Not long before the flights of 600cc sportbikes started pounding these shores, Honda started a handling-centric mini-frenzy with the mid-80’s Interceptors. They were light(er) in weight and had 4-valve V-4’s, with small frame-mounted fairings and little belly scoops. Serial number 18 and possibly the first delivered to the U.S., this VF-500 has been cared for and thoughtfully photographed.
1984 Honda VF500F Interceptor for sale on eBay
Tucked into an early double cradle frame, the 498cc water-cooler generates 70 hp, transmitted by a 6-speed transmission. The 37mm air-adjusted forks lead Pro-Link monoshock rear to the fray, with triple 255mm discs firing the retro-rockets. Handling is aided by 16-inch front / 18-inch rear stagger.
Looking surprisingly cherry for its indicated 27,303 miles, this VF500F has no bids but a serious buy-it-now. The owner promises the following in the eBay auction:
First year and First generation 500 interceptor. This little jewel just happens to be frame number “18”… That’s right the 18th 500 Interceptor ever built… Not only that, but according to the Honda Micro Fiche this is the very first VF500 imported into the USA…
These little baby interceptors have developed quite a cult following… probably the best of the first-generation interceptors… This beautiful little bike was owned by a motorcycle industry journalist from brand-new… It has been meticulously well-maintained and is in absolutely bone stock museum quality condition… It even has the stock grips, stock turnsignals, bodywork, and stock mirrors still on it… Almost impossible to find them in them in this condition…
this bike runs fantastic…
Soft-focus photos, nice as they are, beg for more history or suggest an in-person inspection. Maintenance-free as these V-4’s can be, some repair records might be available. Having the first customer VF500F in the country would be important to a collector. If it all checks out, there’s a very good-looking Interceptor at the end of this rainbow…
-donn
Numerous valve train issues including valve spring failures (dropped valves) ~ 40k miles – replacement springs not available.
Covered extensively on VFR forums.
J.Raymond
I don’t recall this color scheme but really like the black stripe on the red tank. Looks great! I had and ’86 vf500. My Clymer manual says that the ’84 had a 5sp trans. I certainly can verify my ’86 had a 6 sp.
I fondly remember my bike but man did it make “soft power”. My how technology and escalating displacement brought progress to that attribute.
No urge here to acquire another but this one photographically is a treat to see.
sweetheart of a lil bike. watching it in my ebay feed. seller wants 9 grand…
They only had this color scheme in 1984. This was my first real street bike, not counting mini bikes, dirt bikes etc. Had great times riding this thing. Never had any problems with mine. Crazy buy it now for $27K miles.
Does the model come with the bike?
I have an ’85 500 and really enjoy it. You can ride it for all its worth and still be fairly legal.
The thing with the 1st gen V4’s is to let it properly warm up before riding. As outlined in the owners manual!
I also had an ’83 750 Interceptor, I like the 500 better.
Widely considered to be the 80’s Interceptor line’s sweetest handling and best over all riding combination. Obviously a very 80’s feel suspension, chassis, braking, ergonomics and handling- ride one now, and you might be shocked at how dated it feels. Might not be as good as you remembered!
Two big issues with this example, as nice as it looks. One: that low production number isn’t a selling point on these to me at all, unless documentation for recall. Two of my friends had their 500 Interceptor engines replaced free by Honda for potential lower end issues (not all of them had it). Was this one done? Who knows? Two: Buy It Now price would be world record high for this model, and is unrealistic in my opinion. Seller Kent Riches, owner of Airtech, always has great presentation in his listings- professional photography really helps.
Sorry I don’t see it, this is a $3,500 to $4,500 ******AT BEST********** this model wasn’t even that popular when it was brand new. I remember this bike was nice ( for about 3 months) then the Ninja 600R came out and set the bar and out dated all the others, maybe brand new, in the crate, never registered, maybe it would be $9,000 but sorry….. I don’t mean to be a hater
As much as I pined for this bike back in the day, I’m glad I held out (and shelled out) for an RZ, These bikes had a ton of top end problems, i.e dropped valves, as well as soft cams, and lower end, i.e. bad cranks, I never missed ’em, till now…
Gotta weigh in here. I was a Honda tech and service manager during the 80’s. The crank issue was only on very early ones and there was a service bulletin to replace affected engines under warranty. There were only two top end issues. Excessive camshaft clearance that was a result of the heads and cam bearing caps being machined separately. This was a problem on all the first gen v-4’s and caused top end noise. It could be corrected. The 86 model year 500 went to line bored heads. The second top end issue was valve stem tips that would start to pit out. A service bulletin was issued for this also and if caught early, there was a hardened cap that could be fitted to the top of the stem. If the pitting was ignored, the top of the stem would eventually start to cup out. That would cause excessive side loading of the valve and the valve would then break at the keeper groove….. death to the engine. I owned an 84 and I corrected these issues, richened up the carbs, and it was one sweet running bike. Routinely saw 13,500 rpm and never complained.