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New guy- vf750f rebuild


Estonez

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Hello, 

 

Its my first post here. I was looking for a winter project and found a 83 VF 750f. It had been sitting in a garage for 3 years. 

Bought it and took it home. Now i have been looking at it for weeks and i cant figure out what to do with it. I dont want to do a full restoration. I was thinking about upgrading it. So i need a little advise what to do and what parts to use.

So id like to upgrade ( preferred direct bolt on solutions):

- Wheels- 17" f2 wheels or is there any other better options?

- front end- f3 forks

- rear shock- any idea or sugestions?

- front brakes- what calipers are the best?

- rear brake

 

Other problems needs to be solved:

 

Wiring loom is completely corroded. Need a new one. 

Front fairing will be removed, its cracked and I want to make a naked bike.

Need a new gas tank because the old one started to leak yesterday.

Would like to instal 4to 1 exhaust but i havent found a proper set jet.

Im gonna take it as a learning process because Im not a mechanic so sorry if there will be a silly questions, but i can wrench and im with a technical backround so i hope i can do everything by my self.

So those are my first steps in the vf world 😀

 

Ps. English is not my main language so sorry for typos and mistakes.

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if you haven't heard the engine run, i'd suggest that you make a compression test before anything else.  you'll also need to remove cam covers and check for damage to cam lobes or bearings.

 

if compression numbers aren't good enough,  your project will get alot more complex and expensive.

 

good luck !

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The bike ran fine just two years ago. It just had a problems with electrics. After that it was parked in garage. I disassembled the wiring harness and it was toasted. 

 

 I decided just restore and upgrade the bike with newer parts. Starting with brakes and shocks. 

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Welcome here!  But as said, inspect the cams and valve clearances before spending any cash... :beer:

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The engine will be out this weekend and also the manual will arrive today so hopefully i can start with the inspection of the engine right away. I am still feeling positive  😎

But in the mean time i picked up a rear shock that is from vfr1200f. I am not sure if i can use it but i already know that to fit it i have to do some kind of modifications. Will see,... it was cheap and didnt cost me much money and  if i cant use it i can always resell it.

 

Now, theres a cheap vfr750 for sell in my area and i thought is it worth buying for parts bike? Is it worth even thinking as a parts bike, could i use the wheels, swingarm, forks, brakes as direct swap ?

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On ‎1‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 2:23 PM, Estonez said:

Hello, 

 

Its my first post here. I was looking for a winter project and found a 83 VF 750f. It had been sitting in a garage for 3 years. 

Bought it and took it home. Now i have been looking at it for weeks and i cant figure out what to do with it. I dont want to do a full restoration. I was thinking about upgrading it. So i need a little advise what to do and what parts to use.

So id like to upgrade ( preferred direct bolt on solutions):

- Wheels- 17" f2 wheels or is there any other better options?

- front end- f3 forks

- rear shock- any idea or sugestions?

- front brakes- what calipers are the best?

- rear brake

 

Other problems needs to be solved:

 

Wiring loom is completely corroded. Need a new one. 

Front fairing will be removed, its cracked and I want to make a naked bike.

Need a new gas tank because the old one started to leak yesterday.

Would like to instal 4to 1 exhaust but i havent found a proper set jet.

Im gonna take it as a learning process because Im not a mechanic so sorry if there will be a silly questions, but i can wrench and im with a technical backround so i hope i can do everything by my self.

So those are my first steps in the vf world 😀

 

Ps. English is not my main language so sorry for typos and mistakes. 

 

Welcome to the Board. The guys above have offered some very good advice, check your valve train first. If satisfied, then proceed.

 

I bought my 83 VF750 as a non runner with many of the same problems you have identified. I'll try to answer those questions you have as I can.

 

I swapped my 18" inch rear rim for a 17" off a VF1000F. This was a direct swap. I did have to use the rotor off the 750 instead of the one on the 1000, but the fitment was perfect. You retain the 750 spacers as they work fine. The VF1000F rim is .5" wider which allows it to run a 150 which really opens up your tire choices. I also did the math and changed the rear sprocket from the 44 tooth to a 42 tooth. this kept the gearing almost the same as oem. I do a lot of highway driving at speed and did not want the engine running at a higher rpm for long periods. We did not get the VF1000FF (Bol D'Or) here in the US, but the specs indicate the rear rim from one of them should work also, check them out.

 

I left my 16" front on as I really like the turn in with them. I also kept them on my 2 VF1000R's. and 87 VFR. There are still a few choices in this size.

 

I rebuilt my front forks and kept them stock. The rear shock was still strong so I kept it also. A 5600 km ride to NC and a bunch of runs on the Dragon, 215, 151, etc. left me satisfied that I did not need anything suspension wise yet. I do have a CB929RR shock on the shelf though when it comes time to replace the rear. "Note" I weigh 66 kg, so stock suspensions almost always work for me.

 

I removed my entire brake system and sent the calipers and front MC through my ultrasonic cleaner, then replaced all the seals. I dumped the sintered pads that came with the bike and installed new Carbon/Kevlar pads instead. I also replaced my brake lines with Stainless Steel lines. This proved to be the right combination for me. I prefer the progressive bite of the Carbon/Kevlar over the feel of the sintered pads, although they do tend to work better. There is also ceramic pads out there, but I have no experience with them. So I would advise that you clean and use the oem setup with pads of you choice and some SS lines before binning the whole lot and starting from scratch. In a perfect world you would still be able to use your SS lines if you decided to install different calipers.

 

BTW, I think the rear oem caliper is fine as is with Carbon/Kevlar pads. I bought my 97 VFR out in Iowa and drove it to Colorado for a MC meet the back to Maine. About 8000km total. I had a pair of organic rear pads waiting for me when I got home as the bike came with sintered all round. I had the rear lock up on me a number of times as I just could not find the sweet spot on the rears. I'll be the first to put my hand up and say it was Operator Error as I know many guys who swear by them. I guess my point is try a few things with what you have now before moving on.

 

Does the bike have an aftermarket exhaust? Check the airbox, my bike came with a full Kerker exhaust system, and when I pulled the tank to get to the carbs I found the top of the airbox had about 50 10 mm holes drilled in it and a K&N filter. Pulling the carbs revealed the jets were 3 sizes to large and the needles stock. I brought the jets to stock, bought a stock airbox cover and the bike started right up.

 

As far as buying a parts bike, well...…….if you do all the mods you are talking about, F3 front end, F2 wheels, different swingarm and stripping the bike of fairings there isn't much left outside the engine as a spare. If you keep the bike oem and can afford and store a parts bike, then by all means. 

 

Lastly, despite English not being your first language, you have done an excellent job describing your position and questions here. I think you will find the members here to be patient, knowledgeable, generous with their time, and proficient with their answers.

 

Post a picture of your project when you can.

 

 

 

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Well i didnt do any pics when i bought it home. This is how it looked yesterday.

IMG-20190112-214311.jpg

And this is how it looks today

IMG-20190118-212659.jpg

The engine is out and I checked the cams and found :

IMG-20190118-213654.jpg

 

Rest of them were more or less visually ok. No significant wear. But whats going on with this one?

 

 

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Well, I differ from my learned friend that with such cam wear  I would spend as little as possible on that bike to make it run....

 

 

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10 minutes ago, Dutchy said:

Well, I differ from my learned friend that with such cam wear  I would spend as little as possible on that bike to make it run....

 

 

 That bad? So isn't there anything to do?  Damn,  i was just getting into the "zone" 🙂... But i wouldn't want to ditch the bike because the bike didn't cost me much so i have a reserve in the budget. The other thing is that the nights are still gold, dark and long here and i have nothing else to wrench so i take the engine to mechanics shop to see what is his opinion and in the mean time ill go on with  the rest of the bike. 

The rest of the cam pics!

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I don't think Dutchy is suggesting it is scrap. Just minimise the expenditure until you can hear the engine running. I definitely would not take the engine to a shop yet, if ever.

You need to get the engine running if you can, and then reassess. There are plenty of VF750 engines around. Despite the camshaft problems, Honda sold a lot of them. And it is only one slightly scored camshaft after all. I did a similar thing two years ago, bought a VF500 for EUR500 in just OK condition. Turned out the engine in that one was an uneconomic repair but with another engine transplanted in that bike is now my winter hack and I am enjoying riding it a lot. The journey to get to that point was great too. 

 

Don't give up in other words.

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How worn is/are the (dunno the english word) parts that are in contact with the cam?

 

Here one where u see the wear:

(Not mine)

 

1B3F7AD2-7FA9-45D1-9DE6-AC7C0D8015E0.thumb.jpeg.c9a14a1c3ad307a4fe5fdb2ed84e0bfd.jpeg

And one sick one:

590FC8E6-163E-4AA5-A72A-C2C3E2BD62D5.thumb.jpeg.d88a1c6d51c4e6213f9004fbdaa95d5c.jpeg

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You can get the cams repaired alright but not easily I expect.  Now I don't know for the 750, but for the 500 there are loads of camshafts on Ebay. I suspect the 750 might be harder to source, just due to the issue being more widespread. If it were mine I would just ignore it until if/when it becomes a problem. Too easy to get distracted on things like this, and then it stalls everything else.

 

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4 hours ago, jeremyr62 said:

You can get the cams repaired alright but not easily I expect.  Now I don't know for the 750 but for the 500 there are loads of camshaft on Ebay. I suspect the 750 might be harder to source just due to the issue being more widespread. If it were mine I would just ignore it until if/when it becomes a problem. Too easy to get distracted on things like this and then it stalls everything else.

 

 I'm inclined to agree with Jeremy, its only one lobe. I'd get it running and see how it sounds. Probably could ride it for a while before needing to do anything.

 

Here's a few on ebay should you want to repair now.

 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-VF-750-F-Nockenwelllen-Nockenwelle/173322659220?hash=item285ad5e594:g:7LsAAOSwVuNa~Z0s:rk:2:pf:0

 

This one is in Germany, not sure where you are in Europe but might be easier to get if you're in the EU. Not sure which head yours is bad on so check with the seller for specifics.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1984-HONDA-INTERCEPTOR-VF700F-VF-700-ENGINE-FRONT-CAMSHAFTS-CAM-SHAFTS/371737555489?hash=item568d48f221:g:v48AAOSwLF1X2ono:rk:4:pf:0

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1984-HONDA-INTERCEPTOR-VF700F-VF-700-ENGINE-REAR-HEAD-CAMSHAFTS-CAM-SHAFTS/381773253970?hash=item58e3758d52:g:fxwAAOSw8w1X2ooy:rk:6:pf:0

 

These are in the US. The ad says he ships Internationally The 84 700 Interceptor cams are the same part number as the 83's.

 

https://www.cmsnl.com/

  This company cmsnl. is in the Netherlands and carries a lot of NOS Honda parts. They are expensive but seen to have cams in stock

 

https://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/ock.

 

Finally the is David Silver spares, they are a Honda NOS and used parts specialist. I used them when I was working in England. Good company and the prices were not to bad.

 

Good luck.

 

 

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19 minutes ago, FromMaine said:

 I'm inclined to agree with Jeremy, its only one lobe. I'd get it running and see how it sounds. Probably could ride it for a while before needing to do anything.

 

Here's a few on ebay should you want to repair now.

 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-VF-750-F-Nockenwelllen-Nockenwelle/173322659220?hash=item285ad5e594:g:7LsAAOSwVuNa~Z0s:rk:2:pf:0

 

This one is in Germany, not sure where you are in Europe but might be easier to get if you're in the EU. Not sure which head yours is bad on so check with the seller for specifics.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1984-HONDA-INTERCEPTOR-VF700F-VF-700-ENGINE-FRONT-CAMSHAFTS-CAM-SHAFTS/371737555489?hash=item568d48f221:g:v48AAOSwLF1X2ono:rk:4:pf:0

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1984-HONDA-INTERCEPTOR-VF700F-VF-700-ENGINE-REAR-HEAD-CAMSHAFTS-CAM-SHAFTS/381773253970?hash=item58e3758d52:g:fxwAAOSw8w1X2ooy:rk:6:pf:0

 

These are in the US. The ad says he ships Internationally The 84 700 Interceptor cams are the same part number as the 83's.

 

https://www.cmsnl.com/

  This company cmsnl. is in the Netherlands and carries a lot of NOS Honda parts. They are expensive but seen to have cams in stock

 

https://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/ock.

 

Finally the is David Silver spares, they are a Honda NOS and used parts specialist. I used them when I was working in England. Good company and the prices were not to bad.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Thanks alot. Every bit of an information is needed and appriciated.  I live in Estonia and we do not have many places to buy used parts for older bikes. Because until 1990 we had only soviet crap on the market.

My main source for parts is internet and mostly ebay. 

I have to say that i will go on with the project and try to focus now to get the frame on the wheels again. I agreed with one mechanic who was willing to come to my garage and take a look of the engine next month. Then i can decide what to do with it next.

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40 minutes ago, Estonez said:

This is the looks i will be aiming. Could anybody identify the wheels or front fork? Anybody know this bike?

VF+750+F+by+Quarter+01.jpg

 

Those are VF1000R wheels, forks and swingarm.

 

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1 hour ago, Estonez said:

This is the looks i will be aiming. Could anybody identify the wheels or front fork? Anybody know this bike?

VF+750+F+by+Quarter+01.jpg

 

VF1000R.

 

These are my 2.

 

Edit: Captain 80's beat me to it.

 

large.59b545cf64a19_DSCF2722-Copy.JPG.11fbd927d0cf17570cf82b4d410d1869[1].jpg

P1000789.JPG

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Take the plugs out, connect the engine to a car battery and crank away, making sure the carbs bodies are either off or at wide open throttle.

Stick your finger down the spark plug holes (not all at the same time 😉 ) and attempt to seal the hole. if your finger is blown off the hole, you have enough compression to run the engine.

 

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On 1/21/2019 at 4:20 PM, jeremyr62 said:

Take the plugs out, connect the engine to a car battery and crank away, making sure the carbs bodies are either off or at wide open throttle.

Stick your finger down the spark plug holes (not all at the same time 😉 ) and attempt to seal the hole. if your finger is blown off the hole, you have enough compression to run the engine.

 

No way... Me no like stick finger hole.. me like tools 🤣 

 

IMG-20190123-191230.jpg

Anyway, whats the pressure i would like to see? 150? Whats  the pressure difference between the cylinders? 

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Not sure on the VF, think the VFR is 199+/-28psi (according to the HBOL).

 

The more compression the better but what you really want to see is constancy between cylinders, <10% difference. 

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