About to join the club?

[nigelrb]

Heading off on a 3-hr trip tomorrow (Mon 18/6) to view a 1995 NC35. With great help from members' posts on here, I have been able to print off the series engine/frame numbers so I can be sure of what I'm looking at. Really excited about this potential addition to my Honda fleet!

[Suzuki416]

good luck - I love my 2...

[nigelrb]

good luck - I love my 2...

Thanks. I have other bikes but can't get a signature and avatar up yet. Have already emailed admin about the 'upgrade' process. Cheers!

[nigelrb]

Heading off on a 3-hr trip tomorrow (Mon 18/6) to view a 1995 NC35.

Very disappointing. No deal. Still looking.

[Suzuki416]

what was wrong with it..?

[nigelrb]

what was wrong with it..?

Perhaps I shouldn't be over-critical, but many of us are quite critical when it comes to seeking out the 'right' bike.

It had received a 'superficial' makeover; the tell-tale signs being evidence of rust and corrosion on many 'hidden' parts/bolt heads rear sub-frame, etc. The front tyre had shredded edges, which suggested it might have had some hard track days, and the underside of the header pipes had large creases - suggesting the bike had been down heavily. Sure, I don't expect a perfect 20-plus-year-old bike - but they are around. Further, it was just scrappy: bad fairing fit (non-originals). I'll keep looking!

As an illustration of what is available, I recently scored a mint 1985 VF1000R, with only 9,500 miles. I became the 3rd owner after it had been tied up in 'deceased estate' for a long time. (couldn't post pic, but the bike's in this thread from the Fireblade forum)https://www.1000rr.co.uk/threads/fine-s ... ost-461860

[Neosophist]

VFR400s were seen as cheap sports bikes by young riders back in the day though as they were cheap and plentiful and cheap to insure for young riders so most were run on a shoestring budget and abused / crashed to hell in the UK at least.

The VF1000R not so much of a young cult following.

engines are pretty bulletproof.

corrosion is going to be expected unless your paying top dollar as they are overly collected now.

my main concerns would be

origianal bodywork, frame / forks striaght / motor starts runs idles without any issues and no werid soudns or smoke...

everything else will need to be maintied replaced on any bike if yuo want it to be in really good condition (suspension etc will be well tired)

plenty usable but not as sharp as they left the factory.

you can still find some unmolested ones that were not crash damaged about, sounds like it would be your best bet so long as it was maintained half ok

still a few unmolsted ones knacoking around in Japan but even they are fetching more due to the ease of foreing buyers being able to get them exported.

[Kenthammer]

Noticed on a Blade forum he purchased a NS400R instead, so should see him over here at some stage I guess

[Faxe400]

Perhaps I shouldn't be over-critical, but many of us are quite critical when it comes to seeking out the 'right' bike.

It's better to be critical in the start and have less worries in the end ...

The VF1000R not so much of a young cult following.

engines are pretty bulletproof.

No. They suffer heavily from high rpm with cold oil/engine. In the 84 models Honda replaced the cams because of pitting. Lots of heavy worn cams due to this issue also on later models

[Neosophist]

Perhaps I shouldn't be over-critical, but many of us are quite critical when it comes to seeking out the 'right' bike.

It's better to be critical in the start and have less worries in the end ...

The VF1000R not so much of a young cult following.

engines are pretty bulletproof.

No. They suffer heavily from high rpm with cold oil/engine. In the 84 models Honda replaced the cams because of pitting. Lots of heavy worn cams due to this issue also on later models

vfr400 engines are pretty bulletproof. a lot of the earlier honda engines had lots of cam trouble and what not but i'm not talking about them.

Being critical is fine but you gotta be realistic too... espcecially in the UK the bike was super popular amoung younger riders who wanted a cheap TROUSER FIREWORK so even if it looks good now, unless you know the full list of owners and their riding habits there is every chance its been thrased to within an inch of its life for at least some or all of its previous life. (testamanet to the good engien actually...)

it depends on what you want really.. if you want a museum example then id probaly import a low mileage one from Japan

they are quite collectible in the uk now and ebay and the likes have driven the prices up, as long as you dont pay over the odds fro something that looks clean on the outside but is no better than anything else underneath then you should be fine.

pop the rad cap off when the bike is cold and check the colour of the water... rust is a good sign of neglect but not the end of the world.

usual gunge in the oil etc etc.

if youve not ridden one before get a ride on a good condition one from somebody on here if you can so you know how it should feel... ive bougth clean bikes in the past that were dying underneath and mad max looking things that were like new mechanical wise.

id try and go for somewhere in the middle if you are looking for something to save your wallet and ride and maybe mess with a litle.