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1984 VF700F New owner, info/tips?


Guest JohnnyBentsmoke357

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Guest JohnnyBentsmoke357

Hi, I'm a new member to the forum and new to these bikes as well. I grew up riding dirtbikes but the only "street bike" I've ridden has been a Harley Sportster.

I came across this 84 vf700f for $700. The guy bought it from someone he says he trusts, who had it running then drained the gas tank and sat it in storage for a year. (Rusty Tank). The guy I got it from bought it for parts on his 83 750f, parts he needed didn't workout and he already has his bike to work on and decided to sell this one. When he bought it, the guy showed him all the lights working and everything but the battery was too bad and tank rusted so it wasn't started. It has 19,000 miles on it and seems to be pretty well taken care of considering this is the north east and it's an 84.

The low down is, Clean the rust out of the tank somehow, new battery, air filter box, rear brake pedal stuck in down position but it still rolls? And possibly cleaning the carbs a bit. General tune up stuff as well, of course.

I'm hoping I can get away with not messing with the carbs and trying to get it fired up.

I'm curious about the speed and power of these bikes, how do they compare to other bikes like newer 600s or 750s?

Also wondering about the Oil mod for the cams...is it really important?

Any info,tips and comments would be appreciated, Thanks.

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Welcome to the forum. Looks like a nice find you have there, especially with the fairing lowers and the aftermarket exhaust - is it a Yoshimura? Tank rust - depending on how involved you want to get there are a number of methods, from chemical methods to reverse electrolysis, to letting a radiator shop boil the tank in their chemicals - do a search on the forum and on Google to see the different ways! If the bike's been sitting for a while it's doubtful you'll get off without pulling the carbs for a thorough cleaning. It's not difficult, but you must be meticulous in your cleaning, parts are still available too. Just don't pull the carbs off the aluminum intake box - the plastic tubes that run between the carbs are fragile to start with and only get more brittle with age. Here's a great link with techniques and tips: http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/22449-cleaning-carbs.html

Depending on who you ask, you'll get different opinions on the oil mod. Personally, my 83 has 28K on it and the cams are in good shape so I'm leaving it alone.

These are great bikes for what they are. They're smooth and have plenty of power, but don't expect to keep up with your buddies on their new crotch rockets! They're a little heavy for that, and the suspensions show their age if you try to push it. Updates are out there though, and these bikes respond well to progressive springs and emulators up front, and converted later shocks in back. How fast do you wanna go? How much do you wanna spend?!!

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you need to bleed the rear brake lines and put new brake fluid in. as for the stuck pedal, you should take off the foot peg and see if it needs a new bushing or grease, when putting it back on DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE BOLT you can easily strip the aluminium this is coming from experience. the carbs you should definitly clean. its always great to see another interceptor restored. good luck.

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Thanks for the replies. First of all yes the mufflers are Yoshis, I'm anxious to hear how they sound. I read different methods on how to deal with the rusty tank, one method that sounded easy and cheap was bbs and evapo rust. The bike seems to be pretty well kept, I'm sure it's been garaged most of its 19,000 mile life. I found out the guy that made the oil mod doesn't make them anymore, I don't plan on racing the thing or probably ever even hitting 100 mph so yeah I suppose the cams should be ok. I actually seen somewhere that a guy put a VF1000 oil pump on...I believe that has more pressure...maybe something to look into at some point? I am thinking about the suspension upgrade, at least for the rear. I weigh about 180, not sure how it's going to react with my weight yet. I looked up specs on the newer bikes and saw that they're running around 140hp and weigh a hundred pds less so yeah I suppose they would pretty much smoke this bike lol. I think they'd be less comfortable to ride though. I will be riding this an hr to school and back everyday so comfort is an issue for me. With the carbs we'll see what happens I guess. I don't dread getting into them a bit, just a bit nervous lol. Thanks for the link on that. I had read not to take them apart like you're saying...definitely not doing that! I still haven't picked up the bike yet and I guess the guy is going to do a few things to it for me so it's possible it'll be running by the time I pick it up. He got another 750 so he's giving me the battery and air filter box off his old one. He also said he'd see about the rust in the tank. If it starts up and runs pretty smooth I will put seafoam to try and get the carbs cleared up...if it's not running smooth after that then carb cleaning here I come. Now, the rear brake issue...It seems kind of awkward to me that it looks to be stuck in the down position yet still rolls lol, I didn't get a chance to really look at it, I'm sure it's nothing crazy expensive to fix, maybe he will fix it for me...we'll see. I'll be picking the bike up around the first and will definitely be coming back to this site often. Right now I'm more focused on getting it on the rode asap than I am looks. I plan on taking pieces off here and there, polishing, painting and what not, I think I'll probably keep the fairings on, most people don't...I don't think my motor is pretty enough to show off yet lol. Thanks everyone :-)

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Oh and also, what does everyone think about 4 into 1 pipes? Power and sound worth the trouble? K&N Air filter or what? I know it's just an air filter but if it even gives me 1 hp I'll take it lol. Btw, bigger jets if I get into the carbs?

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My opinion (and that's all it is!) stick with the Yoshi set-up, you'll like the sound. I think there's a utube clip out there of a VF with the pipe. Besides, you'll have a pretty hard time finding a 4 into 1 setup for a VF. K&N makes sense. Hopefully the carbs have already been rejetted for the pipe that's on now! It's really great that the PO is putting in this work for you before you take possession - count yourself lucky! Enjoy!

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Thanks, I'll look for that. I was thinking that if I did go 4 to 1 I'd have to have it made up but that's just future thought, probably wouldn't be worth the money. Yeah I was amazed when he told me that! We'll see what happens, I'll keep updating.

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You are just down the road from me. I got in to this two years ago. Looks like a nice bike. I have to get mine back on the road this year.

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Cool, what do you need to do to it? What town are you in? I just started looking into the Accel coils as a replacement of stock, not sure if it would be worth the money and time power wise though...?

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Cool, what do you need to do to it? What town are you in? I just started looking into the Accel coils as a replacement of stock, not sure if it would be worth the money and time power wise though...?

I got to put it back together. I put 1500 miles on it 2 summers ago. Last year I took it apart, added a shock from a 2000 600 RR, Had Sebatioan rebuild the forks and then it got lost in the shuffle. Next month it will be back in the garage and I will start putting it back togerher.

Do you know where Ashburnham is? I am 5 miles from there.

Lee

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Cool, what do you need to do to it? What town are you in? I just started looking into the Accel coils as a replacement of stock, not sure if it would be worth the money and time power wise though...?

I got to put it back together. I put 1500 miles on it 2 summers ago. Last year I took it apart, added a shock from a 2000 600 RR, Had Sebatioan rebuild the forks and then it got lost in the shuffle. Next month it will be back in the garage and I will start putting it back togerher.

Do you know where Ashburnham is? I am 5 miles from there.

Lee

I think it's about an hour away. Did that shock bolt on without any mods?

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You won't find replacement exhausts for that bike anymore. Better off to refinish what you have if it isn't too rusty.

Stay away from BBQ paint, unless you actually enjoy ripping the exhaust off, painting it, then watching it peel off inside a week.

Do post up on your progress please. I had an '83 750 back in the day and rode the hell out of it. 83hp and 536 lbs was quite the deal back then.

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You won't find replacement exhausts for that bike anymore. Better off to refinish what you have if it isn't too rusty.

Stay away from BBQ paint, unless you actually enjoy ripping the exhaust off, painting it, then watching it peel off inside a week.

Do post up on your progress please. I had an '83 750 back in the day and rode the hell out of it. 83hp and 536 lbs was quite the deal back then.

Yeah I am definitely going with a good 2000 degree paint for the rusty part of the exhaust. Going to polish up the yoshis a bit. I will be picking the bike up around the first and we'll find out what all I'm dealing with. Main focus is just getting on the road asap, hopefully starting school in June and it's an hour drive ugh.

I've been wondering about this whole oiling mod thing for a while. Only bolt on kit I can find is 329 from holeshot...that's crazy. Not keen on drilling and tapping either! I wonder if good synthetic 10w40 and Lucas oil stabilizer will be good enough? I also was curious if I could put the oil pump from a 1000 on there for more flow?

I will definitely be checking in here often! :-)

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Ok so the guy I'm getting the bike from worked on it today, said it's turning over and sounds like it wants to start...carbs are the prime suspect.He has some already cleaned carbs from a 750 that he's going to put on, hopefully they're gonna workout good "fingers crossed". Been researching stuff like crazy lately. Headlight conversions, LED signals and brake lights oh and oil, think I'm gonna go Mobil 1 Racing 10 w 40, sounds good from what I've read. I think I may attempt the oil mod myself but not until winter...hopefully it'll be ok till then :-/

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Congrad's on your find! Lokks very tidy and shiny alread and the full fairing is a bonus if you ask me. I went throught the same oil mod dilema and I did do the drill and tap method. In hindsight for all the cost/nerves it took to do it I think its probably a good idea to check the cams now, dont do the mod yet if you are unsure and just keep an eye on the wear to see if you have any issues. Remember lotsa Pics!!

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Congrad's on your find! Lokks very tidy and shiny alread and the full fairing is a bonus if you ask me. I went throught the same oil mod dilema and I did do the drill and tap method. In hindsight for all the cost/nerves it took to do it I think its probably a good idea to check the cams now, dont do the mod yet if you are unsure and just keep an eye on the wear to see if you have any issues. Remember lotsa Pics!!

Thanks, yeah I think I'll keep the fairing on...my motor isn't looking good enough to show off ;-P plus less wind resistance and makes it look more modernized to me. I will definitely check the cams out asap and see what's going on. Will be posting pics up in the next cpl weeks, it's definitely not perfect but also not the worst I've seen by a long shot lol. She's a bit rusty in spots but it is New England after all lol. I'll be taking bits and pieces off here and there for cleaning/painting/polishing.
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Two more weeks till I pick up the bike! The (po) got it started today, ran pretty good except the rpms are going up and down? He didn't clean the carbs, just poured some gas straight into it and gassed it a bit. Hopefully the carbs are just a bit dirty and some seafoam will do the trick? Possible vac leak?

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Picked up the bike yesterday. It will only start with full choke and will not idle. I put some seafoam in the tank, cleaned the plugs and checked/tightened connections and ran it again, seemed a tiny better. Front 2 cylinders were running hot and lean and the back 2 were warm and rich/gas smell. Oil seems to smell a bit like gas as well. I plan on running it for like 15 min twice a day or so and see if it improves, if it don't I guess I'll be removing the carbs :-/ Rpms bounce around a bit but not as much as they did before I added the seafoam and did the other stuff. Can't turn the damn idle screw either lol.

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  • Member Contributer

It sounds like you are on the right track. Two other things I might suggest doing is do an oil change and replace the fuel filter, if you haven't done them already.

I look forward to reading your progress.

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Your 700 is definitely a looker, congrats. Agree as above on changing the oil & filter soon. My experience with Seafoam and the like is that it is OK to use now and then to help clean carbs stay clean, but since the bike has been sitting and there is rust in the tank, I would suggest that the carbs be removed and given a thorough cleaning. As stated, do not remove the carbs from the filter base unless absolutely necessary, real PITA to get everything back together. Necessary meaning if the fuel tube o-rings need to be replaced due to leakage. Do a search on how to clean and seal the tank, POR-15 makes an excellent sealant for this.

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  • Member Contributer

As a matter of fact, I'd buy new pilot jets (if not main), if you decide to open up the carbs. I always feel like I can't clean them as well as I would like.

+1 about the effectiveness of Seafoam. I don't want to speak of Seafoam, but I've learned to expect minor improvements and not major ones. And I wouldn't bother with the Seafoam without a new fuel filter.

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Thanks for the input, I've yet to find the fuel filter lol if it doesn't have one for some reason then I'm gonna buy a cpl asap. Definitely going to change the oil! I'm gonna run it with some cheaper oil at first to get it kind of cleaned out then go with the Mobil 1. I am thinking about going the POR 15 route for the tank...first I'm gonna try the nuts & bolts or chain method and see how clean it gets it and maybe call up a radiator shop. Luckily I have a set of already cleaned carbs off a 750 so I'm just gonna put those on. The pilot screws may be covered...not sure. Factory settings are 2.5 or 3 turns out? I haven't ran it today yet...maybe the seafoam has done a little magic in the carbs overnight haha. I still have to take it off the truck, doing that today. I have another full set of plastics for the bike including the tank which are all blue. I plan on picking the best ones and having one thing painted at a time (money) hopefully in Winter I can tear it down completely and powdercoat the frame, amongst other things. Right now I'm just trying to get my ride to school and back going.

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Rode the bike for about 1 min today lol...felt pretty comfortable considering it has no back brake and rpms go up buy themselves lol. Gonna start derusting the tank and swapping carbs tomorrow. Got a bunch of gravel, vinegar and baking soda for the tank...gonna put the gravel in and shake it around a bunch then use hot water and vinegar to fill it up and let it soak for a cpl days then drain and shake some more then the baking soda and water to rinse it out. Hopefully everything works out well.

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Man it's difficult to get them carbs off! Lol. Some WD40 and a big flathead screwdriver and it was off. Started the tank derusting process...gonna be a pita. I ordered a new Hiflo oil filter earlier and bought some Mobil 1, also an inline fuel filter...hopefully it fits. I started the bike up this morning and realized that the plug with the yellow and black wires coming from the voltage box was warm and maybe even smoking a little??? The exhaust pipes for the rear cylinders barely got hot...I was thinking that was because of the carbs but maybe it's the regulator??? Coil pack possibly??? Also the fans are constantly on which had me curious...I found that the spout on my lower radiator has a leak :-( I'm gonna try JB Weld. I bet that's why the fans were wired this way.

Attached are pics of the voltage regulator- so everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about and one of the carbs float bowls.

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