What: 2001 VFR800
Where: Ramona, California
Why: Well-preserved w/extras
Price: $4800

​This beautiful final-year 5th-gen VFR has been listed on the ADVrider site for about six weeks, the only things possibly holding back a sale being the time of year and a slightly optimistic asking price. Showing 20,000 miles and boasting a nice list of upgrades, our seller assures us that the "bike runs and looks incredible."

The photos do look great, and a few of the original parts are included with the sale. This would look great next to the tree on Christmas morning.

Ken Kaplan is an over-enthusiastic motorcycle flipper with shops in Connecticut and Arizona. His alter-ego, Kaplan America, sometimes comes through via his YouTube channel and a couple of episodes on the Discovery Channel's "Kaplan America." He seemingly has endless supplies of vintage bikes of all description, and he's now offering four Honda VF models listed on eBay auctions. All bikes are project status without titles, and all have a video included in the listing.
(click on images for eBay links)

In April of 2022 a shipper dropped off this 1993 VFR750 after being rescued from a backyard shed in Pompano Beach, Florida. The previous owner, Quinn, had one request: do my best to give his former friend a second chance at life. That's kinda what I do, so I accepted the challenge. Upon arrival I stripped the bodywork and gave the bike a general assessment. The odometer is crowding 32,000 miles and the corrosive salt air has done its work over the years, but it's complete and much of the pearl white bodywork is useable as is.

This VFR had a near-death experience long ago in its past — the story goes that it was stolen, but when the kids couldn't get it started by trashing the ignition switch they rolled it down an embankment, damaging the plastics. The insurance company totaled the bike but the owner saved it, repairing the switch and plastics so the bike could live on. Eventually it wouldn't fire up, likely due to inactivity, and the months turned to years till it ended up on my lift. I've seen this story played out many times, but these Hondas were built too well to die that easily.

(Below) I always begin with the carburetors — these had no issues so after an ultrasonic cleaning and fresh jets they were ready to go back on the bike for syncing. But this engine hasn't run in nine years, so before startup there's some critical steps in bringing it back to life. First, I change out the oil and filter; I like these fiber coated aluminum drain plug washers. All the emissions hardware is discarded.
(click on an image to enlarge)

(Below) Next up is the valve clearance check, but first I add some Marvel Mystery Oil to the cylinders using a straw and small funnel. Then liberally pour oil over the valve train. After a day or two I turn the engine over by hand followed by lots of revolutions using a hand drill (or the starter button). This will circulate the engine oil. This engine spun like butter.

(Below) The valve clearance checks revealed that nearly all needed adjustment, requiring the removal of all four cams. For an in-depth demonstration of the procedure visit my YouTube channel. Once reassembled, the compression checks were all within eight psi of one another. The previous owner included new NGK iridium spark plugs.

(Below) Finally, before running the engine I need to plug the four PAIR ports, front and rear (see the "Maintenance" page; Plugging The PAIR Ports). Pictured here are the rear lines being removed, requiring the removal of the shock, which I'll be replacing with a custom unit from DMr. The two airbox emissions ports are also plugged.

SOLD: $42,250 (auction)

Sold via a Bring A Trailer auction, this 1988 Canadian VFR750R fetched a realistic selling price and is heading back home to Canada.

This RC30 has 3700 miles and was refurbished with beautiful fresh paint and maintenance brought up to date.

​Visit the BaT listing to view several videos.

SOLD: $3950 (auction)

This is a rider-grade 1983 VF750F Interceptor showing 35,000 miles. This bike represents an important milestone for its genre, often called the first modern sport bike, and this first-year model shows nicely.

This is an excellent way to enjoy the world of classic motorcycling…with the additional panache of V4 power.

When I acquired Project 40, a 1986 VFR700F, the seller included a grungy old Kerker dual-muffler slip-on with his large stash of "excess" parts. When it came time to decide which exhaust to use on this project, I pulled the Kerker off the shelf for an examination. Under the layers of rust and dirt I found good bones — no dents and just superficial scuffs. This will do nicely.

This particular Kerker has muffler pipes which are grafted onto the stock VFR header collectors, an unusual approach which saved the manufacturer lots of design work while assuring the end user a system that fits correctly.

(Below) After a thorough degreasing/cleaning I begin this process with the aluminum mufflers. The more severe rash is gently ground smooth with the help of a die grinder with medium scuff pad in place, followed by lots of hand sanding using progressive grades of grit. In the middle photo corrosive pock marks are visible, and I want these gone...more sanding. I finish with an 800-grit and, in this case, a gray painters' scuff pad to give the finish a brushed look. During the muffler work I'll need to handle the black steel pipes so I wait till I'm finished with the mufflers before the high-heat paint is applied. The pipes could also be powder or ceramic coated, but here I chose spray paint because I like the original look it provides. The flat black will be rubbed out in a few days to give it a nice factory sheen.
(click on an image to enlarge)

(Below) Next, the end caps need lots of attention. These caps are directly subjected to corrosive exhaust gasses, so I begin with aggressive sanding, even resorting to an orbital sander on the edges. I'm left with clean aluminum, but those sanding marks won't do.

(Below) More hand sanding, again finishing with a gray scuff pad. For the caps I'd like a bit more shine, so a single pass with aluminum polish does the trick. That black residue on the cloth is aluminum — polishing aluminum requires lots of cloth. The black recesses are finished with high-heat paint applied with an artist's brush, this took three coats; any excess wiped clean with solvent. Can't forget the muffler clamps.

(Below) Finally, I'll need to repack the baffles, using a fiberglass muffler packing material sourced from eBay. After marking the required length, just cut with a scissors and wrap around the core. 

(Below) Here, I'm figuring how much of the packing will fit inside the housing, which I mark, then cut the excess. The packing doesn't require securing except maybe when fitting it into the muffler housing, You'll often see thin wire used for this but masking tape works fine also. Finally, I fit the end caps with nicely polished button screws.

It's a problem as old as the industrial revolution…how to remove rusted fasteners. Google the subject for lots of ideas, good and bad, but the first thing most of us reach for is a penetrating oil. Here's a helpful Classic Car Restoration Club article referencing a study which scientifically rated the effectiveness of various popular penetrants.

Here's their list showing breakout torque required using the different oils:

• Nothing = 516 ft. lbs.
• WD-40 = 238 ft. lbs.
• PB Blaster = 214 ft. lbs.
• Liquid Wrench = 127 ft. lbs.
• Kano Kroil = 106 ft. lbs. 
• 50/50 blend of ATF and Acetone = 50 ft. lbs.

I've usually used PB Blaster but always hated its offensive odor. After seeing this comparison I switched to Kroil which is not nearly so pungent. The ATF/Acetone blend is a simple and effective solution also, but remember it's very flammable, so I save that for the worst cases. Check out the full article for more tips.

A few days ago I was revisiting a Motorcycle Classics magazine article from the July/Aug 2015 issue which featured Laf Young's restored 1986 VFR750F. In it, the author spoke to the transition to gear-driven cams for the 2d-gen Interceptor make-over.

"Driving camshafts by gear isn't without its own issues. Gear lash can make accurate valve timing more difficult, and timing gears are noisy. To get around the lash issue, Honda used a spring mounted "scissor" gear system — essentially two gears side-by-side and slightly offset — on the cam drive gears, offsetting the teeth by roughly half of the pitch. This allowed the lash to be entirely taken up by the tension of the two teeth resting together. The gear-driven cams went on to be a key feature of the later VFR750R."​

I've just completed mechanical checks on Project 39, a '93 VFR750, which required removal of the cam gears in order to change the valve shims during the adjustment procedure. In the above photo, the removed cam gear is no longer under spring tension so the offset is clearly visible.

(Right) Here, the cam gear is back in place and the scissor gears are back in alignment.

This is an example of yet another hidden bit of technology which make our VFRs a bit more special than the rest. 

For us hobbyists, Harbor Freight stores can be an economical source of supplies and tools. For the professional who needs to count on his or her tools for their income, then a step up in quality may be in order.

Here's a case in point. I have this thermometer which I mostly use for measuring exhaust pipe temperatures on startup to determine if all a bike's cylinders are combusting equally. That way I can be confident that a freshly rebuilt carb set has functioning choke systems, for example. Aim it at the outlet side of the thermostat housing and you're able to determine when the thermostat opens.

Easy to use — just pull the trigger for an instant temperature reading. There's also a selection of settings which help the tool give accurate readings on differing surfaces.

Hurry, this price ends December 4.

I recently took inventory of my carb stash and found several sets are patiently awaiting their turn in the ultrasonic cleaner for a cleaning and rebuild. The final step of the process is to mount them on a running bike for operational checks and syncing. Well, with Project 40 sitting idle while I wait for some parts, I have a perfect place to take care of the tuning part, at least for the 2d-gen carbs.

One of the cool parts of Project 40's build is mounting a set of freshly restored period Kerker slip-ons. I've never had a dual Kerker system in the shop and was anxious to hear them on the bike. The mufflers got treated to hours of rust removal and fresh black paint, and several more hours spent on the aluminum canisters and end caps. I also repacked them with fiberglass mat.

I think they sound great! A camera phone can't really capture the sound and we're stuck inside a garage, but so far I like 'em.

I've recently rolled Project 39, a 1993 VFR750, onto the lift for its preliminary mechanical checks in preparation for its first start in many years. After stripping the bodywork, carbs and radiator, I gave it a once-over with compressed air to remove any debris that might get into the engine internals when the cams are exposed. In the process, I found that the clutch and alternator covers are riddled with underlying corrosion, allowing the paint to blow right away. I've no way of knowing if they had been repainted at some point, but I sure hope that the covers are salvageable when their time comes.