1983 Honda Interceptor Review: Behind The Scenes 

I bought that same bike, same color new in 1983. They are good riding fun motorcycles, but they had top end problems right away and Honda first replaced what's called the oil control vale, to get more oil to the top ends, and then did a full recall to replace the cams. The top ends were never quiet, and hopefully your bike has had the cams replaced. It must have if it's running as good as it is. I now own a 1985 500 Interceptor. Yes, the V4's are nice running machines.

I love the V4 tone. I hunted down the perfect 1993-2003 Honda Magna to get this engine in a cruiser chassis. Found a museum-quality 2001 with 6400 miles on it. I love it! The engine is so smooth and well mannered. Keep it below 5-6k and it's a commuter, or rip it to redline and enjoy life. Best of both worlds.

Looks great and that instrument cluster is awesome.

video on history yes

8:25 Nice old long bed chevy.

I got one brand new in Cali back in 83 and took it with me to Germany in the ARMY, Best time of my life!!

The 750 Interceptor was king of the streets and track until the Gixxer reinvented the class forever.

I don’t agree that it looks like a cheesy 1980’s bike, I think it looks great, especially compared to the insect looking bikes of today.

A sportbike with a V-4, water-cooled, 4 valve per cylinder engine, with a split radiator section and chin fairing: the design was radical in performance and looks for the time. Nothing goofy about it, as I recall seeing it and reading about in the magazines when it was first released. An extended ride on one in 1985, up a twisty mountain road, didn't disappoint either. Even today, after owning a slew of superbikes since then, I recall the tingles of excitement the Honda brought to the market with the Interceptor.

Any 1983’s over 40000km you did not get a chocolate cam and will most likely be fine. Use 15w40 oil and use some zinc additive. Have had a 1983 race bike with 56000km. And use an 83 and a 85 vf750f for my daily ride. 85 at 58000km and my 83 is at 92000km. Change the oil before it starts getting ugly and you will never have cam issues.

this video is fun for me. Back in the day I owned a 1983 Kawasaki GPZ 750. A fun era of bikes. Have fun , stay safe. Thanks for a trip down memory lane while I am sipping my coffee and watching this morning here in Connecticut. Peace.

For $1,400 I bought a long term stored 1986 VF500F in 2010, and after new tires, brake pads, and new chain and rear sprocket, that 34,000 mile bike was fantastic! It did not need any other maintenance at all, and I rode the heck out of it for 3 years and 10K miles. That V-4 was a great engine, with a surprising amount of torque, and did wheelies with ease. I sold it with a flat rear tire, for $2500... Great value for me!

You can get an additional oiling system that fits behind the oil filter, to get more oil to the cams. check valve clearences. Theres a racer fix for it as well thats an engine out job for engineered oil lines . Its a big job to do . Get a manual for it.

I owned one for 13 years, with a swapped in VF1000R engine. Loved it dearly.

My first "big bike" was the VF750F back in 1996. It was a high mileage black/red -83. It had its share of issues; it blew a head gasket in the middle of a ride, second gear stopped working some time later and the exhaust had a big hole in one of the mufflers. And it was difficult to find decent front rubber due to the 16" rim. But I still loved the V4 thing so much that a few years later I got one of the best bikes I've ever had, a -93 VFR750F (RC36). I miss the old Honda V4:s, the VFR1200 that was supposed to be the replacement for the Blackbird (which I had 2006-2010) was such a disappointment that I switched to the Hayabusa that I still ride to this day, 160.000 km (appx. 100k miles) and 14 years later.

Love it. I commuted from Temecula, CA to San Diego on one. Still one of the best looking bikes ever made.

I owned a Interceptor 1000 back in the day. I currently own a 98 VFR800 interceptor.

Check camshaft history on Intercepter, My brother had one and he said people kept blowing the motor because of the cam.

Maybe try adjusting the valve lash and timing chain tension if you haven't already. Might help with that top end noise

Beautiful bike! I'm a big fan of the Honda V4's. Had a V65 Sabre and a V45 Magna. Always liked the Interceptors too.

I managed to pick up a ‘83 VF750F for $800 Canadian this spring - fixed it and rode it this summer - fun bike to ride ….. then I found a ‘86 VF500F for $550 Canadian - aiming to have that on the road next summer …. Cheers from Vancouver Island, BC Canada 🇨🇦.

I have had several Honda V4s. I had the Honda Sabre V65 and really miss that bike.

This gives me motivation to get mine back on the road

I love Interceptors/VFRs, have owned two 500s and a VFR750. $3k not running is absolutely breaking my brain. For three grand, I would be looking for good tags and fresh Bridgestones. But it's undeniably a good thing that it's back on the road and being ridden. The 500 is my favorite of the first gen Interceptors, they are the best handling bike of the 80s and the most reliable of these Hondas, plus they love to play in the high revs.

My first on road motorcycle was an 83 interceptor. I even took my road test on it. I sold it many years. It left me with a lifelong love of sport bikes.

I bought a new '84 GPZ 550 and had a blast with it. Can't believe it's been 40 years. I bought an '07 VStrom DL1000 this year and still enjoy riding after all these years.

I got a magna of the same year .. 750cc .. fun fun fun

Sold as the Honda VF750F here in Australia. I have never ridden one but I did ride its brother the VF750S. Engine is awesome but the S felt unwieldly in the cornering.

Great video, great bike. I recently bought a 85 VF700 Interceptor that also doesn't run and mine is a no spark issue which I have narrowed down to the CDI unit. I was wondering were are you getting your parts? I'm having issues trying to find some of this stuff. Did you get a NOS or a aftermarket or a good used part? Do you mind telling me what you paid for a CDI? I found nothing but used parts and the prices are all over the place. Your insight would be extremely helpful. Thank you! I plan on stripping it down to nothing and reassembling it.

Funny. In Denmark. You can buy a good condition vf750f for about 1500 dolllars, while cars are 2-3x more expensive than in the US. I love this bike. Bought it twice...

Nice job so far. 👍 Which tires did you end up finding and getting?

I love the old Honda V4 bikes, especially the first generation. The look is so unique compared to UJMs of the 1970s and the jelly-molds of the 1990s.

So you paid more money for a 40 year old bike that wasn't running than it cost brand new.

That model of Honda V4 is legendary for lunching its cam chains beware of rattling noises !

for that kinda money you could buy an '86/'87 VFR700/750, a much-improved bike with a light alloy frame and more power, no noisy cam chains. alot of VFs had cam wear problems.

I love these bikes! A bit of a pain to work on if you got to take the carbs out. But they handle like no other. I rode my brothers 83' a couple weeks ago. The bike just wants to keep leaning further and further down in a corner. The steering is incredibly stable. It feels substantial but handles lighter than it is. This might be geometry of bike as a whole in addition to the wildly different tire size front and rear. Only downside is finding decent tires in stock. My brother had to order from Australia to get the tires he wanted. (side note: if you find one of these bikes in barn with all the wiring chewed you can buy a made to order main harness off webike! japan for ~400 usd) Great vid!

Lovely looking bike but pay attention to the cams. In Europe, this generation of V4 Honda was known for unreliable engine and it was said that they made the camshafts out of chocolate! To put their reputation right Honda developed and launched the VFR 750 in around 1987/88, with reworked gear driven cams. These bikes were over engineered and consequently mechanically bulletproof!

I loved my 1983 interceptor, powerful, smooth, comfortable. My 1000 interceptor was unbelievably fast!

Had an 84…sold it for a Ninja900…..had to replace the cams/rockers.. (recall)! It was very ahead of it’s time in 83-84

$3000 for a 40 year old machine that doesn’t run? They should have paid YOU to cart it away. Keep your hand on your wallet young man! Lol

Im still riding my 84 Interceptor 1000 that i ordered in the fall of 83. A proper bike it is, the Interceptor series...

Read about the cam issues with Interceptors. Especially the early ones.

Cam chain guide issues on those v4’s. Rattling noise around idle or just off idle. But it’s a great engine and super smooth.

Pity you removed the HRC decal, that in itself is what made this bike stand out. Very few Honda’s before or since have that decal on them.

I have a 1990 vfr red with white wheels. Still under 10k miles. All original. Bought it to flip. Can't bring myself to let it go. Love it.

I use to own this bike it has a real bad tank slap if you go past 110 mph it needs steering stabilizer real bad and I was told cams can not be fixed

So, can you intercept stuff with this bike? 🤔

Put some Yoshimura slip ons you will love the sound…

The v45 engine is known to have issues with oiling of the front camshafts, might be the top end noise

Now all you need is a GPz 900 Top-Gun Nijnja Kawasaki !!👍

Awesome bike. Worth every penny

I had this bike brand new keeps it for a week and sold it .

I bought mine new for $5,000 😂

Once u go V4 you don't go back.

Still have the Forty Ate?

Niiiiice, really nice bike

I bought my 84 750 in 1998 with 23k on it. I put 150k on it since then. The top end got really bad this year so I bought a second one for $2k. It had sat for 27 years in a garage. I am just waiting for some parts to get it on the road. I absolutely love this bike. I have ridden them all over the US and Canada. Never gave me any trouble. Its just the usual top end that Honda never really solved. Good news is that by spring I'll have 2 running Interceptors!

I keep a 1999 5th Ed in pristine condition. Great motorcycle! Powerful enough to get me in trouble, if I don't behave. Good handling and brakes. Decent range and extremely reliable As I am not getting any younger, I wish it was lighter and lower. 🙂

Ooh we'd like to 👀 the QT Papio ss😂! & Yeah younger me couldn't ride long on my sport bikes, though I enjoyed the speed. Today I just fly Mach+ Rated aircraft - where as Cruise? He does it on Green screen lol. Unless ofc invited to go up w/THE Best out of Miramar in where? SoCal Buddy!

A Friend had one and it was an overweight slug. I rode circles around them with my 84 GPZ750 Turbo.

The baby interceptor 1988 VTR250 was my second bike, it was comparable to a ninja 300, the vtwin at 14k rpm sounds great, also very reliable

Owned an ‘83 in the same color model and loved it. Cams didn’t get enough clean oil and would self destruct. There was a fix developed by a racer that tapped into the oil galley lower down and ran oil directly to the cams. Also the valve train could be a bit of an issue. If I recall correctly, the valve rocker was Y-shaped and you had to adjust the valves in pairs with two feeler gauges simultaneously to prevent the rocker from twisting and preventing setting an accurate clearance. Otherwise it was a great bike…at least for me. Enjoy.

Not exactly the same category, but I've got a 1986 Yamaha XJ700 Maxim that is just sewing machine smooth / quiet. Currently not running due to gummed up carbs (four of them, one per cylinder), but it's a fun, easy-to-ride bike.

I owned one. The power band is incredible. Loved it. The only problem was the stretched timing chain issue and subsequent self destruction if not addressed. Actually i had the VFR4. Fast bike.

Early Interceptors were the first modern motorcycles I was aware of as a kid. And yeah, based on how they looked. Project bikes ... nice if you have the resources to tackle them.

I owned an '83 Interceptor from new. A very fine upgrade from my previous bikes, some of which were very good motorcycles. You made a solid choice for a vintage scooter. I just this week bought another '83 VF750F that will need A LOT of THINGS, but is original, complete and only has 3,700 miles on it!!! As you say, the '86 VFR750F was quite an evolution from the '83 to '85 VF750F Interceptors. I hope you are able to ride and own one. I have owned two '86 VFR750Fs (still have one) and they are a WHOLE 'nother animal. It is my opinion that the V-4 format is the way to go for a motorcycle, even down to 250cc and up (although that 250cc bike would be mostly for the overseas markets that have a very staggered licensing systems; US customers would not pay for the complexity). V-4s just make sense, and Honda is coming back with some new and exciting V-4s for 2025! I believe it will be a good decision on their part.

Paced it with the same vintage seca 750 5 speed several times running my favorite turkey creek canyon loop. The interceptor could eat my lunch at top speed due to loss of stability with the seca 750. It was like the interceptor had a sixth gear and a forward cg with less drag. Truthfully bellow triple digits was a wash and the gravely sporadic canyon turns pretty much even out the playing field too.

Have owned my current VF700 Interceptor (1984) for about 25 years, having a nostalgia connection to the model from my early riding days. It was the first street bike I spent any time riding back in the early 80s. Your review is spot-on and hit all the good and not-so-good aspects. At the end of the day, it's just an honest, low-price, good handling, nice looking unit for people who want a little bit of sport riding without getting into trouble with too much power. Be careful about any low-mileage bikes as there were many cam problems in the early day, causing engines to fail. Parts for that specific issue are very hard to come by. If someone tells you as a buyer that it has had that repair, get the paperwork and have a quality mechanic familair with this specific bike, take a long hard look before purchase.

Back in the day, I beat this "bendover bike" on the streets of SF on a '72 R75, but that was more about the riders....

Good stuff! I'm glad the purchase worked out for you and I look forward to the mini bike series. Especially the Papio SS!!!

I think that's a great price for that bike. Since it was tracked that top end rebuilt is a good idea especially if, like you said, the fuel pump was going out, those valves might need some attention. My only advice would be to practice panic braking in the parking lot and get comfortable with that front end since there is no abs

Your passion 4 2 wheels is unparalleled and greatly appreciated. Thank you

Theres so many cheap vfrs. And they are so beautiful. What a temptation

its really funny that all those cool retro looking ones has the name interceptor... even if it is a retro cruiser or a street racer one...

I have the same bike...ten years newer. It's really crazy to me just how different the '93 VFR750F is to the original Interceptor and Sabre. All three are great bikes apart from the early 750 oiling issues, and the 750F is by far my favorite bike I've ever ridden. Even almost 60k miles on it's still awesome.

Wow the memories. I had my riding test on one of these back in the day…

I've owned the VFR 800 loved the V4 sound coming off throttle. Going to look at a $1000 2006 Kawasaki 650R. Going to pull the plastics off and make it a naked super twin..... Nope probably buying a junker lol

0:26 is that ratchet strap, strapped into the brake lever...?

the mini bike series sound awesome! i cant wait!

Love it! I had 1983 CB1100

the bike looks a lot better than anything modern. Now all the bikes look nearly identical.

i like mini bikes. they fit in the elevator and i can bring one to my apartment if i need to fix something. my apartment dont allow us working on our vehicles in the parking area....so i bring it in my apartment....LOL

Good review

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Im 54 and it was my dream bike is my dream bike

One of the best looking bikes ever made. Especially the 1000. I just paid $2000 cad for a 91 VFR750. It sounds great with a Two Brothers can (came with no baffle) and it's very tight.