Oil Mod feeback please...

So I'm restoring my Gen 1 and originaly thought the "oil Mod" was a must do. Have since got instructions and purchased the oil lines to do the job but..... I'm too confused after reading many forums on this there are clearly people on both side of the fence and lots of opinions. What I'm looking for is feedback from owners whos motors have the oil mod - Both Positive and Negative experiences please so I can decide what to do. Thanks in advance!

 

Rainman, since we have the same bikes I've been considering the mod myself. I've seen a couple variations out there - oil filter "sandwich" with single or double lines, drill and tap method, etc, Which one did you purchase?

 

I have worked on quite a few gen 1 engines and am of the opinion that robbing oil from the lower end is a bad idea. Repairs to the top end should you have a failure is not a death sentence but a rod or main failure is. Mt two cents.

 

I've purchase the drill and tap off the main oil oil gallery, quite straight forward really, especially while my motor is out.

 

Thats my gut feeling too (now that iv'e purchased the gear doh!) but I'm hoping to get feedback from a few people who have done this mod sometime ago and if they have actually had any bottom end issues or if it did solve all top end issues.

 

Well, I've had a VF500 for 9 months. I read virtually everything there was to read about the first generation VF engines before I made a purchase. Reading all there was to read made me realise I needed a 86 VF500 with line bored cylinder heads. I actually wanted a VF750F but in The UK at least these were never produced with line bored heads (AFAIK). There's a ton of stuff out there, mainly anecdotal. However the answer to your question will be illusive at best. From what I read there is not enough data for a "right" answer. I hope I'm proved wrong though.

 

Hard welding the cams and followers is the solution.

Mike Nixon's e-book is a must read, IMO. About the best info I have read on this subject. Here is a link:

Early Honda V4 Cams -- What Really Happened by Mike Nixon in Crafts & Hobbies

 

The '86 VF500F is a great bike but having align bored cams isn't the issue. Inclusions on the cams causing damage to the surface of the followers is.

All cams of this era have these.

 

But again you have no real evidence to back this up. It's just anecdotal. There are VF500s in the UK with huge mileage and I assume the cams are fine. My point is there isn't enough evidence either way. Inclusions on the cams is just what you think. If you can show losts of evidence this is the case I'll believe you. But then what causes the inlcusions? Soft cams? I really doubt it. The other thing to consider is what kind of mileage are ANY of these bikes gonna get now anyway. Going to the expense of hard facing the cams or doing oil mods for a few thousand miles a year? Hardly seems worth it. Unless of the course the journey is the end in itself.. I got caught up it in all too. I was going to take all my valves out and check the spring lengths, maybe even buy spares as a back up. Then I realised my annual mileage was probably going to be less than 3000 miles a year. Bugger that, I will just ride the damn thing and screw the 9k limit.

 

Understand your point but you don't have to take my word for it. Check out Mike Nixon's e-book or send Mike an e-mail. You'll get the real story.

 

Thanks for the responses. I have just spent a few hours trawling through various Honda V4 websites to the point of almost bleeding eyeballs. And I've decided I'm GONNA DO IT!!!
Oil mod is to be installed.
I'm not saying I know its the correct thing to do, but there are lots of people out there with various systems installed and at the worst they are happy they have done it as an insurance policy, and at best stopped CAM wear in its tracks. I found no stories about bottom end failure.......lets hope I'm not the first to post one in 6 months time - if it all ends in tears I will post it here with PICS!!


POPS - I'll keep you posted. It is a DIY after with stainless braided -4 AN hose and a restrictor. I will be taking pics while doing it so will put them online a bit down the track, bikes completely in bits and frame at sandblasters at the mo.

 

Good luck. Sometimes you just have to grab your balls and go for it..

 

Cool. I think you really need to start a restoration thread with pics now so we can all follow along. One of the reasons I've been so confident about tearing into mine is because I've read up and followed so many others that blazed the trail before me!

 

I have done a set of cams and followers this year that were sent to Mega Cycle for the welding and hardening, the root cause of failure, and have no worries at all the with modern oils it will be fine. It was expensive but the problem is dealt with.

 

Tinker and Toe - you are probably both right, I havent found any evidence of lower end failure + have already purchased the materials for oil mod so will do it. Then I will also be anal about oil changes and hopefully the wear that is already showing will not get any worse. If it does I will get the Cams and Followers welded and hardened. Given the Kms I will probably ride I dont imagine I will have any issues after all that!

Pops - your right, Ive been taking photos so far, Ive brought new body work from your side of the world and was gonna wait till arrives before starting thread to keep it more interesting but maybe I'll do an update now anyways

 

Just to throw this out there... I had a V65 Sabre that went 156K miles without any cam issues, and I had a V45 'Ceptor that was on its third set of cams when I bought it with 60K on the clock. Although insufficient oil (both volume and pressure) and cam hardening problems contributed to the issue on the first generation engines, a MAJOR contributor was the lack of align-boring in the manufacture of the cylinder heads. This made it a crap shoot guys. If you happened to get an engine where the combination of tolerances lined things up (like my Sabre), you got lucky and will probably not have any cam problems. If, on the other hand, the tolerances went the other way (like my Interceptor), you have cam problems.

So... what do your cams look like now?

If your cams show no signs of abnormal lobe wear, you might not need to take the risks associated with doing the mod.

 

Well at 56000km have some noticeable wear on one lobe. I have pictures somewhere, I will put them on my Restoration thread. I don't know if/how many Cams have been replaced before. I know it isn't "advisable" to take oil away from bottom end but I cannot find any evidence from owners online of any actual bottom end issues, only positives. So I think the risk is not too large - however I understand there still is a risk and if I'm wrong I will deal with the consequences by throwing money at it...isnt that the part of the charm of owning the Gen 1. :chaingun:

 

The issue isn't lubrication or (lack of) align boring. The issue is the hard chrome plating on the followers failing. The followers are harder than the cams and as such the damaged followers act like a grinder, grinding down the cam lobes.