In itself, the popularity of the VF400 today is quite surprising, given that Honda’s new generation of V4s, which began in 1982 with the shaft-drive VF750S soft-cruiser model, was mired in controversy from the day (well, a few months) after it hit the showrooms. Most, but not all of the problems that beset the V4 had to do with lubrication, or lack of it, to the top end. An insufficiently lubricated camshaft whirring away on the top of the motor spells disaster, as indeed was often the case. True, Honda sprang into action with some fixes, but bad news has a habit of travelling faster than good news, and irreparable damage was done to the company’s reputation in a short space of time. It didn’t do a great deal for VF400 sales either.
There were also problems with ignition systems and cam chain tensioners which were
