wires available." Utilizing a built-in capacitor, these wires produce a spark 300 times more powerful, according to the manufacturer. I don't know about that, but they sure look the part. About $140 in a variety of colors.

Next up are are a set of Pazzo Racing control levers. These little pieces of functional bling hail from Canada. They look good, feel good, and offer 6-position lever adjustment. They'll set you back about $150 and are available from the manufacturer, on eBay and elsewhere. I've never had a set mounted on one of my bikes, so I'm looking forward to trying them on the road. Pretty cool.

I love throttle locks and cruise control. The ability to give your right hand a break on the straight stretches goes a long way, especially near the end of the day's ride. I like the Vista Cruise for it's simplicity, ease of use and low price, but this bike came to me with a set of good-looking Throttlemeister bar ends mounted up.

The Throttlemeister is a friction throttle lock with a matching left bar-end. Made right here in the Midwest (Milwaukee, WI) these high-quality pieces come in various weights, sizes and finishes. I have a stainless steel set on my ST1300 and this bike sports this sexy black matte finish. $120-$150, depending on options.

Project 22 has risen from its lengthy slumber, wide awake and running like it never took a day off. With all the mechanical checks completed, it was the carburetors that really needed attention. With the jets cleaned, adjustments made, the leaky fuel rail o-rings were sourced and replaced along with fresh Tygon fuel lines. So I now have the appropriate VITON o-rings for the '94-97s if anyone has the need. I've also verified that my VITON bowl gaskets fit the fourth generation VFRs.

With everything double-checked, an aux fuel line connected and battery installed...the magic button was pushed and this beautiful VFR came to life. After a warm-up the carbs were sync'd and.........

With my recent purchases finally making their way to Illinois, we can make some headway on Project 18, a 1986 VFR750. Today the super-techie silicone coolant hoses were installed.

While I've never experienced an issue with the 30-year old OEM hoses on our bikes, this particular build is a more thorough restoration, so I made the choice to replace all four coolant hoses. As they're no longer available from Honda, I went with the only replacements that I'm aware of.

These beautifully-made hoses are manufactured in England by Samco (samcosport.com) and are available mostly through racing supply dealers around the world. Samco makes the claim that these are "the best hoses that money can buy."

And it will take a chunk of dinero to buy 'em. Here's the pieces in the #76670 hose kit I received.

The hose kit is $141 and the "German style" clamp kit an additional $30. The little red hose is a complimentary keychain — a nice touch, I suppose.

I purchased my kits through Samco's U.S. distributor, OPP Racing (.com). OPP orders from England, so shipping was about two weeks. The retail prices seem to be controlled, as everywhere I checked were the same.

While Samco hoses are available in a rainbow of colors, I chose black to maintain the original look as closely as possible.

The hoses install easily and the clamps seem to be of high quality without looking like Ace Hardware replacements. In this case I would have preferred no logo, but if you're going to spring for the best, may as well let everyone know it.

And Project 18's next owner will have just a bit more confidence in their new ride.

It's a warm, sultry mid-summer's day here in the upper midwest, and out in the shop Projects 18 and 22 impatiently await parts orders. Just this afternoon the shock absorber for Project 18 arrived from Jamie at Daugherty Motorsports. But a small order from Rock Auto is really dragging it out. I ordered a set of spark plugs and a coolant hose for the '97 VFR way back on June 26 and they're apparently stuck in limbo, which in this case is somewhere between Cleveland and the Chicago area. DHL's tracking app had it leaving Cleveland on the 27th and...that's it. Now, I realize it's been a long holiday weekend but a recent order from Amazon and Jamie's shipment seem to have cleared that hurdle with no problems. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking....

What: 2002 VFR800
Where: Houston, Texas
Why: Great bike, great value
Price: $3399 or make offer

When shopping for a used vehicle, there's a certain kind of seller's vibe you're looking for. Sometimes you just get a bad feeling about a seller...and sometimes just the opposite. Here we have the latter.

This first-year VFR800 VTEC is a shining example of what you want to stumble across when shopping for a pre-owned VFR, or any used bike, for that matter: Original condition, check. Low miles, check. Responsible mature owners, check. Full disclosure, check. Showing only 6475 miles, non-ABS, and some recent maintenance completed, this one appears to need only an enthusiastic rider. The original paperwork, manual and toolkit are still with the bike. Our seller takes some pains to point out the imperfections from a garage fall but the brilliant Italian Red still impresses. As far as value goes, the seller is in the ballpark and there's some wiggle room. If you're in the market for a VTEC, this may be your next ride.

UPDATE: No sale; for another chance at this one, here's a link to the local C-list ad:
https://houston.craigslist.org/mcy/d/honda-vfr-interceptor/6201320490.html

(click on an image to enlarge)

The current issue of Motorcycle Classics (.com) has a great feature on the 1992 Honda NR, written by Alan Cathcart, ex-racer and arguably the moto-journalist with the broadest experience on high performance machines. The piece gives some interesting background to this iconic bike's development and history, but is mostly a recollection of Alan's test ride at the Paul Ricard circuit in France at the model's introduction back in 1991.

His general impression was one of mild surprise that this much-hyped super hi-tech jewel was not the hard-edged Superbike he was anticipating, but rather an easy to ride, tractable, even comfortable, "ultimate real-world motorcycle." He states that the racetrack wasn't really the bike's proper venue, but that the NR "wasn't a razor-sharp race replica like the RC30, and though it was a lot more relaxing and comfortable to ride than one up to a certain level, beyond that it was more sport tourer than Superbike."  It was, and maybe still is, the ultimate Gentleman's Express.

He also notes some of the NR's firsts: The first Japanese sport bike with fully mapped electronic fuel injection, the first anywhere with "upside down forks, carbon-fiber bodywork, titanium anything, side-mounted radiators and exhausts under the seat." He calls the styling "breathtakingly gorgeous" and, by his own admission, was copied by none other than the late master, Massimo Tamburini. You can surely see elements of the NR in Tamburini's Ducati Paso, 916, 996, 998, MV Augusta F4 and a few Bimotas. The design was also the basis for the fourth-gen VFRs, clearly visible in the look of my "new" '97 VFR750.

While Honda had hoped to make 1000 NRs, only 322 were produced in 1992 and '93. Each was built to order with a 25% deposit — first come, first served. The most expensive production motorcycle ever sold is now one of the most desired, and probably the least ridden. And that's a shame.

The front end of Project 18 is coming together. With the rebuilt forks in place the repainted wheels are mounted up together with their freshly painted discs. The refurbished brake calipers and black braided lines finish off the package.

Also visible in this photo is the reinstalled radiator. I flush and detail the entire radiator and painstakingly straighten the tiny cooling fins.

Meantime, Jamie Daugherty is busy rebuilding the rear shock and I'm waiting for the Samco coolant hoses to arrive before final assembly.

In this case the radiator's protective grill needed repainting due to some spots of rust. Here I've got it soaking in EVAPO-RUST, an effective and lazy way of getting all the rust from the tiny crevices. I let it soak for a few days followed by a light sanding, priming and painting with Dupli-Color silver engine paint.

The devil, as they say, is in the details.

Project 22, my recently acquired '97 VFR750, was quickly put on the rack for a tear-down and assessment. The initial checks went well. The carbs looked good with just some basic cleaning needed — the low-speed jets were clogged and the old gas was getting kinda gummy on the slides. The valves are still in spec, which is a good thing. Valve adjustment on these bikes is a bit involved, requiring camshaft removal and shim replacement. It may be basic mechanics, but care and precision is needed. The cylinder compression checks showed no surprises.

With the bike apart I'll clean and check the usual suspects like electrical connections and steering bearings. And while awaiting delivery of fresh spark plugs and heater hose I've wired in connectors for the addition of heated grips. Other issues which have presented themselves are roached seals in the clutch master cylinder, leaking fork seals (which have contaminated the front brake pads) and....well, that's about it. The Michelin Pilot Road 2's look nearly new but the date code shows them to be nine years old, beyond my comfort level.

I hope to light the fires by the end of the week.

Last weekend a Chicago area rider, Dave, contacted me about buying his no-longer-running VFR. Dave's bike had been superseded a few years ago by a big yellow Honda Gold Wing, relegating the Interceptor to the back of the garage. Time ticked away and eventually the VFR could no longer muster the necessary combination of ingredients to light the fires — it wouldn't start. But the final straw in the chain of events leading to this bike ending up in my garage was a spill with the Gold Wing on a rainy curve in Wisconsin. The bike went down and Dave's two-wheeled days went with it. That's when I got his call.

So what do we have here? Well, we have the final production year of the VFR750, a 1997 model with 32,000 miles — but looking like it has a tenth of that. In addition to the excellent bodywork this one sports several nice farkles. Like the DMr converted Honda 929 shock absorber, aftermarket fork springs, Two Brothers slip-on, bar risers and carbon fiber front fender. There's more nice touches, too — VFR-ness installed with aftermarket regulator/rectifier, rear fender eliminator, stainless braided brake lines, rear brake wave rotor and a snazzy aftermarket chain guard.

The plan: Mechanical checks throughout, fresh tires...and get some miles on this beauty.