Jump to content

My 1983 Vf750f Restoration Project, Lotsa Big Pics!


SEBSPEED

Recommended Posts

That doesn't look so bad! A little bit of PBlaster and a LH drill bit... no problem!

It soaked in PB Blaster for 2 weeks before the first extractor was broken... and that little piece of the second one needs to come out before any drilling happens, as you know. That crap is too hard for any drill bit to touch. The hole is also off center from grinding the first broken piece out, so I need to make a tool to center an oversize drill after I get that second piece out. Thank God for Dremels... even if their attachments are ridiculously overpriced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After breaking off a very, very expensive special tap in a very expensive engine block, I found out that taps, while very hard and almost impossible to drill through, are extremely brittle. I got my smallest air chisel bit and gave the tap a few taps-it shattered into a million pieces.

looks like you might be a little too far along for that to be of any help, but it might be worth a shot.

Damn. I would have dropped all the F bombs and took it in at the first bolt breakage. :mellow:

Oh wait. I mean that's what I did when I snapped a bolt recently. I know my limits with that stuff. :blush:

Doesn't help me to take it anywhere, then I'll just be mad at myself for breaking it, AND for paying someone else to do something I should/could do myself... I find it's best to just drop what I'm doing and leave it alone until I figure out how to fix it.

Sure, that means this build thread could go on forever, but hey, at least it's entertaining! :huh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
A friend was supposed to make me a drill bushing from tool steel, but I haven't heard from him in a couple weeks. You busy lately Jamie? wink.gif

Slammed. Spent so much time out in the shop yesterday that I lost feeling in my toes. I can move them now so all is good. One of these days I'll be able to work on my own parts. I've been saying that for two years now and I haven't done it yet....

Have you tried breaking the piece out with a punch? Hard is ok, but that usually comes along with being brittle. A couple of good smacks (don't be a wimp!) and it should bust out. This also helps loosen the broken bolt too by the way.

I've not had much luck with easy-outs. I think I've only had them work once or twice. I now prefer to just drill out the bolt. Keeping the drill on center is the key, that way you can continued drilling out with increasing size bits until almost all of the bolt is gone. At that point it often just comes out by hand. I'm sure you know this, but I mention it just for those who are following along that might not be as familiar with a problem like this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A friend was supposed to make me a drill bushing from tool steel, but I haven't heard from him in a couple weeks. You busy lately Jamie? wink.gif

Slammed. Spent so much time out in the shop yesterday that I lost feeling in my toes. I can move them now so all is good. One of these days I'll be able to work on my own parts. I've been saying that for two years now and I haven't done it yet....

Have you tried breaking the piece out with a punch? Hard is ok, but that usually comes along with being brittle. A couple of good smacks (don't be a wimp!) and it should bust out. This also helps loosen the broken bolt too by the way.

I've not had much luck with easy-outs. I think I've only had them work once or twice. I now prefer to just drill out the bolt. Keeping the drill on center is the key, that way you can continued drilling out with increasing size bits until almost all of the bolt is gone. At that point it often just comes out by hand. I'm sure you know this, but I mention it just for those who are following along that might not be as familiar with a problem like this.

Yep, it's been whacked a few times. The key is having something that's almost as hard or harder to hit it with. The original hole I drilled was/is straight, it got egged out a bit from grinding the first extractor out. Once I get the rest of this one out, I'm never touching an extractor again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • Member Contributer

Hey Seb... use an abrasive wheel (suitable for carbide) and sharpen the cutting edges of a masonry bit... high rpm,light pressure and a little oil and you should be able to work you way through the extractor. Ive done this many times and with a little practice it works quite well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Seb... use an abrasive wheel (suitable for carbide) and sharpen the cutting edges of a masonry bit... high rpm,light pressure and a little oil and you should be able to work you way through the extractor. Ive done this many times and with a little practice it works quite well...

I think I'll try that. I got the first extractor out a while ago, then a friend brought over some "better" Snap-On and Mac extractor sets - and proceeded to break a second one off in there, leaving me to grind it out AGAIN. Got pretty frustrated with it after going through 9-10 Dremel bits(@ $3.30/ea!)... so it's still sitting on my bench. This one little thing is keeping me from putting the motor back in the frame.

I'm almost ready to find a machine shop within driving distance that has an EDM... :blush:

And thanks, Redmarque!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I found an EDM shop about 20 mins away that said they could get this POS extractor out for me. Just got off the phone with them, they're motorcycle friendly guys! I am sending them pics and they're going to get back to me with a quote...

I need to get the ball rolling on this puppy again.

In other news, I secured some carbon fiber sleeves for the exhuast project. :ohmy:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I needed to take a break again from the motor headache. Right now I'm working on fitting the VF1000F side panels. Fit, mark, cut, check. Mark, cut, check, repeat.

Just about done with both, gotta do some finish sanding, that will take care of the fit part. There are 3 mounting nubs on these panels just like on the 750 parts - 2 of them fit exactly where the 750 parts do(at the tail fairing and the lower mount), but the gas tank mount is not the same. I have extra panels, I think I will cut the nubs off one that already has a broken tab, and plastic weld them to the newly fitted panels. Gonna go see now if that'll work.

I've been taking pics and will post them tonight or tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
I needed to take a break again from the motor headache. Right now I'm working on fitting the VF1000F side panels. Fit, mark, cut, check. Mark, cut, check, repeat.

Just about done with both, gotta do some finish sanding, that will take care of the fit part. There are 3 mounting nubs on these panels just like on the 750 parts - 2 of them fit exactly where the 750 parts do(at the tail fairing and the lower mount), but the gas tank mount is not the same. I have extra panels, I think I will cut the nubs off one that already has a broken tab, and plastic weld them to the newly fitted panels. Gonna go see now if that'll work.

I've been taking pics and will post them tonight or tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.

I feel your pain, I went through this with some exhaust studs on my old cb750. Not fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel you pain. Broken bolts are a real PITA, broken extractors even more. What I do before using an extractor is first pound the remains of the bolt with a driver just to break the oxide between the threads. After that I drill a small dia hole througout the remains of the bolt and put a similar diameter piece of roundbar (e.g. a stem of a worn off dremel grinding stone) in the dremel, place it in the hole I just drilled, and let the dremel spin at max rpm. This heats the bolt up nicely and through the thermal expansion the oxides btween the threads gets crushed. All this makes it easier for the extractor to get the remains of the bolt out, and less chance for it to break.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks again. I'm glad I finally got around to fitting them. It's amazing sometimes how these parts cross-fit!

I'm going to attach new tabs to the tank for the stock 1kF nubs to locate in; if I use the 750F attach points on the tank, I don't think there will be enough hold on the panel. The wind might take one off, had that happen with a panel from my 700 once while wheelieing over a hill...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOOHOO SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!

The broken extractor & bolt are no more!!! Got the rest of it out just a little while ago, I didn't take the motor anywhere, I decided to have one last go at it, and I got it!! YAY!

Now I just need to make a drill bushing so I can drill the rest of the crap out and retap for an M10 bolt. I feel some progress coming!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Between this project and the 86 project, I sure could go broke real quick!

I got word today that my carbs are on the way back to me. Billy Carr of the V4HondaBBS forum runs a carb rebuilding service, and he's got nice pricing for members of the board.

Ain't they about the prettiest thing you've ever seen? :cool: :goofy:

billycarrjrcarbs1.jpg

billycarrjrcarbs2.jpg

billycarrjrcarbs3.jpg

I had him change the jets to #40 slows and 132 mains while he was in there, to complement the K&N + Vance & Hines full exhaust.

Motorhead1977 also had his 750 carbs rebuilt by Billy last year. I rode the bike, and I gotta say that is what swayed me to send them away. It ran/runs awesome!:wheel:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks redmarque! :fing02:

I'm going to attach new tabs to the tank for the stock 1kF nubs to locate in; if I use the 750F attach points on the tank, I don't think there will be enough hold on the panel. The wind might take one off, had that happen with a panel from my 700 once while wheelieing over a hill...

I made a template from the 750 panel mount tabs on the tank, and drew them up in Cadkey today. Going to try and cut them this weekend from stainless; 4 pieces, spotwelded together in pairs and then riveted to the tank seam in the right place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now I just need to make a drill bushing so I can drill the rest of the crap out and retap for an M10 bolt. I feel some progress coming!

Drilled the hole out today, and it's tapped and ready for an M10x1.25 bolt!

I need to determine the right length and get my hands on one.

Got my parts cut to fit the 1kF side panels also!

I am also going to pull the diaphragm covers back off that pretty set of carbs and sandblast them, then paint with black textured engine paint. They have a little bit of rust pitting going on - can't have that, now can we? :cool:

Busy, busy, as far as the eye can see!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As promised, progress!

I got the valve covers, stator cover, and clutch cover polished. I stripped the valve covers and stator cover with Aircraft stripper. Then I used a big buffer over at a friends' house to get them 90%, he used to have a polishing business and still has a couple of the big heavy duty buffers.

Then back at my place I used one of my small bench grinders to finish them up, also used a cylindrical buff chucked in a drill to get in the spark plug reliefs.

It sure does make a mess!

3-1-09005.jpg

Valve/left side covers 90%, and the replacement stator cover on top of the old one:

3-1-09001.jpg

All finished & shiny:

3-1-09004.jpg

I had some gloss black PPG paint left over from spraying a body kit for a late model Cougar, and I used a toothpick to flow paint into the relieved "HONDA" areas on the left & right side covers:

3-1-09006.jpg

I am waiting on a right side gasket and new valve cover gaskets, then I can mount all the covers permanently. I'm not going to clearcoat them, just some S100. I want to see how it holds up. I won't be riding this puppy much anyway, especially not in bad weather.

So for now, this is how it looks. I'm happy so far!

3-1-09009.jpg

Also got the rest of the LED's in for the gauge cluster. These little ones need to be checked for polarity, so I'll be paying motorhead's garage a visit soon... :pissed:

3-1-09003.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oil mod is 80% complete, here's some pics!

There are other threads showing the steps, but I'll add mine anyway. More info never hurt anyone, right?

First step - remove clutch cover after draining oil(my motor hasn't had oil in it for three years, no worries here!)

3-2-09006.jpg

Then remove this little cover, it pulls out by hand with a little wiggle, the above pic shows it out already.

3-2-09005.jpg

Stuff a rag/paper towel/etc into the hole behind the cover to keep drill chips from falling down into the motor. Then look to the bootom of the engine case and find the cast in boss that Honda seems to have put there solely for this purpose...

3-2-09008.jpg

Then make a drill start using a center punch/tip of a fresh drill/scribe, etc.

I did something a little different than most here; instead of drilling in the center of the boss, I offset my drill inboard as far as I could, to give myself the best chance of clearing the frame once installed.

To judge the hole center, I stuck a #16 drill through the NPT/AN adapter fitting and eyeballed center. Just make certain you leave enough material around the fitting.

3-2-09011.jpg

Then I chucked up a #30 aircraft extension and drilled my pilot hole.

3-2-09014.jpg

At the same time, I had a fortune cookie leftover from lunch. Even through the obvious Asian-American grammar, the point came across, and I thought it was fitting. Ah, that V4 song... :biggrin:

3-2-09015.jpg

Here's the drill/tap assortment. From left to right, #30(.1285") aircraft extension(6"), #30 to #10(.1905") A.E. step drill, 1/4" jobber(3"), 11/32" jobber, 1/8-27 NPT tap.

3-2-09016.jpg

I also took the time to remove the small step on the boss, just in case I ended up bottoming the fitting when threading it in, and also to help keep the drills & tap straight. I also made a few marks on the tap as a reference to keep checking.

3-2-09018.jpg

Here's the finished hole:

3-2-09021.jpg

Take a couple minutes and remove the burrs from both sides of the hole. I used a rattail file to get in and around both edges. Clean away all debris thoroughly. I used my Shop-Vac and a shop towel soaked with WD-40 to grab the little stuff. Then pull the stuffing back out of the oil gallery and reinsert the small cover.

Then add a few wraps of teflon tape to your fitting and install! Should look like this:

3-2-09023.jpg

This is where I'm at now, I attached the -4 hose at the bottom, I need to cut it to length, and also cut 2 short pieces of -3 hose to go to the heads from the tee. Almost done! :fing02:

3-2-09028.jpg

3-2-09029.jpg

And now for something completely different - this is one of the Rizoma mirrors I'm going to use! :goofy:

3-2-09030.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alright, pics are loaded.

AND SO IS THE MOTOR!!!! :fing02:

Tom (motorhead) lives closeby, and being a good sport and all around nice guy, he came over to lend a helping hand. We got things started by clearing off the lift(God, it's been a while!)

3-2-09032.jpg

Then positioned the motor, and taped off a few spots on it, and on the frame.

3-2-09034.jpg

Very gingerly lifted the frame up over and then down onto the block:

3-2-09036.jpg

3-2-09037.jpg

No powdercoat was harmed! :cool:

Then we fought with the mounting bolts for a little while, but we got'er dun :beer:

3-2-09040.jpg

3-2-09041.jpg

Of course, there's no stopping there. To get the full effect, we had to toss the wheels & forks on!!

3-2-09042.jpg

I think Tom was about as excited as I was! :cool:

3-2-09044.jpg

Later on in the afternoon, I fiddled with the oil mod some more. Added a clip to the little bracket, attached the 90deg fitting and hose to the NPT adapter, etc.

3-2-09045.jpg

The -4 hose coming up from the case is not coated, so I slipped on a piece of heatshrink tubing to protect the starter, frame, and engine mount.

3-2-09046.jpg

Here's the clearance gained by offsetting the hole:

3-2-09047.jpg

3-2-09049.jpg

Plenty of room in there, I can fit a #2 pencil between the frame and fitting easily!

3-2-09052.jpg

3-2-09053.jpg

:cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Right behind you little budy :fing02: .

gallery_8868_4449_95907.jpg

Remove heads 1 019.JPG

gallery_8868_4449_157841.jpg

Remove heads 1 014.JPG

gallery_8868_4449_287047.jpg

Remove heads 1 020.JPG

Stephen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking of wheel swaps, I have a nice tight fit in the rear, and all looks like it's lining up well. Won't know 100% until I get a chain & sprockets in, but it's looking good.

I'm using a Jamie D machined F2 hub along with 3 spacers I made from 6061 T6 aluminum, and a CBR600F4i rear brake caliper & bracket(1000RR brake rotor on the F2 wheel). During a long conference over the phone, VF1000RS & I worked out the spacer dimensions, so big thanks to him for that. Once I know for sure that this lines up 100% as-is, I will stick my VF500 hub in there and see how the dimensions work out.

In the front, on the other hand, I need to do some work. I'm using the 1000R forks with a custom brace and F2 wheel, combined with Jamie's machined speedo drive. As it's put together now, the wheel is off to the right side of the bike. There is a process defined in the 1kR manual for wheel installation that I need to go look up, to see if that makes a difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the front, on the other hand, I need to do some work. I'm using the 1000R forks with a custom brace and F2 wheel, combined with Jamie's machined speedo drive. As it's put together now, the wheel is off to the right side of the bike. There is a process defined in the 1kR manual for wheel installation that I need to go look up, to see if that makes a difference.

You are using the kR axle I assume. Odd, is the speedo drive pushing it too far? The axle goes a certain way. If I remember correctly, the axle head is on the speedo side with the "nut" on the right side of the bike. The "nut" has a small lip, this obviouly goes outside the quick release lever. I've noticed some aftermarket bearings can be wider/narrower than stock, maybe check there. How far off is it?

Nut is on the clutch side, opposite the speedo drive which has the solid end of the axle on the left side of the bike. No spacer on the right, there is maybe .030" of play, and rotor to fork leg clearance on the clutch(right) side is almost non existent. This is without the caliper brackets attached, by the way. I'm sure there would be interference there.

I remember vfrcapn had the same problem with his Jamie D kit, but he was able to fit the spacer on the right. I already pm'ed Mike to try and spur his memory. Not sure if he worked it out or gave up trying to make it work and went with the '51 front end.

I've got way too much time and money in these R forks to give up on them, so I'm going to have to find a way!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer

Change channel. Does your cams have oil holes in the heals of the cam lobes? My first set of cams DID NOT and I lost a cam lobe. I em the second owner and

Honda would not warranty them. One day I was at a auto wrecking yard and I saw a interceptor frame and engine laying out front. I asked what's up with the bike?

They said the engine is locked up and they are selling it for parts. I pulled the valve covers and all 4 cams were in good shape. I bought the engine complete and have used many parts off it over the years. Well the cam's have been in the bike for over 100,000 mi. and no problems. And that is one reason why I have not did a oil mod. I em thinking of doing mine with brake lines. Any pro's and con's with brake lines?

Stephen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Radiator before:

3-2-09059.jpg

3-2-09057.jpg

Radiator after:

3-16-09004.jpg

Radiator + misc other parts, all except the rad were glass bead blasted and acetone rinsed prior to spray can painting - the hoses were Armor-All'ed. High temp flat black on the headers(total cheeseout on my part, still have plans to do better!), satin black on the triangle plates/spacers and kickstand to match the frame, gloss black on the armor coils/lower rad stone guard/water pump cover, and Fusion gloss black for plastic on the upper rad shroud and stone guard.

3-16-09002.jpg

Water pipes that go in the "V" of the motor:

3-16-09005.jpg

The rad cap was painted OFF the rad, not attached as shown...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Member Contributer
Not sure, got a pic I can compare to?

Sorry it took so long. The car broke down and I have been trying to get head gaskets for my bike (I will post info on that on my thread).

Here is my original cam from my 3-83. You can see it has no oil hole in the lobe. And the 10mm freeze plug in the end had a hole in it (no photo).

gallery_8868_4449_106541.jpg

Putting the back on 100.JPG

And here is I think late 83 or 84 cams. You can see a oil hole. I have about 100,000 mi's on these cams.

gallery_8868_4449_22396.jpg

Putting the back on 094.JPG

I'm just worried about your bike with such low mi's. I have never read any thing about this but it makes sense.

Stephen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.