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Vintage Honda


1983 - VF750FD
It was the first sportbike born with racing DNA. Seventeen years ago, you either rode an Interceptor® or you were way behind.

There were two kinds of sportbike riders in 1983. Those who owned a VF750 Interceptor, and those who lusted after one. Armed with newly developed Honda Grand Prix technology, such as a track-inspired fairing, 16-inch front wheel, rectangular-section perimeter frame, single-shock rear suspension and anti-dive front suspension, the Interceptor was a back-road rapier among pocket knives.

Power was cutting edge. As the first liquid-cooled engine in any sportbike, the Interceptor's 90-degree V-four spun out an amazing 86 horsepower, making the bike quicker in the quarter mile and faster on top than its peers. In a top-gear roll-on, the Interceptor flat crushed them, and, in so doing, exploded the notion that high-performance sportbikes had to have narrow powerbands crowded close to the redline. Those triple-disc brakes were regarded as the best brakes on any mass-produced street bike. When the pavement turned twisty, nothing else measured up. And if you felt like crossing a time zone or two, the Interceptor was versatile, smooth and comfortable enough for the job.

Still, its toughest job was racing. New AMA rules required that Superbikes be built from street-going 750s, so Honda's radical Interceptor arrived with the heart and bones of a champion. Losing 70 pounds and gaining over 40 horses in race trim, the new V-4 was equally omnipotent on the track. In 1983, its rookie year as an AMA Superbike, the VF750F won eight of 14 Nationals, and would begin a legacy of Honda V-4 dominance unequaled in AMA Superbike racing.

That original Interceptor, through its racing and sales success, proved that Honda's integrated design approach worked as well on the track as it did on the street. Fast, agile, comfortable, perfectly balanced, the Interceptor began a Honda design philosophy that created a line of sportbikes with tremendous performance and street civility, a line leading straight to the aluminum-frame, fuel-injected 800 Interceptor in Honda's 2000 lineup.

Even if you weren't old enough or lucky enough to experience the Interceptor in 1983, the magic lives on in Honda's sportbike line, and it's better than ever.