Original Interceptor

Original Interceptor

Supersport stepping stone

TO TODAY'S RIDERS, HONDA'S FIRST V-FOUR SPORTbike, the 1983 VF750F, must seem positively archaic. Its claimed horsepower was only in the mid-80s, and its narrow, bias-ply tires and conservative steering geometry practically are relics from the stone age of high performance. But that motorcycle, commonly known as the V45 Interceptor, was a landmark machine that changed forever the way in which sportbikes were conceived, designed and built.

Before the V45, sport motorcycles differed very little from regular street motorcycles-a few more ponies, stiffer suspension, sometimes a slightly racier riding position, maybe a partial fairing. But the much greater demands of brisk sport riding simply magnified any inherent shortcom ings in the base street machine, thereby limiting the capa bilities of the sport version.

Then the Interceptor came along and changed all the rules. From the first stroke of the designer's pen, the VF was intended to excel in Superbike racing; but it first was built as a street-legal sportbike so it would qualify for Superbike racing. And it broke new ground by employing some then-current GP technology, such as its square-tube,

perimeter-type frame and 16-inch front wheel. Though the VF75OF's V-Four engine was not of GP lin eage, it helped set the Interceptor apart by combining the best of a Four and a Twin. It had the same valve area-and thus, the same power potential-as an inline-Four but was no wider than most parallel-Twins; and its short-stroke, 16valve design offered the same high-rpm power output as a similarly configured inline-Four, but with torque character istics much like those of a V-Twin. The end result was a wider powerband and a flatter torque curve on a bike that was quicker and faster than its 750-class competition.

The validity of this concept was proven at the highest levels of competition. In the capable hands of racing greats such as Freddie Spencer, Fred Merkel, Wes Cooley, Wayne Rainey and Bubba Shobert, the VF75OF and its successor, the VFR75OF, racked up countless race wins and an impressive inventory of season championships.

"The very first time I rode an Interceptor in 1983, I couldn't believe how good it was," recalls three-time World Champion Spencer, who won the 1985 Daytona 200 on a race-modded VF75OF. "It was faster around the track than the inline-Four 1000 we had been racing, and it hadn't even been completely refined and dialed-in."

Although its racetrack resume is impressive, the VF75OF deserves acclaim for another, perhaps more meaningful, accomplishment: It opened the door for an entirely new breed of sport motorcycle. Soon after the Interceptor made its mark, the likes of the GSX-R, the FZR and the ZX Ninja followed, all of them conceived, designed and built as sport/racebikes first and foremost. Virtually every significant sportbike since then owes some part of its performance pedi gree to that original VF75OF Interceptor. -Paul Dean