$300 '86 VFR750 heads to Bonneville Salt Flats

Hi There!

Great to see a site/forum dedicated to a great motorcycle!! :smile:

I currently produce and host a show called RideApart for the Drive Channel, here are few past episodes:

Triumph Bonneville in Sequoia: Weekend Adventuring with the Triumph Bonneville - RideApart - YouTube

Hell on Wheels Moto Rally: Hell On Wheels Moto Rally - RideApart - YouTube

Born Free: The Born Free Show - RideApart - YouTube


For a future show on RideApart - $300 VFR to Bonneville!


So, a while back I bought a crashed 1986 VFR750F for $300 - judging by the advert on Craigslist, I thought I had a bargain.

When I saw it I thought otherwise but handed over my ca$h anyway as I've just loved the VFR750 since I watched Wayne Rainey raced one at the Transatlantic Trophy match races in '87 with his rival Kevin Schwantz!

Anyway, a few failed attempts to get the VFR road worthy have proved unsuccessful, only due to me and my incompetence, but since recently I've worked on my CBR600RR, I've gained some mechanical confidence and I'm hell bent on racing my VRF750F at Bonneville at the end of this month!

So, why am I telling you all this? Well I need a bit of help...

Can anyone help with a bit of simple advice on how to get the VFR running at its optimum?

I see they do a Dynojet kit, anyone tried it?

What about bolt on's.... exhaust? Power Commander??

Has anyone put a pair of 17" wheels on a '86 VFR? This has 16" front and 18" rear. I see some later models like the Hurricane are inter-changeable, but I was hoping for a 3 .5 f and 5.5 R like my modern CBR so I can rip at the track...anyone done this? Is it possible? Am I mad for thinking it could be done?

Any help, advice, do's, don't would be greatly appreciated!

Here is my story on the bike so far: $300 ’86 VFR750 heads to Bonneville | MotoGeo


Thanks to all,

Ride free!

Jamie




www.motogeo.com

 

With a month to go maybe you can tow it through the traps establishing a record for a new class.

 

Where is evreyone............
Be patient Squirellman should be able to chimp in to help. Him, Toe and Matt are GURU on those old bike.

 

:welcome: and best of luck to you with your project and goals. I'm sure that ol girl would love to go see the salt flats and wind up tight.

 

SQman will go ape over this one.

Gotta love that pic of Long rubbing "shoulders" with the famous.. Calendar fare for sure..

Serious shit.. Best get this dude to the rules for "Bonneville". Ol Bert aside c. mid 1950s. To run at the flats is not for some hacked POS.

 

Just don't spend the whole month trying to figure out how to get a Power Commander to work on a carbureted bike.

Rollin

 

I always carry a spare Power Commander in my tankbag for the mach 1 91. They are great when WiFi signal is weak when I want to watch my Oprah re-runs.

Don't miss "Oprah at Bonneville" coming in October.

 

Unless your going to change triple clamps and forks I don't think a 3.5 rim will fit on the front w/tire. I don't think the forks are wide apart enough. Something you may want to check before hand. You could put a pipe on it if you can find one. Then if you really know what you're doing you'd have to resize the jets and stuff for the carbs. You don't really need a "dyno-jet kit" if you or someone really knows what they are doing with carburetion. You may also be able to find cams for it. (hens teeth)

Good luck to you.

 

If your intentions are to make it a Bonneville machine, perhaps the stock wheels will suffice. Gearing is where you may want to focus you attention and getting the maximum out of that old engine. Of course some lowering could help cut the drag a bit.

From my 3rd gen experience (carbed) a good pipe and the right jets will give you a better top end so hopefully the guys can provide something more specific. The 3rd gen was quite lean in stock form and biger jets as well as a different needle profile helped get a few more ponies. That was validated bu my arse dyno that is of course calibrated daily.

A tune up , valve check and adjust is recomended...

Oh yes, shed some weight too! Toss the front brakes as they aren't needed unless he rules insist on them. Toss everything you can!

 

Best on any crashed bike to drop steering stem out and inspect/replace steering head bearings. Wheel bearings too. You don't want loose or damaged bearings at 145 mph (magazine- tested top speed when VFRs were new) !

Toe sayeth jet kits don't work well on these bikes, and that's gospel !

With aftermatket exhaust you could shed about 30 pounds and some drag.

You must be Marine corps brave, cuz nobody i know would be up for trying a stunt like that.

 

If you don't want to take squirrel's word on checking those bearing, take mine! I did not check the bearing after laying my bike down @ 50 + MPH. A month later I was almost killed for that mistake!

 

Especially on a 2nd Gen with no factory fork brace amongst other things............otstir:

 

Maybe this dude could borrow "Go for a ride's" bike trailer and run in a whole new class.