Cool article first gen

I don't know if you guys have already seen this, as it's about a year old, but here it is

Honda VFR History: Part II- Honda V45 Interceptor History Feature

 

Awesome! And it has a link to Part 1 of the story. Thanks for sharing.

 

my very first street bike 84 red Interceptor $5000. GOD, that was a great bike Thanks for the artical Kweezy

 

Thanks for the artical, It was a good read. :thumbsup:

Paul

 

Wow, when I opened the article and saw that picture of the beautiful 1st gen Interceptor, it took me back to when we pried the very first one out of the crate and marveled at how awesome it looked. I remember riding it and being simply amazed at the linear power it put down and how skinny it felt compared to my CB750F. It was so smooth that I rode it about 30 miles in 4th gear thinking I was in 5th because you just couldn't tell unless you knew the ratio of revs vs speed. Those were amazing days in the motorcycle business!

 

Rode mine to Laguna 8 years, then to Colorado, Utah, Tahoe , Oregon and BEYOND-boy do I miss that red beautiful bike. That was the perfect bike for me to learn on

 

I just finished reading both Part I & II. They mention a Part III, but didn't notice any link to it. I love what they had to say about the VF500F and that the VF1000R might be the most collectible. I thought that this quote was some good insight into the whole cam / top end oiling issue that plagued the 1st Gen bikes:

"Some early V45s had camshaft problems due to mismatched tolerances between the bottom halves of the cam journals, which were machined into the heads, and their separately cast caps. Improper tolerances could lead to destroyed camshafts, and the whole expensive episode/scandal led to serious loss of face for Honda and its new V-Four for years to come."

 

Good article in Motorcycle Classics as well:

The First Sport Bike? The 1983 Honda VF750F Interceptor - Classic Japanese Motorcycles - Motorcycle Classics

(is it just me, or are all the magazines starting to all write about the same bikes at the same time?)

 

Yes that seems to be the case. When you go to the magazine stand you see the same bikes on the fronts of all the mags. But it makes the buying decision easier, just pick one and you have the equivalent of all four major mags in your hand. It really sucks when you are on a long trip and need reading material. I have been buying the Top Gear magazine lately as it is quite entertaining and rather thick too!

 

We both had the same experience. I helped uncrate and assemble the first one Penton Honda got. Frame #820. It was later sold then wrecked and rebuilt by me and is still in the garage. Just went on a 380 mile round trip yesterday on a mission of mercy. Ran the slabs at 80 and back roads around 50-70 and the bike was flawless. Handles instantly, rides smooth, just wish it had more power at times. Back then when I first rode one,I had CB750F at the time, the VF had power up the ying yang. Yes your right great days for motorcycles back then.

Thanks for the article/links Kweezy. I'll save those.