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1990 Running After 22+ Years


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So after 22+ long years, The bike runs awesome and moves under it's own power! The last time this bike ran and moved under it's own power was back in 1991. The first owner slid it off the road and hit a tree. He stored it in my cousins basement till 1997 then the basement flooded. The entire bike was underwater other than the handle bars. It sat untouched for the next 8 years when I baught it in 2005 to rebuild it.

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After finding water still in the engine, I ended up just buying a replacement engine off ebay in 2006 which came out of a 1991 and had low miles. After sitting in my garage for the past 8 years the parts all went together and she fired up after a couple cranks. It was a happy day to finally hear this run and actually get to ride it. Now I just need to get the fairings fixed and put on.

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  • Member Contributer

Wow looks great for what it's been trough. Poor VFR barely keeping it's head above water in a dark basement. You're a hero.

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right on

i just did the same thing ,1990 too

rr was baked when i picked it up

but a few bugs are expected after sitting for such a long time

congrats

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I actually did ride it the other day up and down my dead end street. I'm going to practice since this was the first time I've ever rode a bike this size. I had a 93 cbr 600 but only rode that a couple times. This bike seems alot heavier than the 600.

My viffer actually has the original fuel pump, RR, electrical harrness etc. and it runs great. I'm shocked how this bike runs and sounds. It was meant to be brought back from the dead.

I have all the body fairings for the bike, even the seat cowl with matching pad. Some of the fairings need work, but I've been collecting good ones for years. They are really hard to find but if you are patient you can find all the fairings.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here are all the fairings that I've collected or had from the bike when it was first running. Most of them I got off eBay. I think only 3-4 of them were salvaged from the initial crash. I have lots of little tabs to fix but for the most part they are all in tack. The box has original misc. fairings and a complete middle V fairing which I'm not going to use. I bought it without and it looked like it got hot at one point and it's a little warpped. It's still usable though.

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Happy story indeed. "Hit a tree" -Is it still straight? If the main fuse(30amp) and starter solenoid

assembly were under water, I would replace them ( I found a company selling brand new for $11.00 free shipping-

obviously Chinese ,but I think they all are. Also, check ( or solder permanently) the three yellow wires and connectors coming from the alternator to the RR.

Wishing you many happy miles

J

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All the electrical is original. I was worried about the fuses and starter solenoid but they seemed to be fine. The bike runs great and the charging system is working fine. I turn the key and hit the start button once and she fires right up. I should call it the Phoenix because she definity has risen from the dead.

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Yes I added new tires, wheel bearings, fuel filter, plugs and a K&N air filter. The original tires were rock hard and I wouldn't have even tried to ride it with them. They looked ok with no dry rot, just hard. I need to get a complete fairing fastener kit. I've seen these kits on eBay, but I'm just wondering which kit to get. I've seen A1, A3, S kits, not sure which one to get. Anyone have any ideas or know where I can get a proper kit? I should have it all dressed up by next spring. I'm gonna work on fixing the needed fairings through out the winter. I'll be posting updates as I get the fairings fixed.

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I can't help on the overall fairing fastener kit, but do have 1 insight... If you are thinking of going to the dzus style (1/4 turn) fasteners, you can not use the ones with the D-ring on them. Many of the fastener locations are recessed in a little pocket and the D-ring is too wide to fit. I bought them (unknowingly) and had to pull all the D rings off. No biggie, but unnecessary effort.

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I bought a set of those fairing bolt kits last year, and they worked well enough. They are smaller than the OEM ones and are not shouldered. You have to use the plastic washers with them which is no big deal. However, this year I bought a buffing wheel from Harbor Freight and I got carried away with it. I dug out my old fairing bolts and polished the hell out of them. The came out great! So I ended up putting them back on the bike.

Long story short, if you still have the OEM bolts, grab a $30 buffing wheel instead of buying $50 worth of bolts.

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  • 5 months later...

Well it's winter, let the fairing fixing begin. I'm using this stuff called Plastex. Has anyone ever heard of it? I've had it for years, but there is no shelf life to it so I practiced on a scrap piece first. This stuff worked great! I glued a piece that had a large crack and a hole. After drying, this part was super sturdy and didn't flex. After a successful trial, I dove in on my parts. The upper fairing was the biggest challenge so far because I had to cut off the bad part on the good fairing, then cut off the good part on the bad fairing and mate them together. The headlight has three broken mounting tabs so this won't be fun. My biggest problem is the middle V fairing. This has completely missing mounting tabs so I have to make a new part with the Plastex. The tail sections are each missing one tab so that shouldn't be too hard to fix. I've got to do final sanding, priming and then painting, but the parts are coming out great. Here are some pictures of the progress. I'll post more pictures as I fix them. Come spring, the bike will be all dressed.

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  • 3 weeks later...

All the electrical is original. I was worried about the fuses and starter solenoid but they seemed to be fine. The bike runs great and the charging system is working fine. I turn the key and hit the start button once and she fires right up. I should call it the Phoenix because she definity has risen from the dead.

Lol. Why call it Phoenix, why not Jesus. I have heard that Phoenix rise from ashes. The guy who rose from the dead was called Jesus:D

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Member Contributer

Maybe name it "The Phoenix" . . . ? Glad she didn't go to waste. Nice story.

Or (given the flood history) Noah? Not exactly risen from the ashes...

All the electrical is original. I was worried about the fuses and starter solenoid but they seemed to be fine. The bike runs great and the charging system is working fine. I turn the key and hit the start button once and she fires right up. I should call it the Phoenix because she definity has risen from the dead.

Lol. Why call it Phoenix, why not Jesus. I have heard that Phoenix rise from ashes. The guy who rose from the dead was called Jesus:D

You beat me to it...names also in consideration Shem, Ham...

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