The guys at Icon Motosports have a predilection for 80s Hondas. “The first VFR is arguably the pinnacle of that era,” they note. “Not pinnacle in that it’s a great bike—it most certainly is not. It’s more in relation to style … thick and saucy, with a throaty smoker’s cough.”
This 1986 Honda VF1000R is one of three custom builds created to spearhead the launch of the Icon 1000 range of apparel. And there’s a method to Icon’s madness.
In stock form, the Honda VF1000R was a heavy machine, tipping the scales at over 530 lbs. But it was built with an eye to race homologation, especially for the endurance classes, and had a strong 130 hp motor. Contemporary tests put top speed at a whisker under 150 mph and the bike could beat the 11-second quarter mile mark. The ideal canvas, then, for Icon to create a post-apocalyptic survival machine.
A refreshing sense of irreverence permeates this VF1000R, from the dirt tire at the front—actually a Continental offroad rear tire—to the hand lettered “Magnificent Bastard” moniker on the Airtech tail unit.
The mods are a mix of the sublime and ridiculous, from Leo Vince GP Pro pipes to the CB radio nestling under the instruments. The seat is a Yoshimura Tornado item and a pair of PIAA spots are mounted onto a custom-built frame sitting outside what is left of the fairing. The paint is the dirtiest of dirty whites, as pure as the driven snow.
‘Magnificent Bastard’ sure as hell isn’t going to win an AMD Championship award. But it’s ten times more interesting than most show bikes—and it doesn’t even have pipewrap or Firestones.
