Sometime last year a VFR buddy, Ron, sent me a photo of one of his many vintage VFRs, along with a question: Had I ever heard of a VFR being manufactured in the U.S.?
The reason he asked is that this particular VFR's VIN tag began not with the usual JH2... but rather with 1HF. According to the chart at right, this clearly indicates that the bike was made in America.
The VFR in question is a white 1987 VFR700F2. Ron wrote that he'd seen a photo of Shichiro himself at the Marysville, Ohio plant in 1987 surrounded by several motorcycles, including a white VFR and a blue VFR. Ron speculates that those two bikes may have been produced there, for unknown reasons, and that his bike is possibly the white one pictured. I've not been able to locate that photo.
VIN 1HFRC262XHA105031
Deciphering the VIN, we can verify that it:
• was manufactured in the USA (1HF)
• is a VFR700F2 (RC26)
• is a model year 1987 (H, all '86 are G, so this follows)
• was manufactured in Ohio (A)
The production number is a little confusing: 105031. All the 1986's I've come across begin with the number 0, while all the 1987's begin with 1, so that checks. But the largest production number I've personally seen is 1279, a blue model. A jump all the way to 5031 production number seems a little extreme, but who knows?
Ron later came across a blue 1987 VFR700 for sale in Las Vegas...also with a "1HF" VIN. He speculates it may have been the blue bike in the Ohio photo. Unfortunately, it's the one that got away, as Ron was never able to make contact with the seller.
The back story on Ron's white "1HF" bike is that it was purchased from the widow of a Honda plant manger in Ohio who kept it secure in his living room. Did he know how special it was?
(Below) Just to deepen the mystery, a comparison of the two VIN tags shows the "American" bike (left photo) seems to be kinda handmade, while a Japanese production bike (right photo) is more refined. Will we ever know the true details of the "1HF" bikes, or is this historical footnote lost to time?
The reason he asked is that this particular VFR's VIN tag began not with the usual JH2... but rather with 1HF. According to the chart at right, this clearly indicates that the bike was made in America.
The VFR in question is a white 1987 VFR700F2. Ron wrote that he'd seen a photo of Shichiro himself at the Marysville, Ohio plant in 1987 surrounded by several motorcycles, including a white VFR and a blue VFR. Ron speculates that those two bikes may have been produced there, for unknown reasons, and that his bike is possibly the white one pictured. I've not been able to locate that photo.
VIN 1HFRC262XHA105031
Deciphering the VIN, we can verify that it:
• was manufactured in the USA (1HF)
• is a VFR700F2 (RC26)
• is a model year 1987 (H, all '86 are G, so this follows)
• was manufactured in Ohio (A)
The production number is a little confusing: 105031. All the 1986's I've come across begin with the number 0, while all the 1987's begin with 1, so that checks. But the largest production number I've personally seen is 1279, a blue model. A jump all the way to 5031 production number seems a little extreme, but who knows?
Ron later came across a blue 1987 VFR700 for sale in Las Vegas...also with a "1HF" VIN. He speculates it may have been the blue bike in the Ohio photo. Unfortunately, it's the one that got away, as Ron was never able to make contact with the seller.
The back story on Ron's white "1HF" bike is that it was purchased from the widow of a Honda plant manger in Ohio who kept it secure in his living room. Did he know how special it was?
(Below) Just to deepen the mystery, a comparison of the two VIN tags shows the "American" bike (left photo) seems to be kinda handmade, while a Japanese production bike (right photo) is more refined. Will we ever know the true details of the "1HF" bikes, or is this historical footnote lost to time?
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