Owners review: Honda RVF400 NC35 1996

We’ve been waiting a very long time for this moment. Up until now, we have been researching, buying parts for, and rebuilding our RVF400. While no project bike is every truly ‘finished’, the RVF is pretty darn close now, close enough to ride it comfortably and enjoy it on the street.

One thing to preface at the start of this review is that being a 30 year old carburetted sportsbike means that your experience on an RVF400, or any other 90’s sports bike, is likely may vary considerably to our experience. Where our RVF400 has had everything rebuilt other than the engine itself, which is running healthily, most RVF400’s have not been overhauled this extensively and even if they have, the way in which the suspension and carburettors are set up can be very different.

What’s special about the RVF400?

The RVF400 came towards the end of the golden era of Japanese sports bikes. It was the last generation of a line of 400cc V4’s from Honda, which have not been produced since 1996. It’s the son or little brother of the Honda RC45 or RVF750, Honda’s last V4 world super bike. The RVF400 and the NC30 that preceded it are very unique motorbikes, which in our view is a big part of why they are so special and still so sought after across the world to this day. If you want to understand the differences between the RVF and the VFR, check out our article which you can read here.

The RVF400 NC35 was produced by Honda for three years, from 1994 to 1996. If a Honda press release is anything to go by, it was anticipated that 5,000 bikes would sell each year. As it turns out, sales were underwhelming; so underwhelming that many bikes manufactured in 1996 were sold as year models ranging from 1996 up to around 1999.

With quite low overall production numbers, and being a bike that is now at least 25 years old, the RVF400 is quite rare, whether you’re looking in Japan or in other countries where they were commonly imported. As far as we are aware, the UK likely has the most RVF400’s. Here in Australia, they are quite rare: you will typically only see a couple for sale across Australia at any given time.

The RVF400 is probably best known for its engine, a 400cc, 90-degree V4, with gear driven cams and a ‘big bang’ firing order, all of which give it a very unique and distinctive sound. V4’s are a rare engine configuration which is typically reserved for race bikes and within the realm of mass produced motorbikes, high end sports bikes such as the Ducati Panigale V4, or the Aprilla RSV4, both of which produce in excess of 150hp and cost more than $30,000. As we understand it, the exclusivity of the V4 largely comes down to production cost.

While the RVF400 was advertised as being 53hp, the bike in standard form put out closer to 55hp at the rear wheel. You may be aware that the RVF’s predecessor, the VFR400 NC30, was advertised as being 59hp. By the time the RVF came into being, Japanese laws put a ceiling on the power output of 400cc bikes of 53hp. Similarly, the ceiling on power for 250cc bikes was lowered from 45hp to 40hp. The RVFs engine is an updated version of the VFR engine, which we cover in our article comparing both of those bikes, which you can find here.

You can easily de-restrict the RVF400 to make comparable power to that of the VFR. Honda had stifled the RVF’s power output by putting a restrictive muffler on the bike and jetting (fuelling) the carburettors to suit. If you replace the muffler or the whole exhaust system and re-jet the carburettors (increase fuel to account for the freer flowing exhaust) you can get between 58 – 62hp at the rear wheel.

Aside from having a unique and desirable engine, the RVF also has upside down front forks with preload and rebound adjustment, a twin spar aluminium frame, a single sided swingarm, two four piston caliper front brakes, semi-flat slide Kehin carburettors, and a rear pillion seat with a small storage compartment, which is far smaller than the storage found on a CBR250RR MC22 or a CBR400RR NC29. In many ways the RVF400 was the pinnacle of the small capacity four cylinder Japanese sportsbikes of the 90’s, having the most sophisticated suspension, arguably the most desirable engine, and a very attractive fairing design sporting big Japanese primary colours.

The RVF400 is, in my opinion, one of the most attractive sportsbike to come out in the 1990’s, and remains a highly attractive design in today’s market where sportsbikes are hyper angular. The design and colours of the fairing graphics are timeless and beautiful, while the single sided swingarm and rear wheel shouts ‘endurance racer’.

What’s the engine like?

The engine, designated as the NC13E, pulls cleanly from about 4,000RPM onwards, and you can shift at around 5,000 – 5,500rpm around town whilst maintaining a reasonable pace. Below 3,500rpm in any gear other than first, the bike sounds quite vibey and like its lugging. Whilst the engine will remain reasonably responsive to throttle input at low engine speeds, it doesn’t sound pleasant, which may be due to the engines firing order. Around town the RVF has sufficient torque such that you don’t feel like you have to thrash the bike to get ahead of traffic and in that regard, it is considerably more relaxed to ride than a CBR250RR MC22 (unsurprisingly).

If you want to ride the bike spiritedly, you’ll want to keep the engine spinning above 7,000rpm, where the engine really starts coming to life. From here power builds linearly up to about 13,000rpm, after which you can feel the power start to taper off. From about 10,000rpm onwards the bike feels fast, fast enough to have fun without ever feeling like the bike is getting ahead of you. Having gone down one tooth on the front sprocket, second and third gear are where the fun is, whether around town or up in the mountains. Unlike the MC22, the RVF400 keeps pulling hard above 100kph, and it doesn’t take long to be doing 160kph – 170kph.

Below is a little audio clip of our RVF400. Unfortunately the quality isn’t as good as the original recording.

I’ll admit, when I first heard the NC13E engine on videos, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the sound of the bike. It sounded distinctive, but not enthralling in the same way as a screaming inline four or a triple does. However, after hearing the RVF in person, my opinion of how it sounds completely changed.

Known as a ‘droner’ V4, the bike does really sound quite drone-y at low RPM, although at any engine speed, the sound of the gear driven cams is significantly more pronounced than the gears which drive the cams on the CBR250RR. Once the engine speed is above about 7,000RPM, which is coincidentally where the engine starts to come alive, the bike begins to shriek in a really unique and visceral manner. It’s the type of experience I wish more sportsbike riders got the opportunity to have. In the current state of tune the bike also burbles when you let off the throttle when the engine is spinning above 6,000rpm, which adds to the theatre of riding the bike.

A common complaint about the RVF is that first gear is too long, redlining at around 95kph. Despite this, many other sportsbikes from the 90’s and even Kawasaki’s new ZX4RR, feature a first gear with a comparable overall ratio. With stock sprocket sizes we had to slip the clutch slightly off the lights to help move off the line. However, switching to a 14 tooth front sprocket (-1) has helped immensely round town, making take offs considerably easier.

 That aside, the gearbox is close ratio, making it quite easy to keep the engine in the meat of the power when you’re shifting through the gears, which we find quite satisfying. The shift lever has a brass collar that’s been pressed into it, rather than a proper bearing, resulting in a bit of lateral play. This makes the stock shift slightly sloppy, however we have ridden RVF400s with Tyga Performance rear sets which feature bearings in the shifter, with the result that the gearshift feels tight and positive. Honda also included a slipper clutch, which neither its predecessor the VFR400 or its main Honda competitor the CBR400RR NC29 featured. Despite being a slipper clutch designed in the 90’s, it works very well. With the bike happily downshifting into any gear at town speeds, provided you let the clutch out at an appropriate speed. However, if you’re riding aggressively or doing high speeds, its best to rev match rather than rely on the clutch and anyway, blipping the throttle on downshifts is another great way to enjoy that V4.

At 100kph, the engine turns over at an indicated 6,500rpm which feels quite comfortable, and doesn’t get annoying. This is considerably less frantic than the CBR250RR, which is sitting at about 9,500rpm (indicated) at 100kph.

The riding experience

We think this is about as satisfying as it gets for a sportsbike on public roads that you can both ride to work, and take out on the weekend and wring its neck out. Adequate torque for town and motorway riding, and just enough power that you can use most if not all of the bike on a good mountain road whilst staying engaged, and feel like you’re carrying a decent pace.

Be under no misapprehensions, with refreshed suspension and brakes, this is as capable a sportsbike as any modern Japanese sportsbike when it comes to performance on your favourite roads, quite a remarkable feat for a 27-year-old bike, but also not hugely surprising when you look at how over engineered the RVF and other 90’s sportsbike were, and the much slower rate of advancement in bike performance since then, with priorities instead being on: cost, rider aids, emissions, and in the case of sportsbikes, relevance.

The front forks have been rebuilt with .9kg springs and feature rebound and preload adjustment. With heavier springs and properly dialled in setting, they provide a great balance of compliance over Australia’s fairly average quality roads, whilst minimising brake dive.

The rear features a Nitron R1 shock which has also been very good. Overall, no complaints from the suspension. We’ve also replaced every single suspension bearing and shod the wheels in fresh Rosso IVs, which have provided great grip and tip-in.

We’ve shaved about a total of 10kg off the weight of the RVF400 which has an original wet weight of 183kg. Despite not being an especially heavy bike in stock form, we did find the RVF did feel a little slow to tip in (even with fresh tyres) before we embarked on our weight reduction journey. However, the weight reduction has really helped quite a lot, and the bike is now very flickable.

The rider seat is quite wide, giving you plenty of room to position yourself comfortably and get your body right on the edge of the bike whilst still having a good amount of seat under you. We had the rider seat re-covered in marine swede, which we prefer due to the increased grip compared to the original vinyl set. The fuel tank is quite large, and has been well designed so that it provides ample surface area and grip for your knee to lock in as your body hangs off the other side of the bike.

Interestingly, the RVFs wheelbase is the same as the CBR250RR MC22. Similar to the MC22, the front screen on the RVF is very low, and doesn’t provide as much wind deflection as we would like. In full tuck, the top of the windscreen is level with your eyes, or just below it.

The riding position of the RVF is certainly more comfortable than a modern 600cc sportsbike, but it’s still a sportsbike with a forward leaning bias. I’m 5’ 10” and to sit upright, I need to ride one handed. Even then, my back and legs will eventually get sore, but its about as comfortable a riding position as you’re going to get on a sportsbike.    

Practicality

As you will see, we have converted the bike from the original two seat design to a single seat style that replicates the style of the RC45. What little practicality the bike did have is now gone, as the two-seat design includes a small storage space below the pillion seat.

Aside from having a storage space, the original RVF400 pillion seat also included fold out hooks (see photo) that acted as tie down points, pretty cool right?

Fuel economy and range

Depending on the set up (fuelling and gearing) and the way you’re riding, you can expect between about 5.2 – 6.7L/100km, with the upper range typically only observed during track riding. For spirited street riding expect something in the mid 5’s (L/100km). This translates into a safe and conservative range of about 200km on the street before you’ll need to switch the reserve on.

Reliability

Honda was known as the most reliable motorbike manufacturer of the 90s. Engine issues that arise are generally a product of either poor maintenance or abuse at the hands of owners. If well maintained and not abused, the engines and gearbox are generally trouble free. Our RVF400 has 80,000km on the odometer and it’s still running strong.

The Achilles’ heel of most Honda’s from the 90’s, is the electrics. In particular the regulator rectifier which governs the charging system is prone to failure after between about 15,000 – 30,000km. It’s poor design and lack of cooling cause it to run hot, eventually causing failure. When failure occurs, it can take out your battery together with the electrical plug which connects the reg/rec to the wiring loom, causing quite the mess. Installing a more modern reg/rec is a typical upgrade, with these having a more efficient design which runs cooler and thus lasts longer. We’ve installed a mosfet reg/rec designed for lithium batteries, together with a lithium battery. As part of that installation we put CPU thermal paste on the back of the reg/rec which mounts to the subframe, to aid with heat transfer and cooling.