V65 V45 Interceptor Vfr1000 Compatibility

I don't know if any of you are like me, but my mind constantly wonders about fun projects, bike builds, Frankenviffers, and the like.

After doing some poking around on Honda's heritage website, I found that Honda produced quite a few V4 motorcycles in the 80s which may have compatible parts with our beloved Interceptor.

Honda Site

The V65 Magna and Sabre are the most notable models with the 1098cc engine. I did a few searches on VFRD for "V65" and "V45" and found nothing. The 45 and 65 refer to the cubic inches of the motor. Honda at the time was trying to appeal to the american gear head.

So I can't help but think that there are quite a few krusty old V65s out there which could be salvaged for parts. My main questions is, "Can any of the V65 parts be used to make a 1098cc VFR?" Everyone talks about getting more power out of the VFR, or how great it would be if Honda produced a VFR1000, but what if the parts already exist out there to do it ourselves? Mostly I am concerned with the rotating assembly: crank, pistons, rods, cam even.
Are the blocks the same? Are the castings completely different for the 750cc (V45 and/or VFR) and the 1098cc model? Could I stroke a third generation VFR with a crank from a V65? I know the V65 was shaft driven, so at least part of the engine case is different, but hopefully internal components are the same.
It would be amazing to use the components in as high as 4th generation VFR...? It seems like it could be possible since that was the 4th gen was the last carubureted model before the move to the 781cc EFI motor.

Any and all insight would be most appreciated!

First off the V45 and V65 Magna/Sabre are all shaft drive bikes, whereas the VF750 and VF1000 Interceptors are chain drive.

So the engine cases are out of the question.

Most rotating and reciprocating parts from the V45 engine (but probably not the transmission parts) could be persuaded to live in VF750 cases, as both bikes are 45 cubic inches and the V45 was indeed the predecessor to the the VF750 Interceptor.

As for the V65/1000 parts, well, I have no idea. At a minimum, you'd have to bore the 1000 block to accept the V65 pistons, though I don't know if there's enough room to do so. And you still wouldn't wind up with 1100cc's as the V65 has a longer stroke to boot.

1000 = 77.0 x 53.6 mm
V65 = 79.5 x 55.3 mm

As for swapping crank and rods to get the whole1100cc's, I don't know if the shaft-drive bike has a different primary drive off the crank or what. They may not interchange.

It's a cool idea though. If a guy had both engines torn down, side by each, it would be easy to tell.

Side by side..? :lol:
[image: Posted Image]

I happen to have a vfr750, V45 and 1000R motor right now, if you need external measurements let me know. Not wanting to really tear down the 750's.

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 01:45 PM, said:

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:

Bailey, where's everyone getting these US state ride maps and where can I get one?

[image: View Post]vfrcapn, on Oct 19 2007, 03:48 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 01:45 PM, said:

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:

Bailey, where's everyone getting these US state ride maps and where can I get one?



There was a post, let me look for it! :thumbsup:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 03:54 PM, said:

[image: View Post]vfrcapn, on Oct 19 2007, 03:48 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 01:45 PM, said:

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:

Bailey, where's everyone getting these US state ride maps and where can I get one?



There was a post, let me look for it! :thumbsup:

Here's the link.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...mp;#entry443481

[image: View Post]Vecky5, on Oct 19 2007, 04:04 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 03:54 PM, said:

[image: View Post]vfrcapn, on Oct 19 2007, 03:48 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 01:45 PM, said:

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:

Bailey, where's everyone getting these US state ride maps and where can I get one?



There was a post, let me look for it! :thumbsup:

Here's the link.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...mp;#entry443481



thank you sir! :thumbsup:

[image: View Post]Vecky5, on Oct 19 2007, 02:04 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 03:54 PM, said:

[image: View Post]vfrcapn, on Oct 19 2007, 03:48 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 01:45 PM, said:

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:

Bailey, where's everyone getting these US state ride maps and where can I get one?



There was a post, let me look for it! :thumbsup:

Here's the link.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...mp;#entry443481


Thank you. Mine's so pathetic I won't be sharing... :rolleyes:

[image: View Post]vfrcapn, on Oct 19 2007, 07:03 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Vecky5, on Oct 19 2007, 02:04 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 03:54 PM, said:

[image: View Post]vfrcapn, on Oct 19 2007, 03:48 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Oct 19 2007, 01:45 PM, said:

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:

Bailey, where's everyone getting these US state ride maps and where can I get one?



There was a post, let me look for it! :thumbsup:

Here's the link.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...mp;#entry443481


Thank you. Mine's so pathetic I won't be sharing... :rolleyes:



You have to start somewhere! Mine indicate the States I'm Wanted in! B)

[image: View Post]Honda_jedi, on Oct 19 2007, 10:03 AM, said:

After doing some poking around on Honda's heritage website, I found that Honda produced quite a few V4 motorcycles in the 80s which may have compatible parts with our beloved Interceptor.

Honda jedi? Dude, you aren't even a honda youngling. :rolleyes: A lot to learn you have. (insert yoda emoticon here) :goofy:

[image: View Post]Honda_jedi, on Oct 19 2007, 09:03 AM, said:

I don't know if any of you are like me, but my mind constantly wonders about fun projects, bike builds, Frankenviffers, and the like.

After doing some poking around on Honda's heritage website, I found that Honda produced quite a few V4 motorcycles in the 80s which may have compatible parts with our beloved Interceptor.

Honda Site

The V65 Magna and Sabre are the most notable models with the 1098cc engine. I did a few searches on VFRD for "V65" and "V45" and found nothing. The 45 and 65 refer to the cubic inches of the motor. Honda at the time was trying to appeal to the american gear head.

So I can't help but think that there are quite a few krusty old V65s out there which could be salvaged for parts. My main questions is, "Can any of the V65 parts be used to make a 1098cc VFR?" Everyone talks about getting more power out of the VFR, or how great it would be if Honda produced a VFR1000, but what if the parts already exist out there to do it ourselves? Mostly I am concerned with the rotating assembly: crank, pistons, rods, cam even.
Are the blocks the same? Are the castings completely different for the 750cc (V45 and/or VFR) and the 1098cc model? Could I stroke a third generation VFR with a crank from a V65? I know the V65 was shaft driven, so at least part of the engine case is different, but hopefully internal components are the same.
It would be amazing to use the components in as high as 4th generation VFR...? It seems like it could be possible since that was the 4th gen was the last carubureted model before the move to the 781cc EFI motor.

Any and all insight would be most appreciated!


Sounds like a great idea, I researched this a bit a few years ago when I was bored and here is what I found:

First, the VF1000 motor was originally based on the VF750 although very few parts interchange and the cases are machined different. Honda started with the VF750 to base the VF1000 on as it is physically smaller than the V65 motor(better for the sport motorcycle). Second, Dave Dodge has stated the VF1000R motor can be safely bored to 79mm. I think this gives you 1024cc though(the upper limit for Superbike racing back when they ran 1000cc bikes). The V65 Sabre starts at 79.5mm bore.

The big Sabres cam journals were not line bored, just like the 1984 VF1000F Interceptor(and the 1984 VF1000R sold outside the US). The 1985-1986 VF1000R`s were and the cams are physically longer and heads wider.

Basically, the VF1000 is already bored and stroked compared to the 750, although at the Honda level, not backyard mechanic level, which really means: they had to use wet liners to get the bore they wanted safely with the machining of the cases, the crank is stronger with larger journals, the trans gears are bigger and stronger, etc.

All that being said, I`m sure anything is do-able, but you do it first and let us know how it turns out! It would be cool if it could work, but probably won`t.

Oh, one more thing, the shaft drive Sabre motors rotate the opposite direction of the chain drive Interceptor motors.

I have no idea if any of the big Sabre parts would fit a newer generation VFR motor, but smaller, lighter, more compact seems to be the way things have gone over the years.

Sorry to jack the thread, but speaking of cool ideas - has anybody ever tried to stuff an early 750 motor into an NC-30? That would make sort of a "home brew" RC-30....

I know that the VF1000R motor will bolt right up into a VF750F frame... fwiw. :joystick:

Thanks to everyone for your insight. Sorry I haven't monitored this thread since posting. Last weekend was an amazing adventure of riding in Roanoke, VA with a fellow VFRD member. I'll start another thread on that soon since the roads were AMAZING.

First, FotoMoto:
To let you know where I'm coming from, I'm actually not a Honda-jedi yet, but cut my teeth on small-block Chevys and rode Hondas as a kid. Honda, though hardly comparable to Chevy, must have some similarities in that development costs for different engines for separate model lines is cost-prohibitive. Chevy engines are basically all the same from �57-�87 and parts can be used interchangeably with minimal modifications.

From what I gather from the thread so far, the V65 engine is not related to the VF750 or VF1000; however, it looks like VF1000 engine components could be compatible back to VF750. I know there�s a member on the forum with a VF1000 with a rod hanging out of the engine. Possibly instead of junking that motor his heads, cams, etc could be used to build a thumper VF750. Just think how much better a 750 would flow with a set of 1000 heads.

VF1000RS stated that much of the machining is different from the VF1000 block to the 750 block. Maybe if the 1000 head isn�t a direct bolt-on (different liner dimensions?), the cams, valves, etc could be used.
Just thinking out loud� Thanks again.

[image: View Post]Honda_jedi, on Oct 22 2007, 01:45 PM, said:

From what I gather from the thread so far, the V65 engine is not related to the VF750 or VF1000; however, it looks like VF1000 engine components could be compatible back to VF750. I know there�s a member on the forum with a VF1000 with a rod hanging out of the engine. Possibly instead of junking that motor his heads, cams, etc could be used to build a thumper VF750. Just think how much better a 750 would flow with a set of 1000 heads.

That would be VFRCap'n with the thrown rod.


He has a VF1000R, which has geardriven cams. A VF750F has chain driven cams, so no possibility of a bolt-on.


There would be slightly more chance of using parts from a VF1000F in a VF750F, but how close they are, I don't know.


VF1000R:
[image: Posted Image]

VF1000F:
[image: Posted Image]

[image: View Post]Veefer800Canuck, on 19 October 2007 - 03:08 PM, said:

First off the V45 and V65 Magna/Sabre are all shaft drive bikes, whereas the VF750 and VF1000 Interceptors are chain drive.

So the engine cases are out of the question.

Most rotating and reciprocating parts from the V45 engine (but probably not the transmission parts) could be persuaded to live in VF750 cases, as both bikes are 45 cubic inches and the V45 was indeed the predecessor to the the VF750 Interceptor.

As for the V65/1000 parts, well, I have no idea. At a minimum, you'd have to bore the 1000 block to accept the V65 pistons, though I don't know if there's enough room to do so. And you still wouldn't wind up with 1100cc's as the V65 has a longer stroke to boot.

1000 = 77.0 x 53.6 mm
V65 = 79.5 x 55.3 mm

As for swapping crank and rods to get the whole1100cc's, I don't know if the shaft-drive bike has a different primary drive off the crank or what. They may not interchange.

It's a cool idea though. If a guy had both engines torn down, side by each, it would be easy to tell.


The vf 1000R and The vf 1100 share the same clutch pressure spring and same clutch plates.
I used them and measured them. The same.

The vf1100 and the VF1000R cylinder head covers do not interchange.

The Vf 1100 radiator will work on the Vf1000R. it has more cooling area too.

The VF1100 carbs will work perfectly on the VF1000R. I am using them now. Sea Level
128mains ,#40 idle jets, two .030 shims on the stock needles and very little restriction
on the intakes just a foam filter. The exhausts on my VF1000R are all 30 inches and
have slip on mufflers - no packing and one restriction washer in each end of the perforated inner sleeve.
Sorry forgot the size of the hole in the washers. but the hole is big.

The tray that holds the carbs is interchangeable .

The photo is not up to date.
I have 4 separate exhausts now and the radiator is inside the front frame rails.

Attached thumbnail(s)

• [image: Attached Image: VF1000R.jpg]

I have a 1988 Honda Super Magna Frame and was wondering if the Vf1000R engine will fit in the Super Magna Frame. There is a Video on the net showing a guy riding a Honda Super Magna frame with a Honda VF65 Sabre engine in it. Unfortunately no other info. No talking on the video and no close up shots. I like the Magna frame because it has a 65 inch wheelbase. Rake 35� VIDEO of the V65 in the Super Magna frame.

[image: View Post]BaileyRock, on 19 October 2007 - 03:45 PM, said:

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:



DO IT MAKE A SHAFT DRIVE VFR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


as i recall from owning a 1st gen bike. The V45 and V65 were pretty much the same thing difference were . Cams , Cranks , Bore size , timings. that does not really leave to much that is changeable lol .

[image: View Post]SEBSPEED, on 21 October 2007 - 09:07 AM, said:

I know that the VF1000R motor will bolt right up into a VF750F frame... fwiw. :joystick:


That is good news to me because I might try to put my VF1000R engine
into a Honda Super Magna frame next week.
It will be converted to chain drive, and I think I can use a Honda VT750 15 inch rear wheel.
I think a 1997 Magna swing arm might work too.

Anyone know the length of the super magna swing arm ,axle center to pivot center?

[image: View Post]johotogame, on 27 April 2011 - 03:42 AM, said:

[image: View Post]BaileyRock, on 19 October 2007 - 03:45 PM, said:

I would say your best bet would be to drop a V65 engine in a VFR frame and make it shaft drive while your at it! :salesman:



DO IT MAKE A SHAFT DRIVE VFR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


as i recall from owning a 1st gen bike. The V45 and V65 were pretty much the same thing difference were . Cams , Cranks , Bore size , timings. that does not really leave to much that is changeable lol .


I do not like shaft drive. Too much weight. ( 60lbs!) Also if the gears get any play ,they grind themselves up instantly.

Today I got the 1988 Super Magna frame.
The bottom 3 engine mount bolts are the same .

Thats what I know right now.

If I remove the VF1000R engine from the chopper frame I will know if it fits
the Super Magna frame by Monday morning.
Next question - frame and chain clearance.
Today is April 29th 2011.

Well I just took a ride on my VF1000R chopper and decided I will not break it up to make a Super Magna
street tracker. I will just work on details of the chopper. I know the VF1000R engine would fit. It would require using
a front cylinder head valve cover on the rear cylinder head with a hose going to a air/oil separator. Not a big deal.

I am going to make a modification to the frame of the chopper to have better access to the rear cylinder head though.

I will just sell the 88' Super Magna frame.

Photo taken today.
[image: Posted Image]