Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Above) VFR750R's engine sidecovers and cam covers are painted a dull, crinkly gold to lo ok like sand-cast magnesium. (Below) Cam drive i s via straight-cut gears, held in place by gea r ho lders between t he cylinders. 16 VFR750F fires cylinder one. followed bv cvlinder three 1800 lat er . with cvlin dcr'two firing '2700 degrees aft er that a nd cylin de r four firi ng another I800 a fter cylin der two T he adva n tage of that firing order. Honda en gineers say. is th at it evens o ut ex ha us t flo w. red uces back press ure a nd improves cylin der scavenging for beu er efficien cy a nd mo re torque. Li ke t he o rigi na l. the VF R 750F uses Keihin CV carbs, but th e lat est versions a re 34 m m vs. the 32 mm ca rbs used previous ly. Also new is a n al u m inum oil coo ler mounted under the fro nt of th e fai ri ng. ahead of th e for ks. T he cooler is fed by a second rotor in th e oil p ump; oil from th e cooler is m ixed wi th oil picked up directl y from th e sump and is fed through the o il filter to the transmissio n a nd m a in o il ga lley. whi ch feeds th e cran kshaft a nd camshafts. In the new system . jets sp ray oi l directly onto each camshaft lob e. T he e n g i n e is h eld as a stressed mem ber of the VFR 750F's new a lum inum fra m e. wh ich is bu il t. u p of rectangu lar-sect io n a lu m in u m alloy extrusions with cas t-al u m in u m alloy stee ring h ea d sectio n and swingarm pi vo t s u p po rt p lates. Th e frame mou nts a n extru ded a luminum a lloy. si ngle-shock swin garm; a steeltube su b-assembly bo lts to th e main fra me and carries the sea t. T RAC a nt i-d ive is bu ilt into th e VF R 750's fro nt for ks (the VF7 50F had that. too) but the system is lighter a nd sma ller than th e system used o n the o r igin al In ter cep to rs. T he for k tubes a re smaller as well . 37m m vs. 39m m . and th e fork brace is gone - th e o n ly t h in g betw ee n t h e VFR750's forks a bo ve th e wh eel is a plasti c. aerodyna m ic fender. Honda spo kesme n say that th e new frame is so rigid - with 50% more resistance to twisti ng for ces th an th e steel frame of th e o rigina l In tercep tor - a nd th e ma chi ne' s overall weight so reduced. that la rger fork tu bes and a fork bra ce a re unnecessar y. . T h e cast a lu mi n u m a llo y front wh eel is th e sa me size as th e o ne used o n the orig ina l Intercep to r. bein g a 2.50-16. bu t is pai nted whi te. T he rear wheel is a lso whi te. but is a 3.5018 vs. a 3.00-18. New fro nt brak e ca lipe rs a re ligh ter a n d more compact. Bra ke p ads use a 40% sinte red-rneta l co m p o u nd m o unt ed o n a plas ma-sprayed ce rami c bac k in g to red u ce w ar pi ng from heat. Fro nt di sc rot ors a re still I l-I nch , bu t a re drill ed to reduce we ight ; the rear di sc roto r is 1.6in ches smaller. Much a tten tio n went int o fai ri ng design a n d aerod ynamics. a n d the VFR750F has a frontal ar ea reduced to abo ut the same -as th a t' of th e sma ller \'F500F. With the scu lpted fro nt fender. th e fairi ng wo r ks to direct air through the la rge a lu m inum coo li ng syste m radia tor a nd th en o u t th ro u gh side d u ct s bu ilt in to the fa ir ing itself. The recta ngular. 60/55 -wall H 4 qua rt z-h al og en h eadl ight is mo u nt ed £l ush into th e front of th e fairing; rearvi ew m irro rs are s trea m l i n ed a n d fairi ng si d e flares offe r a certain amo u nt o f h and p rotecti on . Th e ra diator piv ot s forward on its u pper mounts to a llow acc ess to the forwa rd valve cover ; thi s m ea ns it's n o lo nger nece ssary to dra in a n d rem ove th e ra d iator prio r to valve adj us tme nt. It ·s easy to mon,ito r £Iuid levels in th e handl ebar-m ounted hydr aul ic cl u tch a nd front brak e reser voirs because the level windows face th e rider. And the fro nt bra ke lever . 'and cl u tch lever pdsi ti ori a re adjusta ble; di sta nce fro m the ha nd lebar is ch a n ged by tu rn ing a n ad j us tme nt wh eel. . The proo f o f th e specifications is in th e ridi ng. a nd it's in the rid in g th at th e VFR 750F leaves th e or igi nal VF750F far behind. It feels much lighter. much sm aller. fa ster. q uicker. more sta ble. eas ier to turn . T he bike sh ifts perfectly. not han ging up between gea rs. n ot hesitating. not mi ssin g shi fts or jump in g o ut o f gea r; th e h ydraul ic clutch . how ever. does have th e typically n arrow engageme nt and lack o f fricti on -point feel fo u nd on o the r m ach ines with th e same clutch actua tion system . T he engine is smooth a nd quiet; th ere's n o gear whi ne evide nt fro m th e camshaft g ear d rives. a t least non e th at gets p ast th e warerj ackets a nd fai ring. Pow er deliv ery is relativel y strong fro m id le an d builds steadily wi th rpm. th en ki cks in stro n g ly a t a bo u t 7250 rpm. th e en gine a ll th e whil e making th e pecul iar howl of a 1800 V-four race bike throu gh th e fo ur-into-two exha ust system . The engine revs an d revs a n d revs. easi l y topping 12.000 rpm in d ica ted with n o sign o f th e built-in rev limiter kicking in . Willow isn 't a particularl y hardbr aking track . an d th ere. the brakes a re stro ng a nd o ffer good feel without fading. But th e whi te whee ls quickl y show bra ke dust an d look d irty. At th e same tim e. th e h igh -m etal -content p ads a lmos t in stantl y groove and disco lor (blue) th e stain less-steel di scs. At th e same ti me. th e VFR 750F div es more u n der braki ng th an we expected . and dial in g u p the a nt id ive system selling kn ob to its fourth (a nd strongest ) posit io n reveal ed th a t th e system has no apparent effect. T ha t was especially noti ceable braking over bumps; addi ng ai r to th e frorit for ks (4.0 psi ) h elped . but th e front end still cha ttered ent ering so me rums. Anot her weakness shown hv th e for ks is a lack of rigidi ty wh en cha nging direct io ns qui ckl y at speed . Pu t th e VFR 750 int o a set of fast ess- turns (we mad e o ur o wn u p o n the Will ow • s tra igh ;hv ;iv. th e track itself lacki ng a rea'l set o f esses) requir in g sna pp ing th e bike fro m one side to a no the r an d the ' front en d twis ts up a nd get s beh ind in its steeri ng. the front wh eel moving lon g a fter lilt' rider has levered o n the handkhars . In th is ca s.... rnavh.. sa ving the weight of a fla t br;,n ' ba lled bet wee n the fork legs wasn ' t suc h a gr ea t idea. The stock tires did n 't help m uch . bein g bia s-pl y Dunl ops made i n J apan to H on da O EM specifica tio ns. th ose specificat io ns including cost. The 110/90-16 KI 55F front an d 130/ 80- 18 KI 5S rea r a ren ' t wh at we'd p ut o n a ny h igh -performance 750 destin ed for har d riding . and th e rear proved especia lly easy to overhea t. becoming slippery a nd prone to slidin g whi le exiting b u mp y. fast turns. T his wa s o n a rel ativel y cool. bl ustery day. On a red-hot summer day on bl istering p avem ent. these won 't be th e tir es to have. On th e o ther hand. th ey ma y be fin e o n th e street. In the meantime. thi s new VFR7S0F p uts Honda back in th e hi gh-perform ance 750cc hu nt . and gives Honda pil ot s a m achine wi th whi ch to batt le th e la test from Yamaha a nd Suzu ki in S to c k P rodu cti on roa d racin g . H onda doesn 't o ffer Suzu ki 's $ 1000pe r-win co n tingency progra m nor Yamah a 's S400-per- win p rogram. nor even Kawasaki 's SI 50-per-win p ro gram . But no do u bt th ere a re enough H onda dea lers raci n g . or enough ri ders su pporte d by H onda deal ers. th at VFR 750Fs will sho w up a t local stoc k-p rod uc tion -clas s races a nyway. But. su bje ct to a ll th e cavea ts abou t p ilot -p ro duction and race track-riding-on ly. where we expe ct th is Honda rna y rea IIy top its co m petition is o n th e street. It h as a bri lli ant engine, we kn o w tha t. and even o n the race track it feels more co m forta ble to sit o n a nd ride th a n a GS X R7S0 o r FZ750. T he re 's no folding up to fit betw een sea t a nd Ioot pegs a nd no reach for the bars. no cra m ps in th e thi ghs af ter a dozen la ps. T h e true test wi ll he wh en p rootictio n- Iine VFR750Fs a cr ual lv h it the road . \\' hell lh ey do. wa tch tliis space. • Honda V FR750F Engine type .• ..•. Wa te r-coo led 90 0 V -four Bo re x st ro ke 7 0x4 8 .6m m D is placement . .. . . •. •. . 748cc Com pression rat io 10.5 : 1 Carburetion .. . (4 134m m Kei hi n CV Ho rsepow er • .. . • . . . 104 bhp @ 10.500 rpm Torque . ... 56 .4 lb .-ft. @ 850 0 rpm Valves per cylinder . . . . . . • . .. 4 Int ak e valve size . • • . • . • . 27 m m Ex haust valve size . • . •. • • 23 m m Intake lift . . . . . . . . . . . • . 8 .2 m m Exha ust lift • . . . . . .• .• • 8 .2m m In cluded valve angle •• • • • .. 3 8 0 In t ake v alve t iming . • • • • • . . N .A. Exhaust valve timin g • . . . .• N .A. (measuring p t .) . . .. . •• . • . 1 m m Starting system ...... •. Electri c Battery rating • . . . . • 12V 1 2 A H Ignitio n • . . . . . . . . . . • • . • . . . COl Lubrication . . • •• • .•. . W et su m p Red line . .. ..•. . • . • 11 , 5 0 0 rpm rpm @ 60 m ph •• • • . • 4340 rpm Primary drive . . . .. • Stra ight -c ut gear Final driv e . . # 5 3 0 O-ring ch ain Gear rati os Prima ry ... . • . 33 /64; 1 .940:1 Final .. . .• . • . 16 /44; 2 .75 0 ;1 6th . .. . . •. • . 2 8 /29; 1 .036 :1 5th .• . . .• . • . 2 6 /30; 1.1 54 :1 4t h 21 /28 ; 1 .333 : 1 19 /31 ; 1 .6 3 2: 1 3rd 2nd . • • . . • . . . 1 6 / 33; 2 .0 6 3 : 1 1s t •. •. •. • .. • 1 3 / 37; 2 .84 6 :1 Calc ulat ed speed in gears at redline 6t h . . • . . .. • . • . . . . . .159 m ph 5th . . •. •. . • . •. • . . • •143 m ph 4t h ... . ... •. •.• . . .. 124 m ph 3 rd .. ... . . • . • . . . . • . 1 01 mph 2 nd • . . . . . .• . . . • . . . • . 80 m ph 1st . •... • • •...... •. .. 58 m ph Fram e ... . • .• . . .• . • A lum i num Rak e •. • . . • . . . . . . . • .• .... N .A. Trail . . . .... . •.• . .. •.•. . . . N .A. Front suspension type . ... Telescopic fork s Fork tube diameter . • .•. . 37 m m Fr ont w heel trav el • . • . . • . 5 .0 i n . Rear suspension type . .• Si ng leshock swinga rm Rear wheel travel • •• . • . • . . N .A. Front brake s ... (21 11 -in . di scs Rear brakes .. ... • . • 1 O-in . di sc Front w heel . ...• •• 2 .50x16-in . Rear wheel . .. ... •. 3 .50x18-in . Fro nt tire .. 11 0 /90-1 6 D u nlop K155F Rear tire ..• 130 / 80-1 8 Du nlop K 155 Clai m ed d ry weigh t .. • 436 Ibs . Est i m at ed wet weig ht 486 Ibs . Overall length • . . .. . . . . 85 .4 in . Overall w idt h . .. ... •. .. 28.9 in. 46.3 in . Ov erall hei ght W heelb ase • . . . . . • . • . . . 58 .3 i n. Fuel capacit y 5 .3 gal. Ground clearance 5 .3 i n. Seat height 30.7 in . GVWR 853 Ibs. Lo ad capacity . . . . ... • 367 Ib s. Red / w hite /blue Co lors Reta il pric e .. . .. . .• . . ....• TK

• Cover