Restoring a YELLOW '87 VFR700F2H

Originally White.....was repainted by the PO...a really nice job too. I bought the bike back in '97 and rode her for the next 9 years until a problem with the clutch left her parked in my garage. I tried all kinds of things and even took it to he Honda place I bought it from but it just didn't get repaired. Knowing what I know now - I bet it was just the slave cylinder.

Needless to say I'm at the point now that I want to get her going again.

She will need a complete fuel & hydraulics system restoration. Carbs, gas tank, brakes, clutch, etc. etc.

The cosmetics are also is sad condition so there's that.

This morning I pulled the carbs. Tomorrow I will work on the gas tank and also try to free up the front brakes which are binding. I already removed the brake lines at the calipers, opened the bleeders, and gently pried the pads away from the rotors and that helped a little.

I also aired up the tires and so far they are holding!

Lot of work to do but will be nice to get her going again......

I have the fairings off and stowed away.

This is one of those made in Marysville, Ohio.......

 

Buying and working on other VF/VFRs while ol Yeller sits neglected in a shed? I'd be pissed if I was that VFR. Wait til she sees the new siblings? WTF? I'd expect some extra problems and challenges as a "fuck you". At least you didn't bring home a 2014 pearl white tart.

 

LOL......all true of course.....

 

Interior fuel tank cleaning.......is there an advantage using Apple Cider Vinegar........over regular White Vinegar? Thanks for any input!

 

I think white vinegar is stronger with a higher percentage of acetic acid.

 

I asked the AI...

According to Wikipedia1, apple cider vinegar is 94% water and 5% acetic acid with 1% carbohydrates and no fat or protein. The acetic acid content of vinegar can vary widely, but for table vinegar it typically ranges from 4 to 8 % v/v.

White vinegar is a solution typically consisting of 4–7% acetic acid and 93–96% water. It is most commonly made via the fermentation of grain alcohol. Some types of white vinegar can contain up to 20% acetic acid, but these are strictly for agricultural or cleaning purposes and not intended for human consumption

 

OK thanks guys.....I bought 3 gallons of White yesterday & held off on the Apple Cider so I guess I'm good to go.......

 

Found a pic of her when I first brought her home......

 

Honeymoon pics... when you still loved her.

 

Ha......

It's her own fault for not letting her clutch disengage.......

 

Uh huh. Who let the fluid turn to apple butter?

 

Trust me I feel guilty enough without any help!

I could never figure out what the problem was but knowing what I know now I'm wondering if it was the slave cylinder.

I changed out the lever (twice) and m/c and I think the slave too and then......took her back to the place I bought her from (Honda dealer in S. Daytona) and even they couldn't fix her.

The worst part of the whole thing is me not at least starting her up and running the engine every few weeks. Plus not keeping her covered. Even in the garage she has a lot of surface corrosion now I will have to deal with.

To be fair, I've had my hands full over the past 15 years running my business and dealing with all kinds of outside issues. I'm sure it's a familiar story. I'm glad I finally rolled up my sleeves though and started the restoration process.

Having the resources available now through social media is going to be a huge help. Plus I've already learned a lot working on those other machines. Lot more to learn but that's the journey part.....where things stay interesting.....

 

While working on the VF750 today, I also started work on this bike's fuel tank, which I sat aside after removing it's carbs a couple weeks back.

Look how nice the insulation pad is underneath! I will use it as a template to make one for my other bike(s).

I never noticed it is held in place by a series of metal "bent over" tabs. No glue!

As expected the sending unit was crud city! I cleaned it up a bit and will re-solder the wire that came loose. This tank might be a candidate for coating. Not sure yet about the VF750......

 

This rubber pad is in great condition!


Check out the crud left in the bottom of this pail from the fuel tank when I emptied it.........yikes!!!

 

I went ahead and ordered an epoxy coating kit from Caswell tonight in anticipation of the inevitable for this Yellow tank. The website said due to holidays it would be a few weeks before it ships.

Has anyone here tried another product they were happy with?

I use Eastwood products all the time and saw that they have a sealer but it's not an epoxy.

At any rate I have plenty to keep me busy while I wait. Just wanted to get some ducks in a row while fresh on my mind......

 

I know from reading a long saga about a certain $400 Interceptor that you definitely shouldn't use Red Kote.

Caswell is the only one I've heard any positive stories about. I don't have any first hand experience though.

 

I will do ANYTHING to not coat a tank and have not done it in over 25 years when the only game was Kreem. If your prep was good, it worked good. Until it didn't. Then you are fucked.

Caswell is probably the only product I would use today, but I also have no first hand experience. The internal piping of VF/VFR tanks makes me very nervous about it's application. I use electrolysis or Evapo-Rust and run a good filter on this style tank.

 

Thanks, guys......as always really appreciate the replies!

I was at my mechanics place last week and the subject came up of coating a tank and he shook his head and offered the concept of opening up the tank at the seams - cleaning/treating the interior as necessary - then closing it back up. He also mentioned getting another used one and I mentioned how expensive and scarce they are.

I admit - I hate the idea of doing a coating. But have heard good things as well on the Caswell product and have to believe like many things it's effectiveness will mostly depend on the prep & execution.

Regarding the internal tubes, as I understand it, you have to blow these out from the petcock end right after starting the draining step.

So far there's been some nasty stuff coming out of the yellow tank. I have it filled with white vinegar right now.

I completely forgot I had a full jug of Evaporust on hand so thanks to Capt's comment, I will be using that on the blue tank.

The fuel filter part is also so crucial to mitigating issues, obviously. I have 2 new ones coming for the VF750, which will be the first bike ready for it's tank to go back on.

 

ive used caswell epoxy on 3 tanks, and they're solid and leak-free after 18 years plus.

 

i have one '86 tank that i want to caswell someday. for the tubes, i think blowing some 60psi air through the system into a petcock hole [before epoxy dries] should clear any possible blockages.