This is an AUCTION for a 1985 Honda VF1000R.This iconic bike is nearly complete and a good candidate for restoration, if desired….or ride it as is, like me.I am selling-off a few bikes from my small collection. I am an amateur bike builder and get projects that appeal to me. Mostly unique Japanese bikes that I can ride. I am not interested in restoring bikes as pristine showpieces…I do riders!The bike has about 49,00 miles. I don’t know the long history of the bike, as I have owned it about two years. I got the bike from a guy in Portland Oregon in 2022. It was fairly complete, but neglected. It had been sitting in a parking garage for 5 years. I am a hobbyist/collector…and always liked this model, so I got it to make a rider…not a restoration. I did a bunch of fixes mechanically and cosmetically, given the fact the bike had been sitting for so long. Work included: New petcock New fuel lines Rebuilt carbs Cleaned fuel tank Changed brake fluid and bled brakes Oil change New tires (matching set of Shinkos) Recovered seat New seat cowl Repairs on fairings and sidecover
bodywork Paint and graphics Grips (aftermarket) Repair of broken clutch lever New Battery New sparkplugs It runs and rides great. I took the approach to make it a viable and fun rider for rallies and poker runs…and not spend the time or $$ for a full restoration. My goal was to make it run and look good, but not get hung up on everything being OEM perfect. With that in mind, following is a list of work and conditions that make the bike presentable, but are not “concourse” quality: Fiberglass work on fairing to repair
multiple cracks and damage. Not extensive (It did not appear the bike had
been crashed hard..but it had been dropped a couple times in its life). Repair to sidecover bodywork on left
front. Parts were broken/missing so I made the missing pieces from
aluminum and glassed them into the plastic shell. Fabricated aluminum rear seat cowl. I
tried to source an original seat cowl, but all I could find was
rotten/cracked one for $250…so I made one from .090” aluminum and made the
small butt pad. It looks stock…but it is a little different from the
original plastic version. Paint (on tank, farings etc.) had a
lot of dings and blemishes that were touched-up (not repainted in total).
Tank is in good condition inside and out, but has quite a few dents. See
pictures. Overall, paint looks good for a bike that gets ridden…but is
definitely not show quality. I call it a “10-footer”…meaning, it looks
great from 10 feet, but the finish looks a rougher up close. Engine compression checked: 3
cylinders at about 110psi, left front cylinder about 80 lbs. It does start
fine and run great…and pulls decently at speed. It has nearly 50,000
miles, so it appears to burn a little oil, judging by the haze of grey
smoke from the exhaust when I blip the throttle. Clutch lever was very bent and it
broke when I tried to make it straight. It has been repaired with
fiberglass and works fine. It is a special one-of-a-kind lever…so I
couldn’t find one…other than thrashed one for $250. Maybe you can have
better luck finding a replacement. Most replacement levers (as listed on
eBay, for example) that claim to fit this bike…do not fit! Turn signals are not original. I could
not find reasonable NOS or OEM units. On a recent ride on a hot day in
August, the bike suffered from vapor lock. I had to let it cool down
before I could run it. This is because the carbs sit sandwiched between
the tank on top of the engine. The many fuel lines need to be insulated to
prevent this hot weather issue. Normally not an issue in the cool Pacific
Northwest, but hotter climates will need the insulated fuel lines, IMO.Ignition key switch works but tumblers are gone. Probably an attempted theft at some point in the bike's history. See closeup photo on my Flickr page.The bike looks good overall, but is definitely not a show bike. I’ve had fun riding it in the Olympic foothills and taking it to the Vashon Island TT rally here in WA over that past year or so. I am purging my garage of a few bikes…so someone else can enjoy riding this iconic bike.Title is clean and in my name. Washington registration is current through June ’24.Payment types accepted: Full payment at auction close by Paypal or credit card only.If it is a local pickup (by buyer, not shipper/proxy), after non-refundable $1,500 Paypal deposit is made at auction close, balance paid in cash (in person) is OK with proof of recent withdrawal. No test rides prior to full payment. I only list the cash option because eBay made me select a local payment option, but my preference is full payment at auction close with Paypal.Bike is sold as-is with no warranties expressed nor implied. Buyer is responsible for shipping of the bike. I will help load it up, but that is all. All costs and logistics are the responsibility of the winning bidder. I would suggest getting a quote from U-ship.com. I've had good luck with shipping bikes through them.More photos and running videos:There are many more photos and videos of the bike running on my Flickr page here:/photos/motersickle/albums/54769DO NOT send me messages about vehicle history reports and such. I will ignore all spammer/scammer messages. This is an auction…place a bid. DO NOT try to engage me in some sort of scheme outside of eBay.Thanks for looking!-Eric