Tire recommendation for 1984 VFR500 Interceptor

Hey everyone, I picked up a clean and original 1984 Interceptor 500 out of Huntington Beach. Going into it I wasn't expecting much, then I saw the unit and it was complete, original, rust and damage free. Did a compression check and everything is on spec with the service manual. No oil burning or anything. I walked away having spent a mere $250 on it! I'm pretty thrilled, I always wanted one when they came out, but being a teen I didn't have the cash to make it happen. I think it will be fun to have now and ride on Sundays and some vintage races. Which brings me to my question:

The bike still has its original tires which are cracked beyond belief (but that's what 26 years can do). I did some searching for tire availability with its sizes (100/90-16 front and 110/90-18 rear). And all I've been able to find so far is a Bridgestone BT45. Anyone have experience with this tire? Or any other vintage tire applications? I hope to use it on vintage track days, so I'm looking for the tire with the greatest traction, rather than longevity.


Any thoughts?

Thanks!  

Wow, great buy! The '84 Honda Interceptor 500 was my first "new" motorcycle purchase (after starting on a used Kawasaki H2 750 triple...yes, not the best starter bike..."do as I say, not as I do") and it was a fantastic bike. Great powerband, nice, neutral handling, decent brakes.

While the Bridgestone BT45 isn't bad, we'd suggest looking into the Avon Roadriders. A good bias ply tire with decent grip. They have them in a 110/90-16 front and 120/80 or 120/90-18 rears (slightly oversize if desired) or the stock sizes.  

Those tires look great Kento, thanks for the recommendation! Its nice that Avon has such a wide variety of sizes, and going oversize is likely in order. They list the width of all sizes so I can measure the width laterally in the swingarm at the various radius of each size. Any thoughts on how much swingarm to tire edge clearance I should allow? The Interceptor is aligned in such a way that when the tire is centered in the singarm, the sprockets are also aligned. Would you think leaving a 1/4" clearance on both sides of the tire would be sufficient? (my first bike ended up being a "very used" GPZ900, and I immediately got greedy and mounted a 150 rear which promptly wore itself into the chain, mind you, edge grip was non-existent in the late 80's so it wasn't much of a worry to an 18 year old kid who could only point-and-go...)

I'm really looking forward to getting this one on the road, I'm just having a few issues with the import (being up in Canaduh), the local registration office doesn't even have a listing for the bike under manufacturers. Funny to take in pictures of the bike and VIN and being told that your bike doesn't exist! To which extent I coyly suggest their listing might be incomplete! They don't seem to find the humor in anything however, so I have to either bring in some 26 year old NVIS or sign an affidavit.

The first ride will make it all worthwhile. I've found a few things that were covered up, a patched-up panel mount, an intermittent fuel pump relay, but otherwise all is still well. I was glad to hear your feedback on the bike, I have met one other person in our track group who owned one new, and she too only had great things to say about it. She regretted ever letting it go. All told, I'll have less than $1000 in the bike, shipping, taxes, tires, paperwork, so I think this will be a keeper. I've really been amazed at how affordable some of these "dreambikes" oy yesteryear are. I think I have my name on an old Guzzi next.

Cheers!

Pat  

Yes, about 7mm should be fine. Although you should take a look at how/if that clearance narrows as it gets near the swingarm pivot. The oversize Avon rear is likely to be taller as well as wider, and that could result in less clearance than you originally planned for. That said, one size larger shouldn't be too big of a change.

Definitely check the valve clearances to make sure they're within spec. The VF500 uses forked cam followers with screw adjusters, so it's pretty easy to do. It's just getting all the stuff out of the way that's the tedious part. If you let the valve clearances get too far out of whack (the VF500F revs to 12,250 rpm, stratospheric for its time), the constant hammering on the screw adjuster can damage both it and the valve stem.

You also need to watch out for nicks on the fork tubes from rocks, road debris, etc., thrown up by vehicles in front of you. The VF's fork seals are pretty fragile, and get torn up easily by nicks, causing seal weeping.

Also, the rear shock was kind of weird, in that it uses air pressure to augment the steel spring. I wasn't a fan of it myself, and quickly replaced it with an aftermarket unit with the proper spring rate (plus adjustable damping).

Enjoy your Honda!  

Kent if you happen to look at this post again sometime - is there any chance you recall who made the replacement shock you installed in your Interceptor? While I have aimed to keep my bike 100% original, my experience with the bike is being soured by the imbalance of the fantastic forks (after rebuild) and the lousy shock behind it. It needs to go.

Thanks!

Pat  

Yes, it was a Fox shock. Unfortunately, Fox Shox no longer makes shock absorbers for motorcycles anymore (remember, this was back in '84).

Unfortunately, it's doubtful that there are anything outside of custom-made shocks for your application because of its age. We would try looking at the Race Tech G3-S Custom series shock; we're pretty sure they can build something to fit your bike pretty easily. Only problem is that they start at around $1K, so they're pretty pricey, but that's what happens with custom applications.  

Another possible route would be to measure the eye-to-eye length of the stock VF500F shock absorber, and then look to see what other stock OEM fitment shocks are the same length. You'll need to also measure the eyelet width, because if you happen to find one that fits, you'll need to most likely custom fabricate eye bushings to fit.

I don't recall what the spring rate was on the Fox shock, so figuring out the spring rate might be another problem to solve.