Honda VFR750 Retro Racer

 

Taking a mid-90s staple on the track, Purpose Built Moto, took apart and rebuilt this Honda VFR750 following a vision of a retro racer from the past. Obviously we couldn't stay too close to form with a particular sub-genre of track bikes, choosing instead to cross the boundaries of 80s enduro, early 90s sports appeal and a healthy dose of our PBM style. All mixed together to create a fast and eye-catching retro sport that looks straight out of your favorite synth wave music video.

 The base bike, a 1994 Honda VFR750 gear drive cam. They started with a well-maintained, running machine that was a little too rough on the edges. After a lifetime of checking doors in parking lots, leaving a garage once or twice, and then dropping a minor on the street, the Honda heart had a lot to give, but style was applauded and needed our thoughtful touch. capable and hands available.

The first step was to take it apart, take stock and see exactly what we were working with under all that broken plastic. The VFR is a light bike, with a low belly and once the fairings are removed, very little visual weight on the tail. Just how I like them.

They wanted to try their hand at a faired motorcycle, so after some hunting I set my sights on an Airtech tail and fairing and kept them on the road. In the meantime, they fabricated an aluminum subframe, fitted a set of performance manifolds and cleaned the old fairing mounts. The stock '94 magnetic rear wheel was treated for an 8-spoke Honda RC30 wheel, a much better style and more suited to the developing idea of ​​what this bike would become.

With the new front fairing and new tail in hand, he began work on making the stainless steel mounts on the front end. The front clip that unlocks from the neck of the frame houses 2 x 4.5 "PBM LED headlights, Daytona indicators and mounts the front fairing. All removed with 2 bolts. The fiberglass kit has been cut and modified to fit the cooling system and to the VFR750 tubes.The front is an aluminum sheet front fender, which uses an Ally universal fender and some hand-bent plates welded and finished at the rear.

In the cockpit we have centrally mounted vertical gauges, with a temperature gauge mounted under the left side fairing. Clips on Tarrozzi bars, reconditioned Nissin levers and a pair of Moto 3 Purpose Built pushbutton switches.

With the tail section now fitted, the exhaust was completed with a pair of 38mm torpedo mufflers, hanging from a decorative X-mount that we fabricated using our own stainless steel fabrication caps. A set of dual Orbit brake lights and Hollowtip LED turn signals are mounted in the tail.

The Honda rider was starting to develop a strong style, but he was also covered in fluid round shapes, something that presented a challenge for our next task. Make the side fairings from scratch. This was a nice process where our Instagram followers took a look at the end-to-end process as it happened.

It started with some foam blocks mounted where the side fairings should be. Slowly and painfully they shaved and shaped until the shape began to reveal itself. The overall structure was quick, however the details took some time.

Battle between the numerous straight, sharp edges of the frame and wheels and the smooth curves of the retro-styled mounted body kit. In the end, however, I'm happy with the result.

The molded fairings in a simple ventilated design, with a teardrop detail that flows towards the rear of the bike. This detail also gave us a module to work with a little further on the graphics kit. So once that was done, I had to mirror it for the other side…. Which is a proof with which I will not bore you here.

As the body took shape, we were busy reassembling all kinds of gizmos and gadgets from the original VFR750. Includes oil cooler, ignition coils, fuel pump and fuel shut-off cock. As big as the bike may seem, it was still a challenge to put everything back in place.

On the more mechanical side of things, the wheels and main pumps have been steam blown to restore their original condition and left unpainted to give a brilliant silver finish.

Purpose built moto