Normally, I would not have touched one of Honda's vee fours. I was between bikes, the vendor was desperate to sell and as far as I could tell the motor sounded alright. A 1983 job with some 44000 miles done in tatty cosmetic shape. Mine for a ridiculous £275. He had been trying to sell the bike for six months with no luck. For that kind of money I figured I could ride the bike into the ground and flog it off to a breaker for spares, hopefully breaking even or making a small profit on the deal.
I must admit that I'd become rather spoilt by modern bikes such as the CBR600 and GPZ500. Light, powerful, flickable and hugely enjoyable. The VF750 was the converse, heavy, constipated, unwieldy and underpant soiling if you didn't put in total concentration. That the disc brakes were past their best was pretty obvious from the amount of pressure required and the lack of braking forces. The brakes ringed, clacked and screeched whenever in use, as if the pads were down to the metal (they weren't, I'm not that stupid). . . . I sussed that the discs were getting on the thin side but had no intention of replacing them. Engine breaking wasn't much help, mainly down to its massive weight.
Honda gearboxes are usually a bit strange, the VF's was par for the course. Not helped by a clutch that was vicious in its take-up. The bike lurched forward from a standing start, dead easy to squeal the rear tyre, a rather dubious Dunlop that undoubtedly was ill matched to the Metz on the front. As they had plenty of tread left I had no intention of swapping them for something better. As it looked like being a long hot summer, I figured I could take the substandard tyres. I found it easier to take off in second than risk the first to second change which usually locked the bike into neutral.
Luckily, the engine wouldn't rev beyond eight grand even when pushed into a false neutral so there was little chance of tangling the valves. The watercooled vee four motor was way off its claimed 90hp, not really wanting to pull top gear. Second in town and fourth on the open road were the best choices, which limited the amount of wasted effort expended on the gearbox and also gave adequate acceleration.
Thus, top speed worked out at about the ton, fuel averaged 30mpg and just about everything over 400cc could show the VF a clean pair of exhausts. As the bike was about as fitted for scratching as a Cossack outfit the lack of go was more reassuring than worrying! The suspension was still stock, so stability was never going to be anything to write home about, the best that could be said for it was even when thrashed flat out on the motorway the weaves never came anywhere near a speed wobble. I actually rode the bike over a brick at 80mph (inadvertently, I hasten to add, not as some bizarre means of testing the bike's stability) which resulted in just a single twitch of the bars.
As far as chuckability went, it all depended on how well endowed with muscle you were. Eight stone weaklings would soon be turned into screaming ninnies. Hitting bumps midway through bends, surprisingly, did little damage to stability, the VF was so damn heavy that it would take an off the scale earthquake to upset its poise. Of course, on the really twisty stuff it was relatively easy to get the suspension all tied up and scrape large chunks out of the tarmac with the stand prongs. I even got the back wheel off the ground once, which produced a massive lurch and clenched buttocks.
After a couple of weeks I got back into the swing of things. Within its many limitations, I could cover distance at an adequate pace and not scare myself silly too often. If all I'd known was seventies fours then I might even have found the VF an impressive machine. Even in its worn state it possessed a Harley type lump of torque at lower revs that made it easy to rumble along in town in second gear, although the transmission was so shot that it lurched and clanked below 40mph in fourth gear. From new, with the full ninety horses available and taut suspension it had probably been an exciting motorcycle.
The problem with VF's was always their engines. Hugely complex, they soon developed a reputation for taking out the camshafts, even doing in the pistons in short order despite the efforts of water cooling. I had no intention of doing anything to the engine, I knew that as soon as I started looking in to it, one fault would lead to another and before I knew what had happened I'd have the thing stripped down to the crankshaft. Even if I had another machine for spares, I knew that the resultant rebuilt motor would not be worth the effort in terms of on the road fun. No, I was going to ride the bike into the ground and flog off the remnants.
That said, I knew the chassis was due to give some problems. The petrol tank was rusty on the inside, some of the plastic bits were half hanging off and the chainguard was threatening to fall on to the chain. But it was the silencers that were first to go. Sure, they were mostly rust, but free of holes. The first came from the underside, quickly followed by a long crack that threatened to split the silencer in two. Some tin cans cut into plate and jubilee clips were used to good effect on both sides. I had access to a welding torch but reckoned that the heat would dissolve what was left of the ultra thin metal.
The dissolved baffling probably did not help the carburation, which was full of flat spots higher up the rev range. The carbs themselves were never balanced, which did not help matters. The airfilter was full of holes but they were necessary because of the layers of accumulated crud, probably the filter that came with the bike! The battery looked ill with corroded plates and terminals, but still churned over a starter motor that made alarming crunching noises until the engine fired up.
I was doing about 2000 miles a month and apart from minor hassles was surprised with the way the bike ran along reliably if slowly by the standards of the race reptile crowd. I had to keep an eye on the oil level as it needed a litre a week, which was okay in its way as I never bothered to do a proper oil change. There was an oil filter in there somewhere but I was never inclined to change it. A big Honda vee four does not have much credibility as a hack but the bike appeared to take to its new role in life as its natural mien.
Appearance degenerated to an even more horrid level as I never bothered to clean it. Rust and corroded alloy broke out everywhere. Some of my friends could not believe that the thing was still able to run, but it did. After four months of this neglect top speed was down to 90mph and the gearbox kept locking into second gear, often leaving me with a single speed motorcycle. This resulted in some pretty horrendous vibes thrumming through the machine when wound on to 7000 revs in that gear.
By the time 54, 200 miles were on the clock I knew the end was near. The top ends were giving out enough noise to indicate that the cams were breaking up whilst even headier knocking noises were being put out by the crankshaft bearings. I knew what I had to do. When I drained off the oil I stripped the oil bolt, so had to glue that back in. Then I added oil so thick it resembled syrup. The clutch dragged so much that it stalled the motor on the first three attempts at engaging gear, but I got the old girl going.
Next stop the local back street dealer. The engine was still pretty noisy but nowhere near as bad as it had been before, there was at least a glimmer of hope it would last long enough to get out of the showroom (the dealer probably figuring on putting in thicker oil). The bloke went for a test ride, came back complaining about the gearbox, the engine noise and the handling. The tyres were by then bald, the exhaust about to fall off and the appearance truly horrid. After a lot of haggling I walked away with 250 notes in my pocket, well pleased with myself.
Dick Lewis
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Cheapness and availability was all the VF750 had going for it. Oh, and it was in nice physical condition. And it just happened to run sublimely, that unique mixture of vee-four power and torque. So I thought why not hand over 600 notes and take a chance that it's notorious mechanical problems wouldn't arise. It's one hell of a complex device that demands, but rarely gets, dealer servicing.
The first couple of months went by in a blur of speed. It was the kind of bike that turned every ride into a permanent high, big grin time. I wanted more and more of its kicks. Although heavy, once under way the steering underwent a transformation, probably down to its relatively low centre of gravity. Combined with prodigious power, there was an excess of fun a mere twist of the throttle away.
The gearbox, alas, was typical Honda - all graunchy and full of false neutrals. Just as well that I could keep the engine in fourth for most of the time. Rely on a little clutch slip when speeds under 25mph were encountered - the clutch was a bit remote and grabby but I soon became used to it.
Of more major concern was the front brake. Twin discs that were unpredictable. Sometimes they were very powerful, other times they went into a disconcerting stuttering action. Of course, when I went to bleed the fluid the nipples broke off, leaving the threads deeply embedded in the calipers. What's more, one of the caliper's retaining bolts stripped the thread in its lug. Rotten alloy rules.
The local mechanic was let loose on the bike. Stripped and rebuilt the calipers, sorting out the threads, bunging in new fluid and pads, and getting the brakes working brilliantly. £77.50 for everything. Not bad given the amount of time and hassle he must've spent sorting out the mess.
This now gave a front brake that would screech the tyre and send the bike into violent stoppies. Great fun! Just the thing for impressing the local school girls. I gave up doing this after it bounced down hard once too often, crushing my marital tackle against the tank. I had tears running out of my eyes and must've looked a right sight!
Top speed was an indicated 150mph. Though the half fairing looks skimpy, I could crouch down behind it and actually feel the aerodynamics pushing the bike along. It seemed to enter a strange period of calm, the engine amazingly smooth and still a bit more power to come if I could find a deserted stretch of motorway. I only ever entertained very quick blasts at such speeds because the consequences on my licence didn't bear thinking about.
Not only that, but it takes an incredible amount of bottle to do those kind of speeds on a bike which is ever so gently weaving! I always had the thought that it was going to let loose in a big way, though it never really lived up to that kind of negative thinking. 150mph is bloody fast, believe me - horizons become very small very quickly and the cagers haven't got a clue how fast you're hammering up the road. Perception and reality do a runner.
Cruising speeds are just a matter of what you can get away with and how much money you want to spend on fuel. 80mph equals 40mpg, 100mph equals 35mpg, 125mph's roughly 25mpg and 150mph? - don't know as I never held it for long, but I'd guess 15mpg! Oil consumption was also high if the bike was ridden really hard - half a sump in 250 miles on one occasion. There were a couple of minor leaks but no signs of smoke being burnt off.
The same mechanic who did the calipers was willing to do the valves and carbs for £175. You need a special tool as the clearances aren't otherwise properly defined. As it was an expensive business I only had them done every 5000 miles. Apart from oil changes there wasn't anything else to do, so that expense was tolerable.
However, every 5000 miles, or so, the tyres went off despite having a few millimetres of tread left. The bike white-lined to an alarming degree and slid around on wet roads. It wasn't the kind of bike I had any confidence in pulling back if it ever slid in a big way. So over a hundred notes for a new set of Metz's. Plus new disc pads, although the chain lasted for over 10,000 miles. Not a cheap bike to run (fuel averaged out at 35mpg).
The bike was very versatile, though. It'll zoom around town, thanks to its instant power and relative narrowness. Country roads needed a bit of care but it was far from nasty. A-roads and motorways it took in its stride, that enormous surge of power making every car and most bikes look like they were going backwards!
Comfort was good for 100 mile journeys, needing a five minute stop for fuel and leg stretch, before the next session. On one memorable occasion I did over a 1000 miles in a day, all crazy high speed stuff that had me shaking with the sheer thrill of it all at the end of the day. I was in a permanent adrenaline high and if I'd drunk a cup of coffee would've exploded!
Over the months I grew to love the VF. It had none of the blandness that sometimes afflicts a straight four; had some of the character of a big vee-twin without ever having less sophistication than you'd expect from a Honda - I even learnt to master the godawful gearbox!
All good things have to come to an end. Or so I've been told. It took over 16000 miles before the VF's engine went down. It was my first autobahn trip - a testament to my faith in the Honda, however misplaced it might now seem. I'd been doing the ton-twenty, ton-thirty, for thirty minutes, or so, when there was a clunking noise from the engine.
Suddenly I was on a 120mph motorcycle that was engulfed in clouds of steam. I had to blast through the fat Krauts in their BMW's and Merc's for the side of the road. Luckily, my flow across the traffic coincided with an exit ramp. My rather unorthodox line must have caused no end of angst in the rigidly trained Germans, though when they clocked the UK plates it probably explained everything, at least in their minds.
In the end, I was coasting on the clutch, the motor seized solid. There wasn't any water left in the radiator. For some insane reason, I pushed the bike half the length of Germany into Cologne, where a Honda dealer offered me a 1000DM for what was left of the bike as he was a V-four enthusiast. They are expensive in Germany. I had about £400 after paying the train fare home. And, yes, I would buy another VF750!
Julian Harris
****************************************************
The bike looked so lovely that I decided I had to have it. I knew all about Honda's vee-four reputation but there was only one owner and the clock read just 15,600 miles. He also had the full service history. The bike purred into life on the merest hint of pressure on the starter button and revved with abandon when I tweaked the throttle. The vee-four chortle was exciting even without riding the bike
I felt right at home straight away, as if the designers had me in mind when they laid down the riding position (probably did as I am average height and weight). The bike was a bit heavy at the front end but motored off with just a bit of throttle.
The power bite comes in at six grand but it can be ridden along quite spiritedly without ever breaking into the heavy power at those revs. Plenty of low rev torque, one of the vee-four's good design points, but it can also rev as hard as a straight four without any of its vibration.
The only intrusion was a throttle that was connected to the four carbs by a very elastic bit of cable. Until I became used to it, I was never quite sure what the throttle was doing.
Hit on the real power, the bike roars forwards with a velvety feel and shrieking exhaust that really hits the spot. The VF didn't exactly feel well settled but then the tyres were about due for replacement and the suspension was original fare. I wasn't expecting a rocketship but the acceleration wasn't far off overloading my mind. For 950 sovs it had to be a bargain buy.
Replacement tyres, shock, fork brace, swinging arm bearings, a couple of end cans and a re-upholstered saddle were the immediate expenses... could've added up to more than the bike cost if I'd bought new but a scrounge around the nearest breakers found everything I needed.
The bike felt exactly the same. A nervous ride and heavy steering with mind blistering acceleration. 140mph on the clock, the vee-four motor smooth even when I hammered it close to the red sector. I really didn't like the way it weaved around once the 100mph barrier was crossed, felt like something was about to break up in a very big way.
Some investigation revealed slightly worn rear suspension bearings, so I had to pull all that apart, buy new bushes and shafts as there simply weren't any in breakers. A total pain in the backside, especially as I had it all apart once to do the swinging arm bearings and hadn't noticed the tiny amount of slackness. The one downside of the vee-four design was its excessive mass. That and its huge complexity, which led to its reputation for valve problems.
The handling still wasn't transformed. Some of the heaviness of the weaving had dissipated but it still felt like it wanted to let go, especially when more than 130mph was dialled in. One amazing thing about the VF, the minimal aerodynamics of the fairing added up to more than the sum of their parts, leaving me sitting in a pocket of still air even at truly silly speeds.
High speed cruising only limited by the rate at which the fuel was drunk - something like 20mpg at 130mph! It was a good day when it would turn in 40mpg, any slight mismatch in the carbs caused it to dive to nearer 30mpg. Not funny!
General comfort was good, just a bit of saddle soreness after a couple of hours riding. I did some mega sessions, 500 to 600 miles, without injuring myself but I found the controls and sheer weight of the steering a bit heavy going after a day's riding. I nearly fell off a couple of times when tottering through town.
There were a number of amusing incidents. The disappearing silencer, for instance. The fitting wasn't standard, so Honda can't really be blamed. Well, they can, for not fitting stainless stuff that wouldn't rot back to dust like the stock cans. Anyway, there I was cruising along the M1 at around the ton-ten when there was a noise like a steamroller coming from the inside rear of the bike.
I thought I'd met my maker but it was just the silencer falling off. I guessed this as about 90% of the power suddenly did a runner. I was down to motoring along at about 10mph on the hard shoulder, even then the noise was fearsome. Cagers sped past, glancing furtively at me, wondering what was going down and why their windows were shaking with the noise. Got me home in one piece, anyway, another raid on the breaker sufficed, though I had to buy two silencers to get a matched pair (not VF's).
Shortly after that the bike didn't want to start. I worried about holed pistons or burnt out valves but a quick look at the spark plugs revealed that the ignition was dead. Some furious phoning around the breakers finally found an igniter box for forty quid.
Then the back wheel bearings went from apparently fine to totally shot, leaving me stranded in the middle of our wonderful countryside just as all the storm clouds gathered right above me. Couldn't ride the bike like that, had absolutely no directional control. A mate was phoned and we had a fine old time loading the bike on to his boat trailer! The only way to stop it falling over was for me to sit on the bike as the trailer shaked and rattled its way homewards. It absolutely pissed down all the way!
Coming one after the other, I thought the bike was going to give serious trouble but then it seemed to settle down, did 5000 miles through mixed winter and spring riding. Performance fell off and starting became reluctant; one extremely expensive service later all was back to normal. The valvegear isn't a problem as long as the mechanic has the right special tool and knows what he's doing.
Ever the optimist, 2300 miles later, I polished the bike up and put it in up for sale at a fifty percent profit. Sold it within two hours of the advert appearing. It was a fantastic bike to ride but the running and servicing costs were too much for me. As well as the fuel, there were tyres that died in less than 3000 miles (the bike was plain dangerous when they wore beyond a certain point), front brake pads that wore out in 4000 miles and a drive chain that lasted about 4500 miles. Too much expense for me!
H.P.
****************************************************
The bike looked so lovely that I decided I had to have it. I knew all about Honda's vee-four reputation but there was only one owner and the clock read just 15,600 miles. He also had the full service history. The bike purred into life on the merest hint of pressure on the starter button and revved with abandon when I tweaked the throttle. The vee-four chortle was exciting even without riding the bike
I felt right at home straight away, as if the designers had me in mind when they laid down the riding position (probably did as I am average height and weight). The bike was a bit heavy at the front end but motored off with just a bit of throttle.
The power bite comes in at six grand but it can be ridden along quite spiritedly without ever breaking into the heavy power at those revs. Plenty of low rev torque, one of the vee-four's good design points, but it can also rev as hard as a straight four without any of its vibration.
The only intrusion was a throttle that was connected to the four carbs by a very elastic bit of cable. Until I became used to it, I was never quite sure what the throttle was doing.
Hit on the real power, the bike roars forwards with a velvety feel and shrieking exhaust that really hits the spot. The VF didn't exactly feel well settled but then the tyres were about due for replacement and the suspension was original fare. I wasn't expecting a rocketship but the acceleration wasn't far off overloading my mind. For 950 sovs it had to be a bargain buy.
Replacement tyres, shock, fork brace, swinging arm bearings, a couple of end cans and a re-upholstered saddle were the immediate expenses... could've added up to more than the bike cost if I'd bought new but a scrounge around the nearest breakers found everything I needed.
The bike felt exactly the same. A nervous ride and heavy steering with mind blistering acceleration. 140mph on the clock, the vee-four motor smooth even when I hammered it close to the red sector. I really didn't like the way it weaved around once the 100mph barrier was crossed, felt like something was about to break up in a very big way.
Some investigation revealed slightly worn rear suspension bearings, so I had to pull all that apart, buy new bushes and shafts as there simply weren't any in breakers. A total pain in the backside, especially as I had it all apart once to do the swinging arm bearings and hadn't noticed the tiny amount of slackness. The one downside of the vee-four design was its excessive mass. That and its huge complexity, which led to its reputation for valve problems.
The handling still wasn't transformed. Some of the heaviness of the weaving had dissipated but it still felt like it wanted to let go, especially when more than 130mph was dialled in. One amazing thing about the VF, the minimal aerodynamics of the fairing added up to more than the sum of their parts, leaving me sitting in a pocket of still air even at truly silly speeds.
High speed cruising only limited by the rate at which the fuel was drunk - something like 20mpg at 130mph! It was a good day when it would turn in 40mpg, any slight mismatch in the carbs caused it to dive to nearer 30mpg. Not funny!
General comfort was good, just a bit of saddle soreness after a couple of hours riding. I did some mega sessions, 500 to 600 miles, without injuring myself but I found the controls and sheer weight of the steering a bit heavy going after a day's riding. I nearly fell off a couple of times when tottering through town.
There were a number of amusing incidents. The disappearing silencer, for instance. The fitting wasn't standard, so Honda can't really be blamed. Well, they can, for not fitting stainless stuff that wouldn't rot back to dust like the stock cans. Anyway, there I was cruising along the M1 at around the ton-ten when there was a noise like a steamroller coming from the inside rear of the bike.
I thought I'd met my maker but it was just the silencer falling off. I guessed this as about 90% of the power suddenly did a runner. I was down to motoring along at about 10mph on the hard shoulder, even then the noise was fearsome. Cagers sped past, glancing furtively at me, wondering what was going down and why their windows were shaking with the noise. Got me home in one piece, anyway, another raid on the breaker sufficed, though I had to buy two silencers to get a matched pair (not VF's).
Shortly after that the bike didn't want to start. I worried about holed pistons or burnt out valves but a quick look at the spark plugs revealed that the ignition was dead. Some furious phoning around the breakers finally found an igniter box for forty quid.
Then the back wheel bearings went from apparently fine to totally shot, leaving me stranded in the middle of our wonderful countryside just as all the storm clouds gathered right above me. Couldn't ride the bike like that, had absolutely no directional control. A mate was phoned and we had a fine old time loading the bike on to his boat trailer! The only way to stop it falling over was for me to sit on the bike as the trailer shaked and rattled its way homewards. It absolutely pissed down all the way!
Coming one after the other, I thought the bike was going to give serious trouble but then it seemed to settle down, did 5000 miles through mixed winter and spring riding. Performance fell off and starting became reluctant; one extremely expensive service later all was back to normal. The valvegear isn't a problem as long as the mechanic has the right special tool and knows what he's doing.
Ever the optimist, 2300 miles later, I polished the bike up and put it in up for sale at a fifty percent profit. Sold it within two hours of the advert appearing. It was a fantastic bike to ride but the running and servicing costs were too much for me. As well as the fuel, there were tyres that died in less than 3000 miles (the bike was plain dangerous when they wore beyond a certain point), front brake pads that wore out in 4000 miles and a drive chain that lasted about 4500 miles. Too much expense for me!
H.P.