Honda VF1000F Interceptor

At a rock-and-roll concert many years ago, Jerry Lee Lewis was the opening act, followed by Chuck Berry. Lewis, like most big-name performers, preferred to close a show rather than open it, since the last act of the night always has the opportunity to be the most spectacular. Lewis was less than pleased about going on first this particular evening, but decided to put on a performance no one would ever forget anyway. He sang all the songs the crowd wanted to hear, and sang them as only Jerry Lee Lewis can. And for his final number, Lewis did his famous "Great Balls of Fire," but with a twist: During the song he pulled a bottle of gasoline from his coat, poured it on his piano and set the piano afire, all while still playing. Obviously, the crowd was driven to an absolute frenzy. Lewis then got up, left the stage and said to Berry, "Follow that."

All of which brings us to Honda's latest Interceptor, the VF1000F, a hike that is in the same unenviable position that Chuck Berry found himself in that evening. The original Interceptor, the 750, completely stole the show last year, emerging as the most-talked-about new bike in a long, long time. Magazines heaped praise on the 750 Interceptor all year long, buyers grabbed up every one they could get their hands on, and most dealers capitalized on the bike's unprecedented popularity by charging considerably more than list price lor every one they sold. In effect, the 750 Interceptor did everything but burn the house down.

It has a tough act to follow. But if there is one bike that seems perfectly equipped to do so successfully, it's the 1000 Interceptor. Why? Easy. It has everything the original Interceptor had, plus something more: more power.

Indeed, power is what this Interceptor is all about. There are three Interceptor models now, each with its own specialty. The 500 is light and nimble and feels at home on a racetrack, where its response ness is easiest appreciated,  The 750 Interceptor is a wonderfully balanced machine that performs so well because all its parts work together in near-perfect harmony. But the VF1000F doesn't make you think about things like nimble handling or a balanced package. It makes you think about holding on onto the grips, onto the seat, maybe even onto your driver's license. Because this Interceptor's message is about as subtle as a punch in the mouth; and it's a 113-horse-power punch, if you believe Honda's power claims.

That power is generated within a DOHC, liquid-cooled, 90-degree tandem V-Four that displaces 998cc. Its bore is 77mm, its stroke is 53.6mm, and it wears four valves in each cylinder. The engine looks, sounds and, to a greater or lesser degree, acts just like the V-Four in any other size of Interceptor. Actually, the 1000's engine is based on the 750 Interceptor's powerplant. The same basic castings are used, with some different machining, naturally, so the overall physical size of both is almost identical. Even the bore centers are the same on the two engines, although in order to fit the 1000's much larger pistons into the 750's cylinder castings, the bigger motor doesn't use cast-in cylinder liners. It instead has wet liners pressed into the cylinders, with O-ring seals top and bottom.

Of course, a bigger displacement means that most everything else must be bigger as well. Bigger pistons fit on larger wrist pins, which are attached to longer connecting rods that spin on larger crank throws. Even the main bearings are larger. And bigger cylinder heads fitted with larger valves sit above the bigger pistons. A stronger clutch with two more sets of plates uses a heavier diaphragm-type spring to transfer the engine's greater torque. And like on the 750, the 1000 has a one-way overrun mechanism built into the clutch that prevents the rear tire from chirping or chattering due to engine braking during downshifts or when the throttle is suddenly snapped shut. In addition, the VF1000's five-speed transmission is equipped with wider and stronger gears.

Don't think, though, that all of the 1000's additional power comes just from the extra displacement. Bigger valves are part of the equation (30mm intakes and 26.5mm exhausts), and the camshafts, with their 230° of duration and 8.2mm of lift, have the same timing specifications as the V65 Sabre's cams. Each cylinder bank has a single-row roller chain driving its pair of cams, whereas the 750 Interceptor uses inverted-tooth (Hy-Vo type) cam chains. The roller chains, Honda explains, offer lower frictional losses. Four 36mm Keihin constant-vacuum carbs snuggled cozily in the engine's V-spread keep those 113 horses well-fed; and because the carbs use lightweight, responsive neoprene diaphragms to control their slides, they don't need accelerator pumps. This engine does, however, need larger-diameter head pipes due to its added displacement, as well as larger volumes inside the mufflers and the crossover chamber.

More displacement also means more heat for an engine, and the 1000 Interceptor has upgraded cooling and lubricating systems to handle the added loads. The main coolant radiator is the same as the one used on the 750 Interceptor, and is mounted in the same place, just below the steering head; but the secondary radiator, instead of being a small unit down in the lower cowling, is a larger model mounted in the fairing, behind the headlight. The water pump capacity is 40 percent greater than the 750's, and a larger fan completes the 1000's cooling package. The bigger engine's oil pump has thicker gears for 18 percent more capacity; and a problem suffered by the first 750 Interceptors  premature camshaft wear—has been rectified, according to Honda, by the use of larger holes in the banjo bolts that connect the oil lines to the cylinder heads, and by improved hardfacing of the cams.

As you can see, then, the 1000 Interceptor is, in effect, a 750 Interceptor that has been put under some sort of giant enlarger. That was a deliberate move on Honda's part to try to keep the VF1000 from being any bulkier than it had to be. Nevertheless, the 1000 comes across as a noticeably bigger bike than its 750 counterpart, bigger, even, than competing machines such as Kawasaki's Ninja or Yamaha's FJ1100. The Honda does not, admittedly, feel as bulky as the Suzuki GS1150ES, but neither is it as light and responsive as many people - including most of us here at Cycle World - had hoped it would be.

That's disappointing, because the VF1000's geometry (28° steering-head angle, 3.9 in. trail) seemed to promise a quick-handling bike. The 1000 even has a 16-inch front wheel, plus new-style ComCast alloy wheels at both ends that are considerably lighter than those on the 750 Interceptor. Toss in an engine which sits an inch lower in the rectangular iron steel-tube frame, and wider handlebars for more steering leverage.

It's not. For one thing, the big VF is more than 20 pounds heavier than the 750 Interceptor; it also has a noticeably higher center of gravity, despite all of Honda's efforts to keep it low. And when you combine the two, the result is a bike that can feel quite top-heavy, especially at low speeds or when it's being braked while also banking over into a turn.

At higher speeds, though, much of that feeling of bigness goes away and the 1000 Interceptor turns into a surprisingly nimble handler. There's sufficient cornering clearance for just about any kind of corner-charging that can be carried out on the street, although the first thing to touch down generally is the exhaust crossover, which is very solidly mounted and thus hits down with a resounding bang. The tires are exceptionally sticky, which doesn't do much for their wear-life but does wonders for your confidence in their ability to hang on at radical lean angles. And although the VF1000's quick geometry and 16-inch front wheel can't mask the fact that the bike is slightly top-heavy, they do cause the steering to be light and instantly responsive.

So, too, is the suspension geared toward making 113 horsepower manageable when the road isn't straight and flat. The suspension imparts a feeling of controlled motion, with noticeable bobbing up and down when the bike is shifted, but without any wallowing or weaving. Up front are 41mm fork tubes, with three-position adjustable rebound damping in the righthand leg only. A flat aluminum fork brace shaped like an air scoop directs air to the primary radiator. A double-piston brake caliper lives on each slider leg, with a four-way-adjustable anti-dive mechanism built into the left-hand leg. Honda's anti-dive uses the torque-reaction of the brake caliper to close a damping valve in the fork leg. This system doesn't interfere with the feel or action of the front brake while also reducing front-end dive.

In the rear is Honda's Pro-Link suspension system that features a single air-spring shock and a three-way rebound-damping adjustment that is set with a push-pull knob below the righthand sidecover. Behind the left cover is the Schrader valve through which the shock's air pressure is adjusted. The shock connects to the massive cast-aluminum swing arm through a pair of pivoting links to provide a rising-rate rear suspension. Those links now rotate on needle bearings, which pivot with much less friction than the bushings used on the 750 Interceptor. To compensate for that reduction in friction, the 1000's shock has nearly twice as much compression damping as the 750's shock, along with slightly stiffer rebound damping.

That results, obviously, in the 1000 having a slightly firmer ride than the 750 not harsh, just taut. The rider also feels a bit of vibration, although not enough to be damaging to his riding pleasure. The VF1000F, like its two smaller family members, doesn't use rubber motor mounts, since they would compromise the frame's overall rigidity. But while the VF's 90° V-Four does have perfect primary engine balance, there is a small amount of low-frequency secondary imbalance. There is a low-rpm shudder, as well, caused by the unevenly spaced power pulses of the V-type motor.

But there's bunches of torque on tap down at low revs, too. The 1000 Interceptor has a bit more low-end grunt than the 900 Kawasaki, although not quite as much as the tire-shredding 1150 Suzuki; but the Honda nonetheless is a solid 10-sec. performer. In Cycle World's quarter-mile testing the 1000 Interceptor even outdragged the more powerful 1100cc Sabre because it is lighter, and less likely to drive its back tire under the front tire. The Interceptor also has a higher top speed due to being more aero-dynamically efficient than the Sabre.

Making best use of those aerodynamics requires the rider to bend into at least a partial crouch, which is something the 1000's riding position lends itself to nicely. The cleanly designed sport fairing is a little on the large side, but it has another job in life: to house the upper radiator. This requires inlet vents in front and outlet vents in back. The fairing also is larger than the 750's fairing, which subjects the rider of a 1000 to less wind-blast. Because the fairing is taller, the handlebars are able to be higher, and wider, as well. This makes for a somewhat shorter reach to the bars, but not enough so that a rider can't crouch comfortably. The pegs are rearset and the bars are arm's-length away. The posture is ideal for 60- to 80-mph speeds, but above that the bars may be a tad high. Below 60 those same bars can be a long reach unless a rider likes to lean forward. For a sporting bike, those ergonomics are an excellent compromise between all-out, lay-on-the-tank racing use and relaxed, Sunday-go-for-a-ride easy sitting.

Most of the controls on the Interceptor work just as they should, with moderate effort and good results. There are a couple of exceptions, though. The clutch pull is heavy, and it engages nearly all the way out from the grip. This makes precise clutch-control somewhat difficult; and there's no adjustment on the clutch's hydraulic mechanism, which makes matters worse. The brake lever also has a problem in that it's spongy. More effort than usual is needed to get normal braking response, then all of a sudden there's an excess of braking. The original 750 Interceptor was a marvel of braking performance, but that is one area in which the 1000cc version has failed to live up to the standard set by its predecessor.

In the quality of its gear-shifting, though, our 1000 Interceptor was much better than the 750 Interceptor. Changing gears took only moderate effort, and we didn't miss a shift throughout the entire test. But shifting isn't something a VF1000 rider has to do a lot. Besides its 113 bhp, the big V-Four produces gobs of torque - 63.5 lb-ft of it at 8000 rpm, and almost that much, seemingly, just about anywhere in the rev range. The power is most abundant between 8000 rpm and the 10,500-rpm redline, but there's no drastic dropoff either above or below that. Like most big-engined bikes, the one-liter Honda doesn't need to be revved much to achieve the kind of performance that can put you someplace else in the blink of an eye. Without ever exceeding 3000 rpm the Interceptor can leave any sort of normal traffic far behind. Run it to 6000 rpm in the lower gears and most any bike below 750cc won't be able to keep up. And if you use the 1000's full powerband, things will start happening at such a fast-and-furious rate that your mind just might have a hard time keeping up.

If you truly want to do what the 1000 Interceptor does best, find a long, straight, unpatrolled road and explore the bike's top-speed potential. That's what feels most comfortable with this machine. There's no question that this is a competent, high-performance sport bike, but it's one that is more likely to win you over with steady, ever-present, unrelenting horsepower than it is any sort of handling magic.

So the easy part here is determining that the VF1000F is Honda's quickest and fastest motorcycle.  The Kawasaki Ninja is a livelier, more specialized pure-sport bike. The Yamaha 1100 has more peak power, feels smaller and possesses a wonderful smoothness, almost a gentle nature, that the Honda does not. And the 1150 Suzuki? Well, it's just a brute, pure and simple. The VF1000F is a bike with performance that is comparable to that of the other three, but with an engine that sounds and feels like nothing else.

Some people might interpret that to mean that the 1000 Interceptor did indeed find the 750 Interceptor an impossible act to follow. But any such assumption would be wrong. The 1000 actually does a commendable job of following the 750's performance of 1983. It's just that some other manufacturers seem to have done at least as well.

If not better.

Source Cycle World 1984