As the 1970s turned into the 1980s, Honda’s engineers began to experiment with a V-4 configuration. This quickly became the firm’s new standard-bearer with the VF750 arriving in 1982. Boasting four-valve heads, a short-stroke crankshaft, and narrow included valve angles, these high-revving engines were a technological tour de force.
In 1984, Honda debuted their flagship “race-replica” VF1000R, designed to showcase all the technology Honda had developed on the track via the FWS1000. Sharing the same cast block as the touring-orientated VF1000F, the R’s chief improvement was its gear-driven overhead camshafts. The engineering was a symphony of design with each cylinder head featuring two gears held by a carrier, driving each of the two camshafts in a dual-overhead-camshaft arrangement for each head.
In total, there were nine gears required to transmit power from the crankshaft to all four camshafts, which themselves were also altered for more power. The VF1000R was produced through 1987 in three variations, the RE, RF, and RG, which all differed mainly in cosmetics. Exclusive, expensive, and exceedingly fast, the VF1000R was the world’s fastest production motorcycle when new and is today coveted by discerning collectors.
While any VF1000R is an interesting example, the RE edition on offer from the Dare to Dream Collection is made exceedingly more desirable by its provenance, being purchased new by world renowned motorcyclist, the legendary Malcolm Smith. As the RE was not available in the United States in 1984, Smith purchased the bike via MIDMACOR, Ltd. of Johannesburg, South Africa before immediately exporting it to his residence in Riverside, California. Now indicating just 795 miles at cataloguing, this VF1000RE is offered with extensive purchase and importing paperwork confirming Smith’s ownership.
Boasting low mileage, near mythical provenance, and the title of the world’s fastest when new, this VF1000RE is certain to make a superb addition to any assemblage of high-performance machinery.
Click here for further information
more information: rmsothebys.com
Photos: Darin Schnabel ©2024 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
