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COLUMN
Laying It On The Line
By Kent Taylor
Homo sapiens have had it easy. From Hominoidea to Australopithecus era beings, the ever-evolving players in the journey to become today’s lineup of keyboard warriors have had millions of years to adapt to change. Take tails, for example. Scientists say apish humans sported them proudly for a few million years before taking another few million to realize that they would eventually get caught in something called a revolving door. That would be both painful and embarrassing, so, realizing that they really didn’t need them anyway, the tails eventually disappeared.
In comparison to the gradual rise of the human, the evolution of the motorcycle has been but a mosquito’s hiccup. Silvery-haired riders who mourned the recent passing of Ozzy Osbourne by recalling their Black Sabbath eight-track tapes (“I am—click, click, click—Iron Man”) have watched motorcycle mutations, from standards to sportbikes, and it has occurred over just a few measly decades.
In the summer of 1983, the staff of Cycle News tested Honda’s new Interceptor VF750F. While the Interceptor wasn’t the first motorcycle to force its pilot into a semi-crouched riding position, most of the forerunners came from companies like Ducati, which was still considered to be something of a boutique brand at the time. The Interceptor was a Honda, and if the king of the Big Four was ready to unleash such a machine for the proletariat, then this was likely something more than just a passing fad. But to the CN staff, this business of hunkering down behind a fairing for regular street duty seemed as uncomfortable as getting your tail stepped on by a mastodon. Proof? Check out these lines, straight from the text of the May 25, 1983, issue.
* “It gets points off for a slightly too radical crouch seating position and a lack of a storage area.”
* “The VF was pronounced clumsy at slow speeds by one tester…”
* “For longer rides, it was not the first bike out of the garage.”
* “…the bike had a top-heavy feeling in slow going.”
But the Interceptor wasn’t built for going slow, nor was it supposed to be a touring machine. This was a motorcycle that, in stock form, was ready for Daytona, where no storage space was needed. When the CN staff took the new Honda from suburbia into the world for which it was designed, it was transformed. A superhero was born.
“The Interceptor is to the canyon rider what a phone booth is to Clark Kent,” the staff wrote. “With the light steering from the 16-inch front wheel, amazing leanability (sic) and its strong and wide powerband, the VF is a dream come true in the corners.”
The Honda was outfitted with the best suspension in the industry at that time, the air-assisted Pro-Link. “The rising rate single-shock setup provides a plush, yet controlled ride. Freeway compliance is good, as is high-speed handling.” Forty-two years ago, suspension adjustment was a finite world, with the Honda allowing rebound damping to be altered in four different ways. Add a little air to stiffen the shock, if you so choose.
The heart of the Interceptor was its four-cylinder engine, each cylinder receiving fuel/air from a good-as-gold 32mm carburetor. These were the days before ride modes and mapping, of course, and the Honda apparently didn’t need any nannies. “Tractable power lets the VF rider get on the gas hard through turns without sudden rushes of power to break the rear wheel loose.”
There were other nice features that the staff loved, including the hydraulic clutch. Cast aluminum handlebars and an aluminum swingarm did their best to help the Honda get down to summertime slim, but alas, this one tipped the scales at nearly 500 pounds. The staff complained not about the Interceptor’s weight, so the feeling of heaviness must have disappeared once the bike was in motion!
In the end, the test crew loved the Honda Interceptor, yet they stopped short of saying that they would actually own such a motorcycle. Great handling and performance, coupled with Honda’s reputation for building reliable motorcycles, were strong selling points. But for at least this particular staff, it wasn’t the bike for them. This was a motorcycle that was difficult to ride in slow traffic, had no storage space, and the leg room for the passenger was best suited for “pygmies.”
The Honda Interceptor VF750F was a great motorcycle, but only for a specific purpose, which was that of riding the canyon roads that exist mostly in the magical kingdom of California. It wasn’t made for the motorcyclist from Des Moines who needs a place to carry a lunch box and a friendly space for a passenger. An industry evolution was taking place. The staff of Cycle News, without the burden of hindsight, was able to lay it down for all to read.CN
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