The good news; my winter off-season is half over! The bad news; my winter off-season is only half over. In any event, I'm making the best of it — Project 41 is in the assembly stage and coming together nicely. I've finally found time to get several sets of Gen-3 carburetors rebuilt, just waiting for the opportunity to get them tuned. For that I'll utilize my '93 VFR, but the lift is occupied with #41 for the time being. Parts orders and inquires are increasing as the season turns the corner, a sure sign that warmer days are coming.

As a mid-winter pick-me-up I'll share a 5-minute video from YouTube's V4 Rider, this time on a tuned Gen-8 VFR800 riding the Pampilhosa da Serra mountains in central Portugal. I like his riding style…note his cornering lines, he's a fan of the late apex, as am I. Also note his throttle/clutch/shift technique; he's very precise and barely fans the clutch lever — sometimes ignoring the clutch. He's good. Enjoy.

What: 1997 RVF400 (NC35)
Why: Beautiful, desirable, rare
Where: Orlando, Florida
Price: Auction; BIN $11,500

Often referred to as a smaller sibling to the RC45 (previous post), this little screamer was only available in the Japanese market. This final iteration of the 400cc V4 was a comprehensive upgrade over the earlier VFR400. Production actually ended in 1996 but left-overs were available for a few more years, explaining this 1997 example.

And this one enjoys a sampling of modifications, including Tyga bodywork, Ducati rear wheel, several carbon fiber bits and more. Whether these changes make the bike more or less desirable is up to the buyer to decide, but the buy-it-now price of $11,500 is in line with more original examples. Note that there's no mention of the missing turn signals and mirrors.

If you're the appropriate size and have the required flexibility, then the RVF400 is reportedly among the finest handling and fastest in this class. According to MCN, "Honda at their very best."

What: 1994 RVF750R (RC45)
Why: Rare, low miles, original owner
Where: Torrence, California (LA)
Price: $69,000

If you're still reading beyond the $69K price, you must know what's on offer here. Produced by Honda's HRC division for World Superbike competition, 200 road-going homologation RC45 examples were built, with only 50 going to the U.S. This model was an upgrade replacement for the iconic RC30, notable changes including fuel injection and shortened stroke. The U.S. model was rated at only 101 HP, the Euro model at 118, but the full-on race bikes could go to 190 HP. The bike distinguished itself with many important titles, including:
1995 AMA Superbike Championship
1996 Daytona 200
1997 WSB Championship
1998 AMA Superbike Championship
FIM Endurance World Championship SIX times!

This particular example, #43, is offered as an original-owner with only 3050 miles showing, and "total stock, untouched." Arguably the worst ad I've ever come across for such an exclusive and expensive motorcycle, it includes six bad photos and only 18 words in the description. I guess our seller assumes the bike will sell itself, and that's probably true. The most recent comparable I found is a 903-mile example sold on BaT 15 months ago for $66,500 (+buyer fee), so the asking price is in the ballpark. These bikes are few and far between, so here's your chance to own a piece of superbike history.

I'm always on the lookout for parts bargains. They're not as common as they once were, but a sharp eye can still spot one now and then.

Here's a great example. This is a New Old Stock Gen-2 rear Disc Pad Pin Kit from EBC. I've never seen one of these but what a bargain! This kit contains a collection of hardware you may want or need for your caliper rebuild, not commonly found in a caliper seal kit, for example.

From left to right in the photo, we have the no-longer-available "hanger" and its attaching bolt which secures the pad pins, followed by the two pad pins, and finally the pad spring. The pins and spring are still available from Honda, but if you were able to purchase all of this separately it would total about $70.

Our seller has this kit listed for only $10 including shipping! And, within one hour of my adding the listing to my eBay Watchlist, I was sent an offer for $9.50 — that's a little discount trick I've often used over the years to save a little on the hoards of parts I've had to buy.

I don't have a need for these parts, but if you're doing a complete caliper rebuild, maybe you do. The remaining parts required would typically be piston seals (K&S 19-1005) and the lower slider "sleeve," Honda part # 45111-MA3-006.

In the latest issue of Rider magazine, I came upon this on-road review of the Bridgestone Battlax BT46. These tires would be spec'd for the Gen-1 and Gen-2 VF/VFR models, as they're bias-ply construction — later models wore radial tires. There's very few tire choices out there for the 16" fronts/18" rears in the correct OEM sizes. I've sampled them on the Gen-2 but have always returned to Bridgestones, first the BT45, then superseded by the current BT46. There's more selection if you want to stray from original sizes but I've always found that the engineers got it right to begin with.

Our reviewer tested these on a newer Royal Enfield 650 and came away very impressed, with comments like, "reassuring grip," "predictable behavior, "clear feedback," and "precise handling and confidence in every corner." I agree; these tires are grippy, versatile and priced right. They even sport current tread design, giving a touch of modernity to our old bikes.

Also shown below are current prices from Rocky Mt. ATV/MC (Gen-2 VFR).

As a handy new year's bonus, posted below is a PDF file of an index to the major technical posts on this web page since the inception of V4 Dreams nearly ten years ago (!). It's provided by reader Michael S. through his thoughtful and generous effort. My web hosting platform doesn't provide for a search feature for the the "Archives," so I'm very grateful to Michael for indexing some 115 months of posts.
Scroll through the index on this page or download by moving your cursor near the bottom and clicking the download button.

It's time to ready the original fuel pump for installation on Project 41. The pump was working fine when removed so I'm going to give it a little love before installing. After a general cleaning, I remove the single screw holding the plastic cover and, using a old-school points file, I gently file flat the points set, just like we did to distributor points back in the day. This removes any unevenness or corrosion, giving a fresh surface for the electrical contacts. Then a general spray with electronic contact cleaner, and the cover can be reinstalled.

Honda still supplies the rubber "insulator" so I coerce that into place — warming it with hot water helps. That tang on the metal mounting bracket is there to hold the 3-wire stator connector, which I'm eliminating in favor of solid solder joints. That tang will now be in the path of the wires, so I bend it out of the way — it can be bent back in the future if desired. Finally, I ensure the wires' connector blades are clean, and this pump is ready to be bolted in place. 

Historical note: Back in the time of distributor points, if a points file wasn't available, we would just slide a matchbook cover between the points, which would effectively remove surface corrosion until it was time to replace the points set, part of a traditional "tuneup." The tuneup consisted of replacing the points (and setting the "gap"), plus the condenser, spark plugs and "setting the dwell" which was done with a hand-held meter measuring the time, in degrees, that the points remain closed to produce the required magnetic field for the coils to blast the spark plugs. The kicker here is that a tuneup was best done about every 10,000 miles, or once per year, unheard of these days.

As I pondered this, it occurred to me that younger generations might not be very familiar with the whole "matchbook" thing. But back when cigarette smoking was taken for granted, nearly everyone had a book of matches handy, especially us low-life motorheads who spent our days tinkering with muscle cars. And that's why we used the common matchbook to clean the points. An adjunct to the matchbook, of course, was the less-common matchbox, which the Matchbox toy cars were a reference to, and when emptied, were used to store tiny childhood treasures. "Hey pal, got a light?"

When restoring or refurbishing our bikes, all the bits and pieces will need some degree of attention. A few months ago I repainted the rear fender extension on Project 41. This particular piece was just too weathered to be saved with plastic restorer or black dye, so a few coats of black and satin clear paint brought it very near its original look.

​Last week came time to reassemble the components, but a common issue with the Gen-2 license light assembly is that the rubber mounting grommets (arrows) are no longer supple enough to grab and hold it from twisting side-to-side. Tightening the rear mounting bolts won't help, as they bottom on a "step" on the mounting bolts. There's a few ways to address this, but my simple solution is to add an internal or external tooth lock washer to the back side of the light — the washer takes up the void and the teeth mechanically "grab" both the rubber washer and the fender itself. Tighten the bolts and the light assembly is locked in place. Works for me.
​(click on an image to enlarge)

(Below) To finish up, I install the little license plate bumpers, often missing in action, but still available from Honda. I also give a little love to the dulled reflector lens before bolting it in place. This fender is ready to take its place on this project.