Commuters, also-rans and alternatives: Honda V4 motorcycles
This month, in his series on unloved and half-forgotten models, Steve Cooper turns his attention to Honda’s V4s, an idea that started so well and ended so badly.
Honda’s decision to move away from across-the-frame, inline fours to V4s was not taken lightly. The Big Aitch had once been the global leader of motorcycle manufacture but had effectively lost touch with the top end of the market. The rot set in when the firm diverted substantial resources into car manufacture in the mid-1970s and even the likes of the magnificent CBX1000 had failed to redress the balance commercially. That rivals such as Suzuki were still doing well with air-cooled inline fours was of little import – this was old hat and Honda knew it had to move the game on again if it was to reclaim the title of World’s Number One Motorcycle Manufacturer.
Things started moving in the late 1970s when blue sky research clearly suggested that a liquid-cooled V4 was quite possibly the way to go. Although the layout had been tried before by the likes of AJS with its interwar years racer, commercially the arrangement was unique and it had key advantages. Number one: the width of any bike running a liquid-cooled V4 was substantially reduced, which meant reduced air drag. Number two: by narrowing the angle of the V the length of the bike could be reduced as the rear cylinder was effectively hanging over the gearbox. Number three: mass centralisation, the machine’s centre of gravity was much easier to control, which improved handling characteristics.
Not only did this sound like a plan, it became The Plan.
That the engine could have been fitted into any kind of chassis was a given. After all, Honda was the master of its own destiny. However, market forces significantly influenced the end product in delivering a factory cruiser rather than an all-things-to-all-riders bike as per the original CB750. Why did Honda go down this route? Quite simply because the dealers were calling for a cruiser-type bike with Japanese reliability that they could sell against Harley-Davidsons. And there was no room for doubt here, either. American riders weren’t quite as patriotic as many had thought and when Yamaha customised its venerable XS650 roadster to become the XS650 SE cruiser, former H-D buyers swapped camps overnight. Those pesky Yamaha designers then pulled off another coup by offering the inline four Seca 750 which offered Japanese consistency again allied to cruiser looks.
The resultant 1982 Honda VF750S (Sabre) had a strange block-like styling with the motor filling all of the frame and the use of a set of flowing panels from tank to tailpiece further enhancing this. Rectangular mirrors, headlight and radiator further reinforced the curious styling but, in America, its target market, the VF was relatively well accepted. Its smooth engine, V4 grunt and shaft drive all found favour and its only real issue was the subtle feeling of somehow being sanitised – many would say ‘typical Honda’! Over in the UK, riders were scratching their heads trying to come to terms with an H-D facsimile in a country that really didn’t get cruisers anyway.
Just one year later Honda unveiled the machine many thought should have been the launch model – the VF750F. Here at last was what many had expected from Honda; a sports 750 with true mass appeal. Sold in the US as the Interceptor, the VF750F looked lithe and potent. A small top fairing, a rakish belly pan, close-fitting front mudguard, sculpted tailpiece and seat… it looked the business. And for lovers of technology, the new bike had a new frame made from square and rectangular steel tubing designed to offer enhanced rigidity. Claimed power output was
86bhp with a torque figure just over 46ftlb, top speed was quoted at 134mph and the standing quarter could, apparently, be taken in sub 12 seconds at 112mph. Honda was back in the game and then some!
It all looked grand and indeed it was until the two machines had racked up some miles and then issues began to appear. Not especially well publicised – and latterly overshadowed by engine problems – was the Sabre’s unpleasant ability to crack its frame at the headstock and, in some rarer incidences, the front end could try to part company with the rest of the bike! Both the S and F variants also soon garnered a reputation for cooking their regulator/ rectifier units, sometimes stranding their riders. Although the units themselves were probably fit for purpose, they had been sited behind panels and in the pathway of the hot air coming off the engine. And yet this was nothing compared with the top end wear problems.
Reports of cam wear, valve issues, flailing cam chains and metallic particles in the oil soon marred the V4’s reputation. Cam lobes were getting worn away in quick order, leading to angry owners and warranty claims. Honda rushed out upgraded components, including revised top end oil feeds, oil additives, updated cam chains tensioners and much more, but the damage had been done. Honda’s name swiftly became mud and the V4 concept was then seen as a poisoned chalice. The early VFs would forever be seen as a spectacular own goal despite all the tech and logic behind them.