Reanimating a greybike RVF400 (NC35)

[thenewwazoo]

Originally Posted by Phanuel

Can I ride it so you can hear it?

You joke, but I had one hell of a time trying to find someone to ride mine a bit so I could hear it before I went to Laguna Seca. I've still never heard the damn thing at full song from anywhere but the seat. I imagine it sounds nice...

[PetrieJ]

[greasem0nkey86]

Originally Posted by thenewwazoo

You joke, but I had one hell of a time trying to find someone to ride mine a bit so I could hear it before I went to Laguna Seca. I've still never heard the damn thing at full song from anywhere but the seat. I imagine it sounds nice...

I'll volunteer every time!

[Phanuel]

Originally Posted by thenewwazoo

You joke, but I had one hell of a time trying to find someone to ride mine a bit so I could hear it before I went to Laguna Seca. I've still never heard the damn thing at full song from anywhere but the seat. I imagine it sounds nice...

Idunbelieveit.

[RVFRick]

Where were we.... yes, wrapping up a typical Saturday morning breakfast at Philz Coffee on Middlefield (large Tesorra medium/medium and an almond croissant, toasted). Mmmm. Making a special day even better.

Quick text to Marc, the seller, to check that someone didn't snipe me. Get text back confirming show time.

At 10:55 we pull into a dilapidated industrial strip and search for the correct unit. It's the one at the end of the the lot. The parking lot is empty. Crap is he a no show? Is this the right address? On cue, a car pulls in and parks. A guy gets out and warmly greets Jessica and I. "Hi, I'm Marc are you Richard?" Yup. "Do you want see the bike?", he asks. Well if you insist.

We go into his large well-equipped cabinetry shop and there she is. Sitting quietly in the dimly lit garage. Me = grinning idiot. It's real and gorgeous. Jessica even thinks it's cool. As cool as it looks in all the online articles and reviews it's even cooler in person. I walk around and appreciate the compactness, proportions, form, fit, function, paint, graphics and condition. My heart is racing and I am in lust. Yeah it needs TLC but so does any diamond in the rough.

Marc opens the roll up and I wheel her outside into the sunlight. Brilliant. I straddle the bike. It's perfection. Marc relays the bike's history: he bought it in 2005 or from a seller in SF. It was in pieces as it seems the owner came to the realization that it was smarter, faster and cheaper to get the horsepower he sought by buying a larger displacement bike. I wonder if he regrets his decision.

Marc buys it for $4500. Since it's in pieces, he brings it to Mike Norman of G-Force Engineering to put humpty dumpty back together again. I have since googled Mike and see that he is a subject matter expert on engine design and engineering. Having developed trick replacement parts for the NC35 engine and having getting his dream job working for Honda North America doing cool engine dev work. Too bad for me he's no longer in the Bay Area as I could use his help. Anyways, knowing that he wrenched on this NC35 adds a bit of glow.

As for the missing key. The last time the bike was operational was 2010 when Marc's friend rode it at a track day at Laguna Seca. How generous and trusting is that! BTW Marc recently sold two of his VFR400s on eBay (wonder what other toys he has!). Back to the story, at the end of the day the key was nowhere to be found. Gone. Lost. Ran away. Haul bike back home, park in garage, let it sit for 7 years collecting dust & cob webs, but no rust as far as I can see.

So here we are. Marc is reprioritizing and hoping to find a good home for his baby. It's a standout of all the rides he's ever owned and there have been many. He says it's the only bike he's ever owned that fits like a glove and becomes a part of you. He discloses that the bike was last registered in 2006 and there will be DMV back fees. In my mind I wave it off as no big deal. What's a couple hundred bucks or so, right? (more on DMV later).

I ask if there are any spare parts, turn signals, manuals, paperwork, etc. He disappears to search of them and then comes back with a box. We sort through it. Hayne's manual, title, rear sets ... what's in this box? We discover a complete key set ignition, gas cap, seat lock. "Oh man, I don't remember buying these. Hmm, maybe I should keep the bike". He's kidding, right? He hands me the box, and says "Here ya go. This should help you get her running again and if you ever decide to sell her give me a call first". No doubt.

We negotiate price for all of 5 seconds. He's had other callers willing to offer more but I surprised him when I replied w/in 15 minutes of his posting going live. He's giving me first dibs. Shake on it. Marc offers to tow it to my home and complete the transfer at 2pm after running some errands and getting his trailer. I offer to go get cash now but he says not to worry.

Reconfirm 2pm rendezvous and head off to lunch. Meanwhile I'm thinking I should have brought cash and concluded the deal then. Having uncovered the spare lockset would he change his mind? No deal until the pink-slip is signed. Jessica tells me I'm being paranoid.

Come back later to see if she was right......

[NSR500]

Biggest plus for that bike is that it is in the DMV system. Nice score!

[295566]

Man if that guy didn't sell that bike I'm going to be heartbroken for you.

[Whammy]

Originally Posted by 295566

Man if that guy didn't sell that bike I'm going to be heartbroken for you.

Me too, but id of been that one guy who snaked it from under you.
This is definitely a big big score Rick. I'm happy for you!

[Krooklyn]

I think Marc is the same guy that tried to buy my RVF last year. Glad to see another one in the area has a street RVF. I think we should all do a grey market ride together some day. I'm down in San Jose.

[thenewwazoo]

My wife and I were talking a few weeks ago about my RVF. She'd been under the impression that I was going to paint my CF Tyga bodywork with the stock livery, and was surprised when I said I was going to stick with the Edwards/Rossi CABIN scheme. My bike is... uh, modified. A bit. I have weird ideas about what's important to keep stock (for example, the mud guard) and what's not (the subframe), but my bike is definitely not ever going to represent Soichiro's original product. Anyway, we got to talking about it, and I mentioned that these days the only bike I actually desire is... another RVF. I've got a couple of VFRs and a Hawk GT but what I really want is a 100% original RVF400 to sit alongside my modified toy. She told me that if I ever saw one for sale with a plate, it would be something she'd have a hard time trying to talk me out of, at basically any price.

Rick, at $4500, I probably wouldn't have told her in advance. She'd have just gotten a "big transaction" alert from the bank and a selfie.

[Krooklyn]

Originally Posted by thenewwazoo

Rick, at $4500, I probably wouldn't have told her in advance. She'd have just gotten a "big transaction" alert from the bank and a selfie.

I don't think Rick got it for $4.5K. I think he was relaying the history and Marc paid $4.5K for it. If it's the same Marc that approached me about my bike, there's no way he'd sell that bike for $4.5K. I'm going to venture (depending on back fees and mileage) that it went for around $6.5K.

[thenewwazoo]

Ahhh okay, yeah, I see that now. I still maintain it won't have mattered!

[berth]

Originally Posted by RVFRick

We go into his large well-equipped cabinetry shop and there she is. Sitting quietly in the dimly lit garage. Me = grinning idiot. It's real and gorgeous.

This alone is worth it.

Even if it turns in to the rusting, never starting, never ridden, garage stain money pit from hell, it won't, but even if it did, this alone is worth it.

We live in amazing times, surrounded by amazing people, and beauty, and amazing things.

Even then, sometimes, we take them for granted. The practical side seizes us,a what if whispers in your ear, or we "listen to somebody".

But moments like this, in this moment, they're pure. They're rare, but they're pure. Childlike. Relish and embrace it for just this.

Many of us are smiling with you.

I was like this when I got my VFR. It was real, and gorgeous.

[RVFRick]

Originally Posted by thenewwazoo

My wife and I were talking a few weeks ago about my RVF. She'd been under the impression that I was going to paint my CF Tyga bodywork with the stock livery, and was surprised when I said I was going to stick with the Edwards/Rossi CABIN scheme. My bike is... uh, modified. A bit. I have weird ideas about what's important to keep stock (for example, the mud guard) and what's not (the subframe), but my bike is definitely not ever going to represent Soichiro's original product. Anyway, we got to talking about it, and I mentioned that these days the only bike I actually desire is... another RVF. I've got a couple of VFRs and a Hawk GT but what I really want is a 100% original RVF400 to sit alongside my modified toy. She told me that if I ever saw one for sale with a plate, it would be something she'd have a hard time trying to talk me out of, at basically any price.

Rick, at $4500, I probably wouldn't have told her in advance. She'd have just gotten a "big transaction" alert from the bank and a selfie.

I'm with you on that.

$4500 was what the seller paid when he bought it in 2000.

[RVFRick]

Wazoo, that's funny. Just yesterday my wife grilled grilled me about a "surprise" $18 bookstore purchase she saw on the bank statement. Nothing gets by her.