Purchased with the eyes and heart and now the brain grows faint

Good afternoon: My name is Gordon Dowton and I live in Ajax, Ontario, Canada....the place where all the cold, snow and ice gather. I recently fell in love with a 1984 VF1000 and of course, the heart ruled and I am now the proud owner of this visual delight. But now the brain finds itself assailed with horror stories of the problems that can and do beset this beauty. I, being no wrencher, with very little mechanical knowledge, now question what may appear to be a rash decision. But, damn I love this bike.

This is my way of saying hello to a forum with 'thank god you are here.' Gordon

 

Welcome aboard. We get our fair share of snow here in the states too, eh.

Congrats on the bike. If our member squirrelman stops by here, he'll tell you your a fool and go buy something else. And he may be right. But enjoy the bike. Since it seems to be giving you a boner, go and do what you should do with a boner. Ride her. There are plenty of guys here with advanced experience on these bikes, and as long as you take the time to explain what you seek, and don't start 10 threads on the same topic, you'll be just fine.

Post of some pics too. (Of the bike, not your boner).

 

lol!














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It would be easier to help you evaluate things if you posted some info and pictures of the bike. Welcome to the forum.

 

As Pliskin originally suggested, I tried to take a picture of it but, could not fit it in the frame....no wait, my mistake...sorry about that. I will take some pictures of the bike and post them. Thank you for the warm reception. Many thanks, Gordon

 

Hey Gordon

Welcome to the WORLD. Having been the proud owner of a 1985 VF1000F I can say with honesty that it was and IS still a great motorcycle. My best friend in Calgary is now the proud owner of said VF and in the combined 40K the two of us have put on the bike, there has NEVER been an issue.

Time will tell if the VF is the bike for you, but my guess would be that (pardon the pun) the bike will grow on you every time you thumb the starter, land listen to the growl of the V4. Enjoy the bike and ride safe.

 

As long as it's RUNNING a VF is a fine bike, but it's no VFR. :biggrin-new:

Owning any 25+ year old bike with many discontinued parts is usually a poor investment for anyone without the tools, space, and experience to fix whatever it might need. Shop labor rates are stratospheric, and most refuse to work on older bikes.

 

Welcome to the forum Gordon. I'm looking forward to more responses to your thread.

After pulling and cleaning and re-installing my carbs, I vowed never to do it again. Now I go out of my way to get Non Ethanol gas and keep the tank full. Ethanol gas holds water and rots carbs. Just thought I'd pass that along.

 

A question I have- is there any way to know if you have cam issues other than taking off the cover? Do they start making noise when there about to go? Weren't there certain years with this issue?

 

Don't judge just by noise, Rob. It's easy enough to remove valve covers to inspect cams and measure valve clearances. :witless:

 

I'm a fellow Gen 1 owner and lover, they are the greatest Gen after all. layful: The first and the best!

Honestly the cam issue is for real and you must do what you can to keep on top of them. First thing I would say is to run a good synthetic oil, something like Motul, Redline, Amsoil or Shell Rotella T6 synthetic. (yes the 5w-40 diesel oil) Do NOT use anything that says "energy conserving". Translation = death to flat tappet engines!

Use good oil and change it often, don't let it idle for 20 minutes in the driveway, actually don't let it idle for extended periods ever, don't lug it around at really low RPM's....keep it up over 3K when cruising.....that's the kind of stuff I read and am doing with mine. I start it up and go, but go easy and don't get on it until the temp needle comes alive. If I'm wrong to use that technique someone please correct me.

I'm not terribly familiar with the '84 1000, were they gear cams? If not you need to check the cam chain tensioners and make sure they are working. You need to stay on top of the valve clearances.....you NEED a Honda service manual, not a haynes or chilton, a genuine Honda one!

You need at least 2 good torque wrenches, a small 1/4" drive in inch lbs and a 3/8 drive....oh heck...you need a big 1/2" drive in ft lbs for the axle bolt when you set drive chain slack also. Ok, 3 good torque wrenches, plus all the normal tools, wrenches, ratchets, and such, a few sets of feeler gauges for setting the valve clearance. So probably the same money you spent on the bike, spend on tools and you should be good. Just kidding.......kinda.

squirrelman is correct about the tools, space, experience, shop rates....I can say that I would not let my brother own a first Gen, because I don't want to be helping him work on it, but I will gladly own one because I enjoy working on mine. If you can find a good shop in your area that has experience with older bikes and will work on it that may be the way to go. But, you really have to do your homework and be sure the shop is competent to wrench on the bike. If they can make sure the valve clearances are set correctly and put some good oil in it for you, plus normal stuff like on any other bike, then you should be good to go for awhile.

Yup....but first we need more details and at least 6 pics of the BIKE, not the aforementioned gentleman sausage.

 

1983, 84, and 85....maybe some 86? Rob, I though for sure you were a check your valve clearances first kinda guy? You can have at least the rear valve cover off in well under an hour. The front cover involves draining the coolant and removing the radiator/fan assembly so it's more involved.

But you may not like what you see so be ready....I found 1 bad lobe on mine when I looked. I just decided to run it for now and keep an eye on it, its a tiny tiny spot on mine, but you might be worse off.

 

I must admit to SQUIRRELMAN(serving as the devil's advocate), posing a number of significant points, elaborated upon by 74ULLC.....had I given such thought or known in advance the issues, they may well have served as a significant deterrent in my heart driven purchase. Having said that, is not purchasing any 'older bike' a somewhat problematic experience? The gentleman had taken photographs of the current cam situation and explained such to me(good by the way). But this bike sounds to be neurotic, mechanics wise, unsound. Is this a realistic take? Thanks to all, Gordon

 

Sounds like the seller was honest if he explained the cams and even showed you current pics of them. Lets hope so anyways.

My experience is just with my '84 700, but as far as that one goes it's just the cams and cam chain tensioners....other than that I haven't seen or read about any other frequent/recurring issues with them.

Just go ride the darn thing and have fun....but first you should have the valve clearances checked, good oil put in, check out the brakes, tires, chain, etc, etc.....the same kinda stuff you would do with any other used bike you buy.

Give us some more details on yours, mileage, condition and such.

 

I had a 1984 VF750F for awhile. I sold it a year ago. It had the usual "old motorcycle" problems that finally drove me nuts - leaky fork seals (perhaps exacerbated by slightly out of round tubes), a leaky clutch pushrod oil seal, blew a head gasket, failed CDI unit, etc. It also had an issue specific to the 1st Generation - failed cam chain tensioners - BUT it didn't have a problem with worn cam lobes.

It is NOT the easiest motorcycle in the world to wrench on, but now it's yours. Just enjoy it. Never lug the engine - keep the oil pressure up. I used synthetic oil, but everyone has an opinion about that.

Pics?







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Welcome! Look forward to seeing pics . I recently got an 87 VFR and LOVE the sound of it!!!

 

Gordon, do yourself a favor,put it on the market and see if you can get close to your money back. I doubt you are cut out for this stuff, you sound defeated before you start, if you sounded enthusiastic about it ok, but you arent, and it is going to get worse. If you take a loss on it, it will be the best loss you have ever taken. Sorry to be blunt but sometimes you have to

 

Congrats! They're great bikes. You won't regret buying it. Sounds like the PO is a real straight shooter; you've lucked out already. The VF1000f might not have been the sportiest bike ever made by Honda, but that's a downright benefit anywhere else but the racetrack. They're comfortable, good looking, well-built machines.

You also won't regret twisting a wrench on the old girl every once in a while. Just post any problems you're having, and get yourself a few tools. Start with the owners manual. It's not too tough to get started...just check the tire pressure...then maybe adjust and lube the chain...then perhaps tackle a brake job...in a few years you'll be coaching other new owners...same thing happened to me.

I've never had one myself, but I've wanted one for years! I've had a lot of other V4s, the horror stories are overblown. If the bike has lasted this long, it'll go a good bit further.

Do avoid ethanol blends. I've found these bikes tend to be pretty happy with mid-grade fuel.
It is important to use high-quality motor oil. Synthetics are a good idea, but avoid "energy conserving" oils.
It's critical to keep the revs up above 3K as much as possible
Please check & clean the three-pin regulator/rectifier connector on the bike.

Most importantly:
Don't let gasoline sit in the carbs for more than a month. Trust me, you don't want to cut your teeth with a carb overhaul on this particular bike. Hands down it's the most complex job I've ever done on a vehicle. I've had more than one professional mechanic turn me down flat when I asked about a V4 carb cleaning. It's not impossible - I've done it about ten times now and I'm more or less an idiot compared to most on this forum.

 

I think we scared him off.....I was hoping to see some pics of the bike.

 

Funny you should say that. A stock standard VF1000F straight out of the showroom won the Isle of man TT. I think Ron Haslam was the rider.