All Categories - V4 Dreams

Bruce Brown Takes The Long Way Home

1/4/2018

Click on image for Bruce's bio.

Bruce Brown died December 10, 2017 at age 80.

Bruce was the filmmaker who brought the world the most influential motorcycling film ever made, "On Any Sunday," back in 1971. The documentary, along with Honda's "nicest people" ad campaign, helped change the public perception of motorcycling and motorcyclists and spurred a golden age that lasted through the 1970's. Many of us were hopelessly influenced by the film and have simply never gotten over it.

Bruce began his career with a very popular surfing film, "Endless Summer." He was an avid surfer and motorcyclist. "On Any Sunday" earned him an Academy Award nomination, and his son, Dana, went on to produce a sequel, "On Any Sunday II." Bruce Brown was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. Thank you, Bruce.

Low Miles, Above Market

1/3/2018

Click on image for the eBay link.

What: 2007 VFR800 Anniversary Edition
Where: Middleburg, Florida (Jacksonville)
Why: A time capsule special edition
Price: $7500 opening bid

For the discerning 25th Anniversary Edition buyer, here's your dream: Ridiculously low miles, unmodified, like new condition...everything except the price.

Our seller claims to be the original owner and has managed to put on fewer miles than the equivalent of one tank of gas per year; only 1342. Other than a fresh battery the bike is as delivered. There's no ABS and the tires are past their use-by date, but this beauty is as close to a new 10 year-old bike as you'll find outside a museum. Trouble is, the upper market for this model seems to be closer to the $6K mark than our seller's opening bid of $7500. Also, most of us are in the midst of a brutal winter and many buyers would need to factor in shipping costs. A quick search of the seller's area brings up a 2015 VFR800 with 7800 miles for only $1000 higher asking price. I hope to be proven wrong, but a wait-and-see strategy might be best here — see if the seller lowers the price in a subsequent listing.
And here's a good comparable:

Click on image for the ADVrider link.

What: 2007 VFR800 Anniversary Edition
Where: Ft. Worth, Texas
Why: White wheels, of course (and great price)
Price: $4650 asking

Up for sale is this Anniversary Edition showing 11,000 miles. All stock except for the (awesome) white powdercoated wheels. A two-owner bike, this one is also absent ABS, but does include a set of OEM saddlebags in white. Offered on ADVrider (may require registration). Or, here's the link to the seller's local C-list ad.

WELCOME 2018

1/1/2018

10 Things That Put The Honda NR Ahead Of Its Time

12/29/2017

Reprinted from a Visor Down (.com) article.

Has there ever been a more ground-breaking production bike than Honda’s NR750?
Back in 1992, when the NR750 was unveiled, motorcycles were still incredibly crude compared to the those of today. Even range-topping superbikes used carburetors rather than fuel injection. Carbon fibre was still something that only racers tended to see and the idea of an aluminium frame was still new and exciting, restricted to the upper echelon of bikes.

The NR750 may never have sold well, and is often decried for having performance no better than superbikes a fraction of its price, but it broke down barriers and opened our eyes to what we could have on more attainable bikes in the future. Basically, we wouldn’t have the likes of the Ninja H2 SX and Panigale V4 without it.

Here are its top 10 boundary-breaking ideas:

Click "Read More" to continue >>>

It's Not The Bike, It's The Parts That'll Kill Ya

12/27/2017

Click on image for the eBay link.

There's an eBay seller from Japan who's apparently parting out a JDM VFR750R (RC30). He's currently got 50 items on buy-it-now listings, and his asking prices demonstrate just how valuable these parts may be in the used market.

There's virtually no verbal descriptions for these items and some of the photos don't help much, being mostly white parts on a bright white backdrop.

Take this fuel tank, for example. Judging by the photos, there's some wear & tear, it's not a U.S.-spec color, and the price is $2588 plus $229 (!) for shipping, Pictured below are a few more pricey examples: There's an OEM regulator/rectifier for $454 plus $43 for shipping. How about a used set of 27 year-old coolant hoses and overflow bottle for $488 + $52? There's also a very cool "Endurance" branded exhaust system that is claimed to be an HRC part. The price leaves me cold, though: $2793 + $166. Best of luck to our seller.
(click on an image to enlarge)

Merry Christmas

12/24/2017

Tool Time

12/23/2017

Click on image for an eBay listing.

This tool from Motion Pro is an answer to a problem I've had for years.

It's called a Grip End Cutter and it does exactly that — cuts the ends off of closed-end handgrips. Many of the aftermarket handgrips that I like are only available with closed ends, but our VFRs, of course, require open ends in order to allow for the weighted bar ends. I stumbled across this simple and effective tool last month and just had to add it to the tool box.

The tool consists of a knurled shaft with two threaded cutters — 1-inch and 7/8-inch. A handy storage tube is included.

Here I'm about to cut the ends from my favorite grips; Recoil by Biltwell. These grips are barrel shaped, which fit my hands better than typical firm, flat sport bike grips, and they have a soft and grippy feel.

In the past I've simply hacked the ends off with a razor blade as best I could, but a clean cut is virtually impossible.

This is a quick and simple operation. Assemble the appropriate cutter, insert fully to the very bottom of the grip and strike with a BFH on a soft wood surface. Push the tool through the grip to extract the plug.

The cut is clean and flush with the grip's inside surface.

A great idea, well-executed. This tool opens up a huge variety of handgrip choices. $24 from several eBay vendors.

The Other V4

12/20/2017

Honda's dream of V4 dominance extended beyond the sport bike and racing arenas. In 1990, alongside the all-new 3d-gen VFR, the company unveiled their fresh take on the large-displacement sport-touring segment, the ST1100. A completely different engine as compared to the VFR-series, this one was built for heavy-bike duty and mounted longitudinally.

Already ahead of the full-sized touring pack with the iconic Gold Wing, Honda probably saw Kawasaki's success with their Ninja-based Concours (1986) and thought they could do one better. Slotted just below the Gold Wing, the ST would be lighter and nimbler, catering to the rider who didn't need or want the bulk of the Wing. All the makers eventually joined in, expanding the popular sport-touring genre we still enjoy today.

After 11 years the ST1100 was overdue for an overhaul and the ST1300 was born for 2002. The engine had grown a bit and counter balancers added to allow the engine to be bolted directly to the frame, acting as a stressed member. This was effectively Honda's first use of fuel injection on a large-production model. The engine enjoyed a long run through about 2012 (police edition) in the ST series and was then retuned and used in the CTX1300, a bagger model. Here's some specs for the engine as used in the ST1300:

• 1261cc, 71ci

• 90-degree V4

• 4-valve, chain driven cams

• Programmed Fuel Injection

• Bore/stroke = 78x66mm

• Compression = 10.8:1

• HP = 117 @ 8000 rpm (U.S.)

• Torque = 86 lb-ft @ 6500 rpm (U.S.)

Market Watch

12/16/2017

SOLD — $5000
Recently sold on eBay at its reserve price with a single bid is this 1986 VF1000R. The bike's in very passable cosmetic condition with a few repairs and sports only 4122 miles. It was located in Clermont, FL.

This example has most of the maintenance brought up to date, but is still in need of fresh tires and a fork cleaning. The bike appears very original, including the all-important mufflers.

A fair price for both parties for this original survivor.

Leftover VFR1200X In CO.

12/15/2017

Click on image for the eBay link.

What: 2016 VFR1200X
Where: Littleton, Colorado
Why: New, warranty, nice price
Price: $11,988

Leftovers are a smart way to get a new, fully warranted vehicle, especially when nothing but the color has changed with the new model. Now two model years old, this 2016 is available for $4000 off MSRP. Still not cheap, but cheaper. This bike has the non-DCT standard 6-speed transmission.