1989 VTR250 Track Rat

The Beginning of a Build – 1989 Honda VTR250 Interceptor

I’m normally hesitant to release early stage pics of “work in progress” project bikes, but after this weekend’s awesome testing trip to Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia I just had to share:

VTR250 in Track Rat Trim
VTR250 in Track Rat Trim

Rolling into the pit at the Shenandoah Circuit for the Motorcycle Xcitement track day and unloading this old girl, I drew more than a few “What the fuck?” type stares.   Not only is the VTR250 a rather rare bike, but surrounded by fully prepped race machines sitting up on spools with their tire warmers humming, it looked comically out of place.

Tech inspection was equally hilarious.  The inspector told me “That is literally the rustiest chain I’ve ever seen.  Looks well lubed and properly adjusted though!”  Yeah, I know buddy.  For being a dirty little rat, it actually runs and rides quite well… but I had reached the limits of what testing on the street could tell me about how to optimize the setup.

I’m just not comfortable pushing an unknown bike too hard with the possibility of deer or dump trucks lurking behind every bend in the road.  But on the track, I can do it all day long!  The goal (in addition to improving my own skills as a rider) was to figure out where the bike was weak and needed performance attention.

The Shenandoah Circuit is a tight and technical track, which includes nasty jogging pace hairpins, a downhill corkscrew a la Leguna Seca into the back straight, and an exact replica of the banked Carousel turn from the Nürburgring:

This little VTR is intended to be a country road killer, so I just had to push it hard to find out what needed attention.  I haven’t done much yet other than get it running and strip it down, but as you can see, there was a lot that needed stripping:

Stock VTR250

The heinous body work was either binned on is in the process of being sold on ebay, and the bike is starting to take shape in my head.

I found it was stable all over the track, particularly the sorts of fast sweeping turns where bigger bikes like to wallow and flex frighteningly.  It turned in effortlessly, and the suspension was sufficiently stiff with good damping.  The weak point was definitely the front end.  My efforts will be focused on getting more weight over the front wheel, getting more bite out of the front brake, and getting stickier rubber to take advantage of it all.  It may be necessary to ditch the awesome steampunk looking stock wheel in favor of something more conventional, but either way, it’s going to be a great little bike.

Check back soon for more progress!


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5 responses to “The Beginning of a Build – 1989 Honda VTR250 Interceptor”

  1. Tom Brown Avatar
    Tom Brown

    That looks like a fun project! Wish I could rock the smaller bikes. Can’t wait to see the updates! Got a spare set of GS500F race springs I’d be happy to donate if you find it would work for you, I bought them without out realizing my project was an E. Tom

  2. bobby taylor Avatar
    bobby taylor

    nice article

    I am getting ready to restore a 1989 Honda VTR 250. is there a parts source somewhere? As I plan to paint the bike the original white I also will have to round up the original decals
    and last. I have raced at Summit Point many times
    Bobby Taylor
    Gatlinburg, Tn

    1. cschaefer@gmail.com Avatar
      cschaefer@gmail.com

      Parts are a bit sparse, particularly intact body work. Is there anything in particular you are looking for?

      1. Hayden Stanley Avatar
        Hayden Stanley

        I need all body except seat, seat fairing, tank, front light and cowl

  3. SoyBoySigh Avatar

    Wire-spoke conversion of the CBX550F double-sided version of that front brake – better still the 276mm dual-disc of a PC800 Pacific Coast, I’m of a mind that THAT thing could be converted to wire-spoke as well. Even better that that one would be the GL1500 with 296mm OEM rotors or 316mm rear discs from GL1500SE – some DIY rotor shrouds, these things could really kick ass on the type of retro-fried Cafe Racers that are so popular nowadays. Of course, the existing VTR250F Interceptor front “hub” could make for equally interesting fodder, I’d just keep it on the smaller bikes maybe 125cc & smaller. Certain of ’em are gonna weigh less than others but I’m thinking the PC800 “hub” in “Faux-Leading-Shoe” fake drum hub guise, would be the lightest of ’em all and still have the stock-sized rotors for a GL1000 or CB900F etc. I wanna do something more powerful for my own “CB900K0 Bol Bomber” but I’m picturing the PC800 276mm dual-disc job on a 500cc SOHC-4 or maybe even the CBX550F itself, maybe a 39mm fork to lighten the weight from the PC800’s 41mm – the 20mm axle would be a good upgrade mod for most of the 35mm, 37mm, & 39mm forks from SOHC & DOHC Honda, Goldwing etc. Too bad the 296mm GL1500 rotors don’t fit the PC800 front wheel after all. I was hopefull for that one to work out. The GL1500 front hub conversion would be a heavy S.O.B. but the extra braking power and it’s use on the biggest of classics like a GL1200 based replica of the Endurance Racer “DLF-1000” ‘Wing, or a V65 Magna/Sabre based replica of the ’60s Czech Grand Prix racer, CZ Type 860. Meanwhile the smaller stuff for say, a Honda MXV250F based replica of the Jawa V-4 350cc Type 673 that Bill Ivy died riding – it’s practically the same machine under the bodywork. The CBX550F double-sided 230mm inboard-disc would be double the brake of the stock unit on the VTR250 Interceptor. But I wonder whether the 276mm PC800 unit won’t weigh around the same or maybe even less…..

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