After recently finishing Project 24 I cleaned up the shop, straightened the shelves and thought I'd find time for some smaller projects sitting on the back burner. But then I stumbled upon this on my local Craigslist:
This is a 1998 VFR800FI, first year of the redesigned fifth-generation Interceptor. The "I" in the model designation stands for "injected," marking this as the first fuel-injected VFR. While the visual aspects of the frame and body remained familiar to VFR fans, the engine was a major redesign. From my "Historical" page:
"With a nod to the RC45, the V4 mill was substantially reworked; the bore & stroke numbers of 70 x 48.4mm, around since the beginning, were nudged to 72 x 48mm for a total of 781cc. The cam gears were moved to the right side of the engine and compression bumped from 11:1 to 11.6:1. The engine was a few pounds lighter, a bit narrower, a few more ponies (108 HP claimed) and redline bumped to 11,750 RPM.
A new chassis was in order; lighter, stiffer, with a shortened wheelbase and steeper rake. The excellent Pro-Arm single-sided swingarm remained, but it and the shock now pivoted directly from the engine cases, something Honda dubbed "Tuned Flex." Brakes were in for a major upgrade; a dual linked braking system, DCBS, wherein both the front and rear levers actuated portions of the others' calipers. It was techie, it was cool and it worked, Rider magazine calling the system 'world class.'"
This particular bike was found in a northwest suburb of Chicago in the hands of its second owner, a 30-something who used the bike as intended — sport touring in the western U.S. It's now showing just north of 17,000 miles and is in very much original condition, with the addition of an aftermarket windscreen and control levers. Maintenance is up-to-date, tires are fresh and the bike runs perfectly and tracks true. At some point the first owner went down on the left side, cracking the headlight fairing and adding some rash to the side fairing. My job will be to repair the cosmetic damage. The rest of the bike is in gorgeous condition, but I'll want to source the missing passenger seat cowl as a finishing touch. Honda actually still has the fairings available, but the premium cost is probably prohibitive for this project and I may go the repair/repaint route if we can satisfactorily match the paint.
This will be my first experience with the fifth-gen Interceptor. I did a shakedown run of about 40 miles and my first impressions are that the bike is very comfortable, extremely composed and smooth. The stock muffler is very quiet and actually lends an air of overall sophistication and quality. I've heard owners gush that this is the best of the Interceptors; I will say it's impressing me.
"With a nod to the RC45, the V4 mill was substantially reworked; the bore & stroke numbers of 70 x 48.4mm, around since the beginning, were nudged to 72 x 48mm for a total of 781cc. The cam gears were moved to the right side of the engine and compression bumped from 11:1 to 11.6:1. The engine was a few pounds lighter, a bit narrower, a few more ponies (108 HP claimed) and redline bumped to 11,750 RPM.
A new chassis was in order; lighter, stiffer, with a shortened wheelbase and steeper rake. The excellent Pro-Arm single-sided swingarm remained, but it and the shock now pivoted directly from the engine cases, something Honda dubbed "Tuned Flex." Brakes were in for a major upgrade; a dual linked braking system, DCBS, wherein both the front and rear levers actuated portions of the others' calipers. It was techie, it was cool and it worked, Rider magazine calling the system 'world class.'"
This particular bike was found in a northwest suburb of Chicago in the hands of its second owner, a 30-something who used the bike as intended — sport touring in the western U.S. It's now showing just north of 17,000 miles and is in very much original condition, with the addition of an aftermarket windscreen and control levers. Maintenance is up-to-date, tires are fresh and the bike runs perfectly and tracks true. At some point the first owner went down on the left side, cracking the headlight fairing and adding some rash to the side fairing. My job will be to repair the cosmetic damage. The rest of the bike is in gorgeous condition, but I'll want to source the missing passenger seat cowl as a finishing touch. Honda actually still has the fairings available, but the premium cost is probably prohibitive for this project and I may go the repair/repaint route if we can satisfactorily match the paint.
This will be my first experience with the fifth-gen Interceptor. I did a shakedown run of about 40 miles and my first impressions are that the bike is very comfortable, extremely composed and smooth. The stock muffler is very quiet and actually lends an air of overall sophistication and quality. I've heard owners gush that this is the best of the Interceptors; I will say it's impressing me.
The cams are still gear-driven, but the gearset is moved to the right side of the engine. This will be the last of the gear-driven cam VFRs.
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