Beastly Honda VFR800 Kamaitachi Packs Cyberpunk Influence in Abundance

In Japanese mythology, Kamaitachi is a supernatural entity with sharp sickle-like claws and, according to legends, a pretty unfriendly attitude. It has the appearance of a weasel and is carried by “devilish winds” to its victims, whom it slays leaving behind bloodless wounds. Now, we tend to think of weasels as these adorable little creatures, but the ones over in Japan are apparently up to no good.

Thankfully, the real-life Kamaitachi isn’t some nefarious mustelid, so don’t put on your samurai armor or draw your katana just yet. The name was chosen by Jan Hrbek to christen his wild Honda VFR800 Interceptor, which he’d built using a 2001 model over an eight-month period. His modifications are nothing short of dazzling, taking inspiration from various cyberpunk works such as the 1988 movie Akira.

Sure enough, the VFR was one hell of a starting point for such a project, with 110 ponies coming from its sixteen-valve 781cc V4 powerplant. This grunt makes its way to the rear wheel through a six-speed gearbox, resulting in a quarter-mile time of just over 11 seconds and speeds of up to 155 mph (249 kph). These numbers are nothing to sneeze at, even if Honda’s sport-tourer is rather heavy at 459 pounds (208 kg) dry.

In any case, Jan was quite happy with the VFR800’s mechanical traits as they were, so his transformation is mostly a cosmetic affair. That’s not to say it was easy to pull off, however, because Kamaitachi had to look just as sharp as the claws of its mythological namesake. With the donor on this workbench, the Czech craftsman began by ditching all its factory bodywork aside from the fuel tank and front fender.

The Interceptor's original lighting components followed suit, as did a number of other stock accessories. Jan was then left with a blank canvas and tons of cool ideas, which were first translated into digital 3D models before the real fabrication work could begin. He knows a great deal about rapid prototyping given his background as a professional designer, so the whole process was familiar territory for the project’s author.

Once he was satisfied with the CAD renderings, it came time to have the physical parts 3D-printed in carbon fiber nylon. At the front end, we now find an aggressive half-fairing that complements the lines of the OEM fuel tank organically. It encircles a high-grade LED headlight, while the yellow-tinted windshield found up top was repurposed from a CBR1000RR and extensively trimmed.

Behind it lies what used to be a computer’s motherboard, now acting as a cover for the VFR’s instrument panel. The cockpit is also home to billet aluminum fluid reservoirs and grips, as well as a pair of bar-end mirrors. A bit further back, we come across a CNC-machined filler cap adorning the gas tank, and the bike’s rear end is just as enthralling as the front.

Employing the same fabrication process which gave him the front fairing, Jan came up with a futuristic tail section that would look right at home on a Transformer. He needed to rework the subframe before getting this part to fit, but everything came together spectacularly in the end. Atop the 3D-printed tail, you will find a custom-made solo seat shaped out of the Interceptor’s standard unit.

It sports a tasteful mixture of black and brown upholstery, along with honeycomb pattern stitching done in yellow for contrast. Moreover, the rearmost portion of the tail houses bright LED lighting componentry, and it’s kept ultra-clean thanks to a swingarm-mounted license plate bracket made of aluminum. Jan installed Highsider turn signals at both ends, placing them low down on the fender up north and on the aforementioned license plate holder out back.

The standard coolant overflow tank has been swapped with a cylindrical stainless-steel alternative, which bears a sneaky radiation hazard symbol as if Kamaitachi ran on nuclear power. It’s just one of many groovy motifs found throughout this motorcycle, with others including Speedhunters logos on the tire sidewalls and Japanese lettering on the bodywork. In the powertrain sector, Hrbek Design’s interference was relatively minimal.

Jan simply added K&N air filtration technology and a premium exhaust muffler from Yoshimura, but we also see a transparent clutch cover finishing things off. It’s no off-the-shelf solution, mind you, and our protagonist describes the process of putting it together as the most complex part of this entire build. Given how intricate Kamaitachi’s other details are, we were honestly quite surprised to learn that.