It’s a bit better than that. In fact Mark Reeve’s Honda RVF endurance replica is one of the best high-end budget builds in the history of PS
This is no cheque book special. In fact, Mark Reeve’s VFR750F/ RVF endurance replica couldn’t be further from a money-no-object build. “I reckon it cost about £3000 all in,” says Mark, smiling wryly at my wide-eyed reaction. “Most of the parts are stuff I’ve picked up at breaker’s yards or found online at a bargain price.”
My brain’s trying to compute what I’ve just been told, because the brightly coloured OKI rep in front of me looks every inch a lavishly constructed endurance racer that, frankly, wouldn’t look out of place in a garage with HRC emblazoned above the door. Not bad for a bloke in a Norfolk shed on a tight budget.
You may remember Mark’s OKI rep from November’s Specials We Like feature; his Rothmans FireBlade also graced these pages a year or two back. He’s a serial specials builder who’s been on our radar as far back as the late 1990s when he joined us at Bruntingthorpe for PB’s FireBlade frenzy – Mark’s then 900RR was a gorgeous fluorescent red, single-sided, endurance rep (there’s a theme here…). So, when he sent us several grainy phone pics of his latest creation for SWL, we knew we had to see it in the metal to fully appreciate what he’s achieved.
“With every bike I do, my aim is always the same,” explains Mark as we look over his RVF rep. “To build something ‘factory’ that looks as if it could’ve been put together by a manufacturer or racing division. I haven’t quite got there yet. Don’t get me wrong, I love how this build has turned out, but recreating what’s in your mind’s eye isn’t easy, especially on a budget.”
Mark’s a modest man, clearly, because with this project he’s gone way beyond bolting a bunch of disparate parts together – many of which look hopelessly mismatched on paper and yet with fine tuning will, no doubt, work together in perfect unison.
The base of the build is a 1993 VFR750F RC36 that Mark picked up just over a year ago for £500. “The guy was only asking £400 – he was selling it to pay bills, so I gave him a bit extra because I knew I only wanted the engine and frame. I flogged the rest of the bits and made my money back. It was no minter, mind; a typically shabby commuter with 70,000 miles on the clock, but it started, ran, and did everything I needed it to for this build.”
