Restoring a BLUE '87 VFR700F2H

OK the video thing didn't work out too good. Too much ancillary noise plus the mount wasn't sturdy enough so the camera went into tilt mode...lol.....

I will work on this and hopefully get things straightened out.

I mounted the camera on one of the mirror stalks so maybe a helmet mount would be better. Also wondering about mounting it right next to the Kerker...

 

oh yeah i had to do it that crazy dangerious way to free up the clutch of the '92 ZX-7 i bought at a repo auction about 1996. push start in gear, clutch lever in, get speed to about 15-20 mph and grab the brakes smoothly but firmly and hope the plates free up, which worked that time.

 

Yep, except I typically try some abrubt on/off throttle cycles as it gets warmed up.

 

This little girl was a son-of-a-BITCH to wake up in the spring. Barnett clutch and heavy springs..!

 

My Barnett bikes have always stuck a bit after sitting.

 

Captain, is there a aftermarket seat cowl out there for the 86

love the work you did with the seat to fit the cowl

 

I think Airtech makes one out of glass. Also check Beasley Composites.

 

What do you guys think of using parrafin oil on the intake boots to assist in getting a set of carbs back in on these V4's?

I think when I did this bike I used a very conservative smear of red rubber grease.

Also, have you ever boiled the old boots to restore their suppleness?

I bought a whole new set when I did mine....seemed like good investment. But the old ones seemed like they could be re-used.

Thanks for any thoughts. I'm going to be pulling the carbs now on my RC36 and am thinking ahead on a few items......

 

I've used wheel bearing grease, but really, nothing petroleum based would be better. Silicone after they get boiled to soften them?

 

Red rubber grease and a heat gun. If they feel like they are "usable", they will pop in with those two ingredients. Really should not use petroleum based grease.

You can also boil and I've read lots of positive results, but I prefer not to do extreme things like that and I've never done it. You can also do a wintergreen/alcohol treatment to restore suppleness, I have done that on other items but never insulators. But I don't see any issue.

I've done things like this to get "one more" or "this bike HAS to go back together right now", but your are prolonging the inevitable. Just very closely inspect for ANY cracking. If present, replace.

My 2 cents and 2 dozens of experience. (way more than 2 dozen, but I had to go with the theme)

 

OK thanks bmart and Captain - this Red (RC36) bike is in much better shape than the Blue (RC 26) bike I did so going to wait and see what the insulators look like before making any decisions to replace or not. I actually think I could have kept the old ones on the Blue bike but being it was my first carb R&R I wanted to go the extra mile. And I'm glad I did. Like most things the more you do them the more you learn and can employ better thinking (in theory).

The balance will always be between knowing your limitations and having the confidence to push forward and challenge yourself. Perfect example is carb rebuilding. If it's just removing the bowls and servicing what is accessible from that end then I'm going for it.

Disassembling everything and then proceeding with the rebuild....um....no thanks.

I totally get how nice it is to have essentially a new set of carbs to go back on the bike. But why not just go with what is probably needed, for now. And I guess that is the question. What exactly is needed. Well, we will find out!

Thanks again - I've really learned a lot from the forum postings here!

 

Getting a VFR to the point where you can remove and install the carbs is fairly tedious. If you don't know when (IF!) the fuel tube crossover o-rings have been replaced, then it is time. That's exactly what is needed and now is the time to do it.

Well, you will find out... likely in the most inconvenient time and/or place. Sometimes it is not just a weep or a drip, but literally a fuel waterfall. Happened to me twice, but I got super fuckin' lucky and I was in my driveway both times. One was a 86 VFR that I had been riding often and it decided one day... fuel waterfall. No smells, no mysterious drips up to that point. The other was the Guest Bike 86 VFR that had been winterized and sat for close to year. Not totally surprised by that one. The fuel waterfall also happened to a buddy... out in the valley. That sucked. Wasn't even my bike and it still ruined my day. And my other friend on his 86 had it happen at my house! Shit maybe my place is cursed.

These o-rings are now 25+ years old, been exposed to fuel the whole time and have gone thru countless heat cycles in the center of a hot V4. Almost every time I replace them they crumble when removing them from the fuel tube. No idea how they held fuel at all.

 

What is this folly you speak of Captain?!

 

3 parts rubbing alcohol to 1 part pure wintergreen oil (pretty sure I'm remembering that correctly). Let rubber parts soak in it to restore suppleness. Works pretty damn good.

 

Thanks. And thanks for the air tech tip.

 

PURE wintergreen has gotten really expensive so beware if it seems like too good of a deal.

 

Couldn't agree more.

This Blue bike actually had that happen - but it started leaking at home so no collateral damage. I thought it was a cracked fuel pipe not just the o-rings. I bought a new set of pipes and let my mechanic do the job. Mostly because of seeing reports of how difficult the removal and installation part is on the carb set alone - let alone taking everything apart.

He did the job but the bike never ran right afterwards and I got busy with other stuff so needless to say it sat again for a while until I finally took the carbs off myself and sent them out. The rebuilder did a thorough job including new o-rings and the bike runs good again so I should be set for a while.

Now this RC36 (the Red bike) I'm about to dig into......I just want to get the bike running again for now. Maybe down the road I will do more.

The next two RC 26 bikes I plan on reviving.....(another Blue one and the Yellow one) will have completely rebuilt carbs going on them - including the fuel pipe o-rings.

In other news.........I rebuilt the carbs on my '06 Ninja 500R today and surprisingly......it's running again!

 

Having been the "crew/mechanic" for a friend who used to run one of those...why do you own one of those? lol

 

Do we know about the RC36? I'm mixing up a shitte-tonne of threads I think.

 

I've always wanted a Green Kawasaki.......