What: 1991 VFR750F
Why: Nice survivor
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada
Price: Auction ends Oct 13

UPDATE: No sale; no bids beyond the seller's $2000 opening bid

​Here's a good old fashioned no-reserve auction on a very nice, 28,545-mile Gen-3 rider-grade survivor. Sporting a Vance & Hines slip-on, freshly serviced carbs, tires, clutch, battery and more, this looks to be a ready-to-ride example. I suspect there's been a repaint at some point, and the bike is clean and well presented. Our seller states the bike "runs and rides great." 

I stole this image off the RC24/26 FB page. No information included, but it is certainly an interesting build of someone's V4 ADV vision. Starting with an RC24 frame, that might be a Honda Hornet tail fairing and seat grafted on with a custom-made bracket for side bags and top trunk fitment. The wheels appear to be CBR conversions, which would be needed to fit those very aggressive ADV tires.

Other than the fuel tank the original bodywork is gone, replaced by a universal Givi round headlight fairing, and some sort of custom or grafted on radiator support and unknown small brackets on either side, which also carry aftermarket lights. I think the radiator might be a larger unit from another model. There's also a hefty bash plate and frame protecting the engine lowers, but the left coolant hose looks vulnerable. The coolant overflow tank has been relocated further forward and the oil cooler moved to a lower position — curious for the bike's intended purpose, but may have been necessitated by the radiator mods. The forks, swingarm and brakes appear original while the handlebars are some sort of conversion.

Someone spent a lot of time and effort on this build. The bike actually cuts a decent naked-bike profile and, other than those rumbling tires, might make for a fun street ride. As for attacking dirt, gravel, ruts and bumps of off-road riding, I would be hard to convince that a heavy, high-revving V4 with limited suspension travel would be high on my list of choices.

This appeared on my morning eBay feed — the most coveted VFR item ever produced. Here's a very nice 8-spoke rear wheel from a Gen-3 1991 VFR750, still in its factory color.

These wheels, of course, also fit newer VFRs up through the Gen-6, IIRC, giving a bit of style and flair to those models.

This one is listed at $395 + $55 shipping from California. That's about the going price for these, and the seller states that the rim is straight. Here's your chance….and this seller has many more Gen-3 parts from this '91 listed for sale.

Two years ago this month owner Eric took delivery of his completed 1986 VFR750F, aka Project 38. His was a special build with lots of quality modifications and gorgeous cosmetics. Here’s ​a link to my photo album. We've kept in touch and this past week Eric shared a few photos from a recent ride in rural Missouri. In his own words:
"I took the bike for a 400-mile spirited ride through southeast Missouri with a couple of old college riding buddies. It was as hard as I have pushed it since you completed it.  The bike did fantastic all day hanging with a Honda 919 and an 8th generation VFR. I was really impressed with the suspension and handling. It felt really stable through all of the twisties that the Missouri letter roads had to offer."

​I'm always pleased to see or hear that the projects I've helped with are actually being exercised the way Soichiro intended. Beautiful mechanical objects are a pleasure to the eye, but they were never meant to be static art — they were envisioned and built to be used, in this case a "spirited ride" on twisty, hilly midwest backroads.

In the photo below, note how the R/W/B Interceptor always stands out in a crowd. But my favorite part of the story was a show of Eric's love for this machine: At an overnight motel stop, Eric recalls, "they were calling for rain overnight and I couldn't stand the idea of that. So I folded the mirrors in and tucked her in for the night...in the room." That's classic. Thanks for sharing, Eric, I only wish I'd been bringing up the rear on this ride.

What: 1994 VFR750F
Why: Nicely-kept survivor
Where: Maineville, Ohio
Price: $4000 firm

Considered by many as the pinnacle of the carburetor VFRs, the Gen-4 stands apart with its NR-inspired styling and excellent ergonomics.

This example shows 25,755 miles and is offered for sale by the owner of 25 years, who represents it as "never dropped, always garaged." There's a few nice extras; Two Brothers slip-on, Throttle Meister throttle lock and K&N air filter (original parts are included). The carbs were recently attended to and the bike photographs very well. I always enjoyed looking at and riding my Gen-4 bikes…and the unique white-faced tach sitting in the middle of the instrument panel is such a great touch!

Honda made several changes/upgrades when the RC26 F2 (700cc) replaced the RC24/26 F models (700 & 750cc) in late 1986. One of these was a change to a fully transistorized ignition system requiring several different components, including the pulse generators located inside the clutch cover. Another is the addition of "rocker arm spring"/"rocker arm guide" components in the head assembly surrounding the spark plug holes (1987 only). Reference the photos below.

Both of these items presented a roadblock to me yesterday as I removed and prepped the valve & engine covers for powdercoat on Project 41, a 1987 F2. I wanted to temporarily install spare covers while the originals were off for paint, but my spares happened to be '86 F model items. The alternator cover is interchangeable but the valve covers on the F have cast-in "towers" which interfere with the F2 rocker arm guide assemblies while the F clutch cover pulse generator bump-outs are too small so won't fit over the F2 pulse generators. I was aware of the clutch cover interchangeability issue but had never encountered the valve cover problem, which was a running change for the 1987 model year.

The photos below show the pulse generator bump-out castings on the clutch cover, and how the "towers" inside the F valve covers are "missing" from the later F2 castings, preventing the earlier valve covers from fitting the later cylinder head. This also required a change to the valve cover gaskets, which have individual round gaskets for the spark plug holes, instead of the earlier "bridged" gasket design — subtle, but necessary. As for the clutch covers, you can visually determine the difference in the two styles of clutch covers as the later F2 pulse generator cover's forward bump-out measures 1/4-inch (6mm) longer than the earlier F casting.

The take-away here is a reminder that changing out your Gen-2 engine covers for different items requires some investigation beforehand. While the later F2 clutch and valve covers should fit both F and F2 engines, the F covers will not fit the F2 engines. Clear as mud? Again, the alternator covers are interchangeable.

SOLD: $12,840

Recently sold at Iconic Motorbike Auctions, this 1989 VFR400R was the model's 3d-generation, the previous designations being NC21 and NC24. This generation fittingly took on the livery of big brother RC30 along with several of the 750's features.

​This example presents very well as a rider-grade bike, but has unknown miles without a clear explanation of that anomaly and a selection of small cosmetic issues to show its age — no representation of paint originality. Modifications include aftermarket shock and radiator along with a change to later RC30 forks. The bike lacks required labeling for California registration compliance.

I didn't follow the bidding, but it apparently failed to make reserve and was sold via a post-auction offer. Well sold.

Visit the Iconic link for a running video of this 400R.

Recently a reader from beautiful New Zealand contacted me with some questions about his 1986 VFR700 project. I had to ask, how did a U.S. "tariff-buster" 700cc end up 6700 miles distant on the bottom of the globe? His reply: "We get all sorts of bikes imported into NZ. I have an '86 VFR700 and an "87 VFR750. The 700 is from the USA and the 750 originally came in from Japan. I bought both bikes as projects. The 750 is not totally standard but the 700 is."

Below are before/after photos of the '87 VFR750, resplendent in its new Rothmans livery, and both Interceptors ready for action!

Project 41 is looking like a giant guillotine sliced off its rear third.

This began from needing to remove the swingarm for refurbishing. That job is finished, but while the swingarm is out of the way I'm also addressing the subframe and shock…and cleaning nearly four decades of oily drive chain grunge from the frame.

The plan is to install a new, custom-built shock, but this is also our opportunity to have access to the rear exhaust pipes in case we want to remove them. Once the shock's heat shield is removed the pipes and their attaching nuts are accessible. A final decision hasn't been reached on the exhaust choice yet, but if a new Hindle system is in this bike's future, now is the time to deal with the rear exhaust. In any event, I'll begin soaking those rusty nuts with Kroil penetrant just in case.

The steel subframe is ready for paint and its fender detailed. Cleaning the frame of all that chain grunge is a messy task, but having the rear suspended like this allows me to place a large tub under the area to catch most of that filth — one of the many thankless but necessary jobs that help take your project to the next level.

SOLD: $7500

Here's a classic display of the power of an auction, when two or three determined bidders drive the selling price beyond expectations.

This final-year 1986 VF500F Interceptor shows only 6385 miles and presents itself as a very nice survivor with just enough cosmetic flaws to show its age. With basic maintenance completed but in need of fresh tires, this little gem climbed $2000 in the final five minutes of the auction. Well sold.