barn find 1985 vf700f back to life!

Im pretty new to the board and been reading quietly as back in March i picked up a 85 700 interceptor that sat in a barn for 10yrs and she was dirty, leaked fuel badly (tried to but starving of fuel=wouldnt run) and almost looked like time for partin out... price seemed good so i picked her up. I remember these bikes when they came out new... but i couldnt have one back then as i was only 10 LOL.
So over the last 6 months I fully rebuilt/dissassembled and boiled the carbs and replaced the fuel tubes with metal ones, replaced fuel lines, cleaned her up and still cleaning more, bled brakes, replaced fluids...getting new tires...etc. I started her up for the 1st time 2 days ago and tonight rode her for the 1st time. Due to not having new tires yet and not knowing what else could be wrong i took it easy but loved every minute of it. Feel like I'm in 1985 and all thats missing is a flux capacitor! I currently own a zx14, a cbr1000rr, zrx1100, and a electra glide as well and i gotta say i was worried that I would be bored...but there is something cool about this old interceptor. It feels like a standard with a bit of sport to it almost like the zrx but v4 has its own sweet sound (she has the vance and hines full system on it). The only issue i can see is the fans dont come on and looks like fork seals will need attention but i will fix both soon. Just wanted to say WOOHOO she runs!
a short video of start up:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=646888128678190&l=8584782410721160754

 

WooHoo! Did you take any before pictures? it would be cool to see how she looked when you got her, to now that she runs. I love seeing these first generation bikes get resurrected. My first V4 love was the "Baby-ceptor", the VF500. Although I was old enough to ride one, I didn't have the funds to buy one. Congratulations and Welcome to The World!

 

Hi and Welcome to the MadHouse:welcome:


Congratulations on the restoration and posting a video as your first post.:thumbsup:

Those pipes really give the bike a great soundtrack. I hope you get those final issues fixed soon and can get the bike back on the road where it belongs.


Take care



SkiMad
Take care

 

heres some after i washed her up a bit over the weekend

 

That's a beauty, I think I like it better than my 07RWB!
John

 

Just got done installing new tires and its nice to have some faith in the rubber that meets the road! Though after all the recent washing and cleaning underneath... all the crud off from the sprocket by the waterpump (it was black and looked like there had been a leak) i can see that there is still a decent oil leak when running dripping onto the exhaust. I opened up the clutch slave cover and it doesnt seem to be coming from there so more investigating to come

 

Nice work !!

Oil leak may be from the seal on the clutch pushrod.

 

That is a beautiful VF. Yes, there is something cool about an old Interceptor. They make me miss the 80s and my old Scirocco.

 

Yes, but he needn't ride that primitive antique when he has a wide selection of modern machinery. A bit like puttering around on a restored Model-T while you have a 32-valve Mustang lurking the garage. How you like them worse brakes and weak suspension ?? On the other hand entirely, good job keeping it on the road !

 

Hind sight is always wonderful and viewed through rose colored glasses. I had a 1969 Mustang fastback when I was a kid. You can look back fondly on classic cars (and bikes) but modern machines are just so superior. My Mustang handled like crap, stank like raw gas when it ran (they all did) and had doors that didn't align. I love the old stuff for what it was but I really like the new stuff for what it does.

 

Thank you for restoring her, markaria. She is a true beauty.

If she were mine, I'd let my daily rider 07 RWB Viffer rest on Fridays and take that beauty to work instead.

 

LOL at work my coworkers always joke about how i decide what to ride to work each day. I say variety is nice though it gets expensive to maintain!
The modern Machinery = Awesome in lots of ways (If you've never felt the pull of a zx 14or the like you dont know what fast is!) but its nice to experience things... have different sorts of bikes. I enjoy them all for different reasons. If I had to sell all of my bikes and keep just one bike it would be my zrx... does so many things really well. The interceptor reminds me a little bit of the zrx (but the vf is slower/less torque/less modern suspension etc).

...that being said, today I put 80 miles on the vf and though antiquated compared to my modern machines I enjoyed every minute of it!

 

heres some pics of some of the sportier parts of my "sickness"


it gets a little tight in my garage

 

Good looking garage full of toys. I really would love to own a lift like that. Is that an old 80's era Porshe 911 I spy under the lift?


Rollin

 

yes its a 1983. thanks for the kind words. The lift I ordered from gregsmithequipment.com and i thought it was quite reasonable (around 1500 + 200ish to ship to local truck terminal) and one helluva convenience with as much time as ive spent rolling around on the ground... but you need to make sure you have good concrete to mount it to.

 

Porsche has always been my favorite sports car, especially the 911 Targas from the 80's. You've got good taste despite the fact that you also bought a Harley :tongue:



Rollin

 

That garage is Sick I :love: it
Toe's garage almost the same
Sir do you want to adopt me? I will details all your cars and bikes otstir:
I even wash the Harley for you.....

 

Damn that is a nice bike :hss: she is prutty :cheer2: