1986 Vfr 750R Rebuild

[v4hrc]

On 1/9/2016 at 11:30 PM, rc30fan said:

Well its a sad day but I finally did it. This bike is now for sale.

I always thought I'd have this bike forever but after seeing how difficult critical engine parts are to get (i.e. impossible, at any price) this just isnt the bike for me anymore. I want a bike I can ride but this one is just too valuable. It needs to be on display somewhere so other enthusiasts can see it.

Its fully functional and I've ridden it once since the rebuild, in addition to starting it up dozens of times so people can hear it run.

Anyone who reads raresportbikesforsale.com will see it there shortly. I took a bit of a guess at the price. Its by no means a pristine RC30 but it has a different value. I'll also be contacting the Barber museum to see if they are interested, plus a collector in Sydney who has the polished frame sister of this bike.

As an RC30 owner, I just want to say thanks for getting it running and sharing the build. I saw your bike at the Handbuilt show in 2014 and really had no idea of its provenance.

[rc30fan]

Lets see some pictures of your RC30

[Switchblade]

Well its a sad day but I finally did it. This bike is now for sale.

I always thought I'd have this bike forever but after seeing how difficult critical engine parts are to get (i.e. impossible, at any price) this just isnt the bike for me anymore. I want a bike I can ride but this one is just too valuable. It needs to be on display somewhere so other enthusiasts can see it.

Its fully functional and I've ridden it once since the rebuild, in addition to starting it up dozens of times so people can hear it run.

Anyone who reads raresportbikesforsale.com will see it there shortly. I took a bit of a guess at the price. Its by no means a pristine RC30 but it has a different value. I'll also be contacting the Barber museum to see if they are interested, plus a collector in Sydney who has the polished frame sister of this bike.

As an RC30 owner, I just want to say thanks for getting it running and sharing the build. I saw your bike at the Handbuilt show in 2014 and really had no idea of its provenance.

And Welcome ..

[CornerCarver]

What does the NLOB on the heads stand for, "No Longer Obtainable, Bro"?

[Cogswell]

Thanks Guys,

I'm not sure what I'll replace this bike with yet. I might get another special V4, or I might invest it in a new business.

CornerCarver, I'm not with Ridesmart any more. I'm now a coach for California Superbike School so I'll be doing events all over the country this year. If you ever decide to do a CSS day let me know.

Shaun

Epic story - great read. A bittersweet ending for sure.

Will you be instructing at The Ridge in July? I've been thinking about attending the school for several years - may get to it in '16. Haven't decided if I'd want to flog the VFR or use one of the school's bikes.

Cheers

[HighSideNZ]

The main case bolts are a single use item and are supposed to be replaced every time the cases are split.

The grooves give a known and controlled stretch in the bolts as they are torqued to a specified tension and then finished with an additional 90 degrees.

Phil

[v4hrc]

On 1/15/2016 at 8:57 AM, rc30fan said:

Lets see some pictures of your RC30

 

This is the best picture I have of it. It was still in the previous owner's possession at this time. It's wearing track bodywork(obviously) and wheels.

[rc30fan]

The main case bolts are a single use item and are supposed to be replaced every time the cases are split.

The grooves give a known and controlled stretch in the bolts as they are torqued to a specified tension and then finished with an additional 90 degrees.

Phil

Thats what I thought too Phil but it turns out this is not the case. The same style bolts have been used in multiple VFR engines for years but none of the workshop manuals for these bikes include the final additional 90 degree twist. Honda trained mechanics are told to reuse the bolts. Even the race team that built my bike reused these bolts for years, with 3-4 engine rebuilds per season.

Lets see some pictures of your RC30

This is the best picture I have of it. It was still in the previous owner's possession at this time. It's wearing track bodywork(obviously) and wheels.

Looks like it has some nice mods. Whats the history of this one?

Will you be riding it?

[v4hrc]

Looks like it has some nice mods. Whats the history of this one?

Will you be riding it?

It's a Canadian, imported some years ago to the US but the importer was never able to get the title transferred(unsure of the level of effort put forth). The person I bought it from did the legwork on the title and sorted out any issues the bike had and added a few mods during the few years he owned and rode it. It has a tick over 10,000 miles now. I've had it less then a year and have been able to ride it some. One track day and a few hundred miles of twisty roads. I plan on riding it some every year. Too many people put them in their living room or garage and they never get seen by anyone. That's not why they were built and released to the public. Yours belongs in a museum because of its unique history. Run of the mill ones should be seen and heard for others to appreciate. I hope to have it for a long, long time and I also hope to put many miles on it in that time. Parts availability is always a concern but hopefully with AHRMA making them legal, some people will step in and start making consumables again. Ohlins has made a few batches of rear shocks and sold every single one they've made so there's definitely a market out there.

[rc30fan]

Heres an interesting update.
This bike is still for sale. I've had a few 'firm' offers fail to materialize but I'm not in a hurry to sell. As I said, if I can find someone who can make plain bearing shells to order I wont sell. But thats another issue.

Anyway, I'm in Sydney visiting family and I heard a rumour about the sister bike to mine. I followed up and look what I found:

This bike is identical to mine in all but a few ways.

- polished frame

- stock brake calipers

- ohlins steering damper

- endurance fuel filler

- welded-on side stand boss (required for homologated superbikes back in 1994)

- non-running. (Although it needs some serious work its nothing an experienced RC30 mechanic couldn't do)

Anyone interested can see more pictures here:

http://s841.photobucket.com/user/rc30rdr/library/Winfield%20RC30/sister%20bike?sort=3&page=1

[The Phantom]

Hi Shaun, is it the one at Western Motorcycles?

regards Murray

[v4hrc]

Check these people for bearings: http://www.bearingdistributors.com Never know...

[rc30fan]

Hi Shaun, is it the one at Western Motorcycles?

regards Murray

Thats the one. The owner, Ray, is a great guy.

Edited March 6, 2016 by rc30fan

[The Phantom]

I hope Ray was ok about wiping my drool off it

So, did you raise the possibility of Ray making it two from two?

[rc30fan]

He's not in the market for another RC30, although he knows other people who might be and said he will let them know mine is available for sale.

[atx]

Have you sold this beauty yet? Are you going to be at the hand built show again this year? Bummed i missed out on it last year...

[rc30fan]

Its still for sale. So far 4 serious buyers have pulled out at the last minute. A few people have asked if it would make a good race bike but the answer is a definite no. With no spares available for the NL0B engine, one small issue would turn the bike into a paperweight.

 

I had to miss the Handbuilt show this year. I broke my leg in two places in January (damn supermotos are fun right up to the point of impact). I'm off the crutches now, but walking around the show would cause serious pain. 

Did you go? Got pictures?

[atx]

Yeah no pics of the handbuilt show, i just couldn't make time for it. The rest of the weekend at COTA was great though as usual. Here is an album of pics i took fri-sun at the track, i need a better zoom lens but i still always take way too many pics and then just cull out what sucks.

http://imgur.com/a/HdjFm

Next year i plan on taking the 86 to the track.

[Chris71mach1]

I'm so mad at myself for having taken so long to discover this thread.  What a fantastic build and a gorgeous bike!  If you're in DFW and still happen to have the bike, I'd love to see it one of these days!

[HighSideNZ]

So this is an Ex Anthony Gobert RC30 so was probably run out of the Nova Honda (Vince Genova) dealership in Melbourne?

[bmart]

Anthony Gobert...there's a sad story. 

[Fastdruid]

On 12/13/2013 at 9:34 PM, rc30fan said:

As far as I know the motor mount position is stock. What you're seeing is extra aluminum welded on by the race team to reduce/prevent flexing. I have noticed though that the Moriwaki chassis made for this engine actually uses the motor mount down in front of the sump - much like the RC45. That's some forward thinking engineering right there.

 

Thanks for sharing, love to see the differences between the various RCs, particularly the ultra rare versions. Shame you feel you need to sell but totally understandable. It's hard enough for parts for the "common" older VFR's without the problem of rare "unobtainium" parts. 

 

The low down mounts though, more likely carried over from the RC24. The RC30 being essentially a production version of the RC24 '6X' engine with new/better heads and a *much* better more advanced production version of the chassis from the (endurance/prototype race bike) RVF750. But the RC24 also used those mounts so it wouldn't have been a massive leap for Moriwaki to experiment with (re)using them and then of course Honda then did the same with the RC45 (and similar with the baby NC30->NC35).  

 

"Bubba Shobert's VFR750" 

 

 

Moriwaki RC30 Chassis 

 

 

 

 

[Philois1984]

Very enjoyable video.