Proud owner of an 86 vfr750f time to make it safe and roadworthy

I bought this bike for less than 500 it was Sopposed to have a very detailed clutch seal reolacement, splitting the case to add the seal from the inside. I found out when it was time to replace the seal that it was a basic Honda 8x25x8 seal. I spent the money I had saved to invest on new rubber, wheel bearings, pads, oil, and basic stuff.

I still need the lower fairings, I am totally in love with this bike. It has crazy amounts of power all the way through the the band, and the gear drive sounds so awesome. I can't believe I own one!!
The only problem I'm having with this fine machine is that it definitely gets a little squirley on back country roads, it doesn't miss a crack in the road, I feel all the sealed tar spots is this because of the 16" tire?
I just wanted to give an introduction of myself, I started with a 78cb750 and I was fortunate to find my next project. I'm 43 live in Muncie Indiana. Any resources or advise on this bike will go a long way!!

 

That's a Great VFR, in some cases I still think Honda needs to make this bike again, it is smaller lighter and more nimble, still the newer ones are nice, just something about those 1st gens, now where's the photos?

 

Congrats!

As far as "squirley", you're probably just not used to riding this particular machine. The nimbleness mentioned by RVFR being felt.
Relatively skinny odd-sized wheels with bias tires, but in my opinion they work on this bike with the latest bias rubber offerings. Just enjoy it for now.

Mike.

 

How many miles on the wee beastie ?? :smile-new:

Riders should always state the mileage of the bikes they're dealing with as it's usually highly relevant. If someone previously split the cases i'd be very worried about possible future engine problems unless i knew and vetted the engine rebuilder, he was older than 40 and had quality tools.

If it has more than about 40k miles, the rear shock is probably in need of replacement. Also clean forks, flush, and replace fork oil. Check the steering head bearings as they're shot by about 35-40,000 miles. Flush and change coolant and rad cap. Be certain that the fan kicks on at about 2/3 of the temp gauge.


ENJOY it frequently ! :biggrin-new:

 

Good find there SnavelyBob. I used to own one of these myself long ago and have very fond memories.

The forks on the 86/87 VFR are a bit of a weak point (although the shock may also be well past its best now), as they are a small diameter at 37mm, and use damper rods for damping. The damping will tend to be more harsh on bigger hits compared to a later cartridge fork, and if the fork is riding low in its stroke due to tired springs, the steering will be a bit on the twitchy side. You can re-invigorate the forks with new oil, but for best results you might consider new springs (to get the ride height/geometry back to new) and cartridge emulators from Racetech (to fix the natural harshness).

You say that you're fitting some new tyres, my advice would be to avoid temptation to lever on some over-sized boots, and stick with the standard front 110/80 x 16, and either a 130/80 or 140/70 x 18 on the back. Wider front tyres (e.g. 120) will make the bike more prone to slapping. Wider back tyres (160 or above) will ruin some of the sweet handling characteristics. Just my opinion mind.

 

......." gets a little squirley on back country roads "......................

to me that's a good thing entirely !! eaceful:

 

Here are a few photos, when the clutch seal went it puked oil on the rear tire and caused the previous owner to drop it on both sides. Minor low speed situation where it slid out from underneath him. . I need the lower fairing both sides and some mounting hardware, I can't wait to make this bike look complete. I won't lie I have ridden the heck out of this thing with the plastic missing. My fan works great. Engine runs awesome from what I know..

The handling issue I was feeling was the front tire wanting to grab every uneven surface or crack in the road. I think it's from the 16" front rim, just in case I went with a new bias ply tire on the front, new bearings new brakes, on the front. It had a 170/60/18 tire on the back. I replaced it with the same tire different manufacturer.

Will a radial back tire cause a problem?? I know how important the front being exactly the same size bias ply Tire. The rear tire in this size is almost impossible to find.

 

I'm fitting metzler lasertech 120/80/16 bias v rated. And I know the rear tire is big for this machine I had already purchased the 180/60/18 tire. Metzler doesn't make the tire I have, or you can only buy it overseas. It is the metzler me1 170/60/vb18 v260 I can't find a site in English to purchase one.

I bought a radial Yokohama getter 170/60/18 R006RR (soft) for the rear. The one on it is near bald in the center and full tread on the outside in a turn I feel a drastic change in the head angle because of the uneven wear.. I will more than likely after reading the posts I have from this site, I will be buying a different rear probably the 140/70/18 bias ply tire.

Will I be in any danger with that new radial I bought to get started into the 2016 season. I got the tire on clearance for very cheap.

Am I in any kind of danger running that new radial until I get the right one here.

 

A 170 is way too big for that rim size. Even a 150 is too big and with that the profile will be less than ideal. You are taking a wide tire and pinching it in to mount on a narrow rim. And you should not mix radial and bias tires. You need to change that tire. Do not use the 180.

A 140/70-18 is the limit for that rear rim. You're fine with a 120/80-16 on front (which is also the limit for the front rim).

 

Agreed, even if you managed to get that tire on the rim there is almost zero chance the bead would seal properly, if at all!

You may be able to sell it to someone here, but absolutely DO NOT attempt to use it.

 

I'm sorry it was a 170/60/18 that is what was on the bike when I bought it I only purchased the same tire that is in the rim now, There is t much room for error or misalignment with this tire I have on it now. It barely fits between the chain and the brake stabilizer but it does fit and they used it for the life of the tire.

I know I need to get a different back tire. I will go with the 14/70/18

 

Don't mix radial and bias-ply tires on the same bike, ever !! :disturbed:

Every tire manufacturer says that. Don't go over a 140 on the rear.

 

If you're going to match the front The Lasertec Rear 130/80 V 18 M/C (66V) TL is your only choice. V rated with Metzeler Belt System.
Hopefully the front was a 120/80 VB 16 M/C (60V) TL.

Other than that you could go with a Pirelli Sport Demon 140/70 - 18 M/C 67V TL. Very similar tire to the Lasertec, might actually be the same construction with a different tread pattern. I'm just not sure Pirelli has their version of "MBS".

Bridgestone offers a good choice in their BT45. Currently what I have on one of my 86 VFRs.

And I'm getting ready to put a set of Avon Roadriders on my VF1000F. They offer good sizes for your bike.

 

I got the tire situation handled. I'm noticing that after I put a new tire, I'm new to the bike completely btw. My clutch starts to slip.. My bike has 17,000 miles. I couldn't get the slave cylinder to take off after I replaced the clutch seal. I had to let the cylinder go out beyond where it should naturally be. Then I bolted the slave cylinder up and bled it down to where I wanted it. It stayed there until recently. Now it wants to work the cylinder out until the clutch slips... I start over and I'm good s day or two.. Then it slips until I really warm the bike up.

Do I just need a new clutch and spring??


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If I read your post correctly Bob, the clutch fluid pressure is increasing so the clutch is slipping? And if you bleed a bit of pressure off, it works again? If so the problem is with the hydraulics, not the clutch pack. I'd suggest having a close look at the master cylinder to see if the tiny return port is clear; you may have a little bit of crud that is stopping the fluid pressure releasing fully.

 

Symptoms seem to show that you need to replace the seals in the clutch slave. Also, u can do a better bleed by removing the clutch slave from the sprocket cover and using a C-clamp to fully retract the piston while bleeding.**

**be super-careful NOT to over-tighten the 2 long bolts !

 

Got my farings, left is a 700 and right is a scratched 750.. Couldn't pass them up, I don't see many OEM fairings. I love this bike SOOO much!! 17,xxx miles so far and a bunch to go. The biggest difference I made on this bike was tires and BEARINGS!! It is an awesome handling machine. For as rare as these bikes are becoming .. There are s lot of people that know exactly what I have!

 

^^^^^^what he said. If your release/engagement is almost immediate and very stiff, fluid is not returning to the master and keeping pressure on the clutch rod. Pop the little cover on the bottom of the master and clean out the return port. Cover the bike up when you do this.

 

Thank you very much, I did this once. When I first got the bike. I'm noticing that when the bike warms up everything grabs great. When the bike is ridden the first 5 mins if I go more than 5g's hard it slips like its the back tire. It stops after 10 mins of steady cruising. Once the bike is warmed up and running a while it turns around..

 

Maybe the 30 year old brake fluid is due.. It's every time I ride weather I bleed off the slave cylinder or not.