History Lesson

Hey guys being that I have never riden my VFR i was trying to do some research on the 86 VFR. Google search don't tell you alot but it does tell you the dominate version of the bike was the 750. I own a 700, so whats the difference between the 2 bikes? Is there a difference in performance levels are they the same or is my 700 a watered down version of the 750?

Also for you guys that currently ride 1, I know I'm breaking out a bike that's 25 years behind on current bikes what Should I expect once I hit the road because I will definitly have the oldest bike on base. One guy had a old 70's model goldwing that was his daily rider but he traded it in on a BMW RT. So now I'm the old man on campus will I be able to keep up?

 

your 700 is still considered a fast bike.
Don't get hurt on it please.
Will love to hear the ride report

 

I've got a 700, and if I don't watch it too much right hand wants to pull me off the bike. But keeping up will be based on your riding ability not the loss of HP to the rear wheel.

 

CC, i am glad to see the sensible approach that you are taking to put the 700 back on the road.

ensuring that the critical systems are made to be "right" before scootin around on potential issues is the smart mans program as opposed to the too often seen " i added some neon lights and racing stripes and now this bike totally ROCKS!" scenario.

as you read, there are fewer 750s here in the US due to the HD tarrif deal.
and while the 750 is a bit stronger and certainly more the collector bike...

i cant imagine that you won't get every bit as much joy from the 700 as a end user

PS- on the bowl gaskets, if you received them already, you will see that they are the same "flattened rectangle" design, and are not as soft as i/we usually think of like an o-ring. i just replaced 2 of mine with #041 o-rings from my local hydraulic shop for $1 each, they are a perfect fit, but time will be the final judge.

 

I think you'll be able to keep up with the modern ricers no problem.

Just be sure to hold on tight once you put it above 7K in anything past 1st gear. :smile:

 

I love my 85 vf700 It's amazing how fast it is after driving my car all winter. When I bought the bike I had never driven on a motorcycle on the freeway before, but I had to drive on freeway about 55 miles to get home.After the initial getting on the freeway...I loved it, and found myself pulling away from my friend in my car following me home. My bike had a completely wore out rear tire, and front tire was cupped, also the front fork leaked. Even with all those problems, I had full confidence in this bike. It is a heavier bike, but I have taken some corners at waay to fast of speeds and the bike handled great. If your all the way on it, be rdy when it hits 6k+ as others mentioned, the bike pulls very strong above that.Mine hesitates between 5-6k so I gotta press throttle a lot most the time.

If your on freeway passing a semi, stay towards the line on side of road. If your close to the semi, it will pull your bike towards the semi. Also, watch for potholes, big road kill, deer, etc.etc. If your a defensive driver to begin with that's a good thing. Just ride smart(no drinking and driving) and pay attention to everything. I have hit squirells, and racoons, and once the bike felt like it jumped a bit after hitting something, but remained stable. It's a great bike. I took a 55mph freeway corner at 90 in the rain on bald tires after I got mad at a truck that didnt want to let me in. The bike handled fantastic still. All though I have learned to control my anger and realize how much power I had. Anyways..hope something I said might help..good luck, have fun

 

CC, lets put this in perspective as far as an '86 750 being able to keep up with the newer bikes (your 700 isn't very far off from spec on the 750).... my bike, with slightly starved carbs on the low end no less, can keep pace with an '02 CBR 600 RR from dead stop to 115 mph (at one point I actually edged him by a front tire).

That said, I will admit that I'm not a fan of going super fast and gunning the engine, revving it up and showing off, so me doing this only served one purpose... ok maybe two... to blow out the dust from this bike sitting the past 2 years and prove to the dumb asses at school that didn't think she could do it. The Interceptor line is a formidable opponent on the street and on the track. There aren't many of us out there with them, let alone those who can actually ride them to the extent they were designed to perform at (I'll never get there) so when someone laughs at your '86 as being an outdated antique and unable to keep up... just know in your mind that you have one of the most sought after bikes of it's time in between your legs and that it CAN keep up with the big dogs.

Enjoy it, ride safe, and ALWAYS wear your gear!!!

 

I had an 86 VFR 750 that I bought used around '89'. There wasn't really a 'seat of the pants' noticable difference between the 750's and 700's. Of interesting note though...the bore size on the two bikes was the same. The extra cc's came from a longer stroke.

The reason for producing two similar bikes was first off...the 700 made it under the tariff size and could be sold at a competitve price with other japanese mfgs. Production of the 750 homologated it for AMA superbike racing. The 750 sold for considerably more money back in '86'...if I'm remembering correctly there was about 1500$ difference between the two.

 

Good to hear all the positive inputs,

Abner thanks for the comment on taking the sensible aproach, that was my goal from the beginning to take my time and learn the machine vice just getting it on the road. The ground work I'm attempting to lay is not to just get her running but to where she can be a daily commuter. She is down to just a frame now and at 1st I thought it needed alot of touch up but once we got going we decided it was better to adress everything rather than break it down this far only to have to come back and redo something we missed earlier.

Big Dukie my primary riding buddy and mechanic rides a 02 GXR-1000 like it's a Ninja 250, I'm not worried about speed with him the other 2 in my click rides a police issue BMW and the other guy has a little 600. I ride with them cause we have the same goals in a ride and thats enjoy the road and the ride. What fun is there in getting there if you can't remember the scenery or the route you took to get there. We pick a location and generally get there together and since the BMW can't hang with the sport bikes we move at his pace plus with a cop bike out front all traffic seems to move to the side cause they think he's a cop rolling up on them and no one wants a cop tailing them.

Haze you scare me man sounds like you look for stuff to run over and taking a curve at 90 in the rain com-on man I pray you was joking. Good input though I'm older bro all my dare devil days are behind me now I love to ride man thats it. I think I'm a good rider my Basic Rider, Sport Bike, and Experienced Rider cards ( military have to have all 3) are all current and I'll retake the sport bike rider course again on this bike to be qualified on this bike. Safety for me is not an option I'm naturally defensive when I ride I don't like being with traffic and I constantly scan for hazards if I go down I want it to be the 1 I didn't see that gets me not the one I could have avoided.

Lazy risky move pushing her against that 600 but I would have done it too to shut em up. Besides having a nice old bike I wanted something no one else had. In the parking lot at work besides the cruser guys you have a row of busa's, a few cbr's, and about 50 GSXR something, and ton's of R ones. There is no variation 1 guy gets a bike and next week 2 more have the same 1. No 90's models nothing with any nostalgic value it's all about shiney rims and power commanders. I can't wait for my 1st what the hell is that!!! That's why making sure she is clean is a goal for me but the fact that she can still perform is an added bonus. Looks and performance what more can a classic vehicle lover ask for?

I didn't know there wasn't many of us left though from the size of this forum I thought there was a huge fan base left. I'm happy I found my bike and you guys it makes owning it that much more fun and just think I haven't even rode her yet.