Newb question for a VF 1000 R

Hello all I just joined and I have a question in regards to a 85 VF 1000 R I'm thinking about looking at. Not new to motorcycles or Honda's I have a 81 900 F and a 85 1100 Sabre both bought new and a few British bikes here and there. My question is this from looking at the pictures and there's only three of them the bike looks complete ( although it does look like its missing the air box side covers ) even has the seat cowl and still has the stock mufflers and has 20K miles on it. The owner says it runs pretty good and that's in his words and has a new rear tire and a new battery. It looks like the fairing has been repainted all the decals are gone but the fuel tank looks original it still has the decal on it. I haven't spoke to the guy yet but I thought I would ask the forum members first if $ 1800.00 or best offer is a fair price ? I've always wanted one of these although the reviews that I remember weren't to kind but they were just a cool looking bike. What questions do I need to ask about this particular bike was there any major problems that I need to check out? Well thanks for bearing with me for all the questions that have probably been asked a bunch of times and thanks in advance for any info you care to share.

Mark

 

Welcome! Had an 86 1000R for years, bought new in 89 & sold in 2000-01. Same as an 85 with some cosmetic changes. 86 had dual headlights & was a few pounds heavier. Mine was bullet proof but was well cared for its whole life.

Is this particular example on Cleveland CL? If thats the one your looking at the side covers are not for the air box. The air box is located under the front portion of the tank. I want to say I've read in another thread those side covers are hard to come by these days. As are most parts for those bikes. The suspension front & rear is air assisted, common in the 80's. On the left side of the bike there is a remote valve for the rear shock. Valve for the front is under one of the fork caps. That set up wasn't very good when new & probably hasn't gotten much better with age. Could be me but looks like the rear of the bike is squatting. Missing decals = its been painted. Price has been reduced = no one is interested. Also might be open to a low-ball offer. Keep in mind these bikes are fairly collectable. So IMO $1800 seems a little high for that example.

I'd ask for more / better pics to start. If your local check it out in person. Realistically it looks like a good or potential candidate for a restoration or build.

 

Thanks for the reply Amzinator and the advice. Yes it is the one in the Cleveland add and its about 40 miles from me so I could drive up and check it out. My Brother-in-law used to own a Honda shop and several times I almost bit on buying one of these new when Honda had them in the warehouse and still couldn't move them even at a reduced price but I never did they were still pretty expensive. I'll give the guy a call and see what's up thanks again Amzinator.

Mark

 

Well I went and took a look at the bike and was disappointed it needs a lot of help . The bike was a little hard to start and once it fired up and started firing on all 4's it sounded ok but there was no way I was going to give him $1350 for it. I told him that it was pretty beat for only having 20K miles on it and I wasn't really interested in it he then told me I could have it for $950 I said that's still to much so he said make me an offer so I told him I'd give him $500 and he said no, so that's the end of this story. Who knows maybe he'll give me a call in a couple of days and take my offer.

Mark

 

I'd probably give $750 for it, based on the pics and it running.

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/4668200979.html

I paid $300 for mine with busted fairings and a runaway crank rod trying to get some fresh air.

 

Not the end of the world. Those bikes show up every so often on CL & ebay. Keep your eyes open you'll find the right one.

 

I might give him a little more time and make him another offer. He said he has a 1000 interceptor stashed at his Moms house not for sale. I don't know who put the paint job on this bike but my guess would be Earl Shive it has runs orange peel and fish eyes they even painted over the road rash its to die for.

Mark

 

He probably picked it up as a parts bike. Cannibalized it & is now looking to get a few bucks back.

 

He told me he went down to the Southern part of Ohio and picked it up. I don't know why he bought it he said when he went down to look at it it wasn't as advertised it was suppose to be it nice shape and we know now it isn't but he still bought it sounds kind of funny ,he's only had it for a month or two. He's self employed kind of a wheeler dealer I guess.

Mark

 

I suggest you steer clear of this bike. I had looked at it when it was down south. The previous buyer was very desperate to sell to help finance his next tractor. It's been dumped on both sides, scrapped for parts off it, and put together with no intentions of making it a reliable ride. It had excessive upper end valve train noise when fully warmed up (even the bearings for the cam gears had a low growl that I know isn't a good sign) and it didn't even start on all 4 cylinders for the first 2 mins (confirmed with my inferred temp gun).
For $750, it's kinda worth it, but not a penny more. I've been looking for one of these for 2 years, and everyone I've seen locally come around the 2500-3k range.

 

Thanks for the reply Loopsandlogic. You're absolutely right on the slow to start up it was real hard to start and keep running. I don't know if that was the real mileage but that thing was beat for having 20K. Well I don't have to worry about buying another piece of junk he found a buyer for it, you'll probably start to see more VF 1000 R parts showing up on Ebay.

Mark