VF700F makeover

[Guest terrawhistle]

I figure it's approriate to get out of the new members forum with this.

'85 VF700F, got off of craigslist for 900.

It has issues;

Needs top radiator, water pipe O-rings in the front bank, right engine cover gasket, tank, mirrors, turn signals to start with.

The bike runs and shifts.

It has Ching Shen cruiser tires, which have to go.

Over 30K miles means check valve clearances, and hope there's not other internal issues or electrical problems.

It has an ugly 4-1 homemade exhaust system that sticks out so far on the right, you can't lean the bike into turns on that side!

The paint job is the color of a rotten orange with the orange peel surface.

Anyway, I hope to bring this little gem back from the brink.

I've got parts coming in the mail to hopefully get the bike on the street.

I've already started the paint job, getting it back to white.

I'll throw up a couple of pics by this weekend.

The one thing I could use is a fuel tank. This one has a dent in the side, which is no big deal, but the fuel inlet apparently is warped, and the cap does not seal.

I am thinking of putting on an aftermarket base/cap if I can't find a replacement, but need to try to find one that fits this tank.

Here's a shot of the before. Well, almost. A white base coat has already been started on before the thought occurred to take a before picture.

Thanks for the offer of parts. Already made a list and ordered parts for the first round of fixes;

radiator, o-rings, gaskets, turn signals, mirrors, etc.

Hopefully round one will get me on the streets riding.

Fall is coming, and here in N. GA. fall lasts a long time. This would be a nice bike to run the tail of the dragon on. With some good tires, of course. The Ching Shens the bike came with suck.

The gas tank is the biggest unresolved issue. Either keep the tank and put in an aftermarket gas cap (welded, screwed on, or riveted) or get another tank. Hmm...

The radiator came in, it turns out it's from a VF700 not VF700F, so mount points, etc. don't match. It only cost $10.00 + S/H.

All I really need is the upper radiator inlet cap base, so I'll just take it off my new radiator and sweat it onto the original. Should be good to go.

The motor was stuttering with low power. I was sort of fearing the worst, since it turns out that the last owner actually rode the bike with a dry cooling system!

The rear two plugs were just laying there, not tightened down. After torqueing down the rear plugs, guess what? Vroom!

Here's hoping that my biggest problem is whether to go stock on the paint job & decals or not. unsure.gif

Here are the two rads with the inlet pipe ends removed.

Here's the good one after it was sweated onto the good radiator.

There are now no leaks in the cooling system, however it looks like there may be a blown header gasket.

I'm getting white vapor out the tail pipe and it's not oil. There is distilled water in the cooling system, so there's no smell.

No worries, it's an opportunity to grind the valves and inspect the cylinders.

Woo hoo! we get to drop the engine!

Now that that's done;

The tank is at the radiator shop for an acid dip and lining with red-cote. The best commercial grade tank liner by far, IMHO.

The leaky gas cap will hopefully be solved by putting a cork gasket behind the rubber gasket in the cap.

Now to go shopping for head gaskets, O-rings, etc. for the tear down.

[HispanicSlammer]

I figure it's approriate to get out of the new members forum with this.

'85 VF700F, got off of craigslist for 900.

It has issues;

Needs top radiator, water pipe O-rings in the front bank, right engine cover gasket, tank, mirrors, turn signals to start with.

The bike runs and shifts.

It has Ching Shen cruiser tires, which have to go.

Over 30K miles means check valve clearances, and hope there's not other internal issues or electrical problems.

It has an ugly 4-1 homemade exhaust system that sticks out so far on the right, you can't lean the bike into turns on that side!

The paint job is the color of a rotten orange with the orange peel surface.

Anyway, I hope to bring this little gem back from the brink.

I've got parts coming in the mail to hopefully get the bike on the street.

I've already started the paint job, getting it back to white.

I'll throw up a couple of pics by this weekend.

The one thing I could use is a fuel tank. This one has a dent in the side, which is no big deal, but the fuel inlet apparently is warped, and the cap does not seal.

I am thinking of putting on an aftermarket base/cap if I can't find a replacement, but need to try to find one that fits this tank.

Here's a shot of the before. Well, almost. A white base coat has already been started on before the thought occurred to take a before picture.

Thanks for the offer of parts. Already made a list and ordered parts for the first round of fixes;

radiator, o-rings, gaskets, turn signals, mirrors, etc.

Hopefully round one will get me on the streets riding.

Fall is coming, and here in N. GA. fall lasts a long time. This would be a nice bike to run the tail of the dragon on. With some good tires, of course. The Ching Shens the bike came with suck.

The gas tank is the biggest unresolved issue. Either keep the tank and put in an aftermarket gas cap (welded, screwed on, or riveted) or get another tank. Hmm...

The radiator came in, it turns out it's from a VF700 not VF700F, so mount points, etc. don't match. It only cost $10.00 + S/H.

All I really need is the upper radiator inlet cap base, so I'll just take it off my new radiator and sweat it onto the original. Should be good to go.

The motor was stuttering with low power. I was sort of fearing the worst, since it turns out that the last owner actually rode the bike with a dry cooling system!

The rear two plugs were just laying there, not tightened down. After torqueing down the rear plugs, guess what? Vroom!

Here's hoping that my biggest problem is whether to go stock on the paint job & decals or not. unsure.gif

Here are the two rads with the inlet pipe ends removed.

Here's the good one after it was sweated onto the good radiator.

There are now no leaks in the cooling system, however it looks like there may be a blown header gasket.

I'm getting white vapor out the tail pipe and it's not oil. There is distilled water in the cooling system, so there's no smell.

No worries, it's an opportunity to grind the valves and inspect the cylinders.

Woo hoo! we get to drop the engine!

Now that that's done;

The tank is at the radiator shop for an acid dip and lining with red-cote. The best commercial grade tank liner by far, IMHO.

The leaky gas cap will hopefully be solved by putting a cork gasket behind the rubber gasket in the cap.

Now to go shopping for head gaskets, O-rings, etc. for the tear down.