A Very Good Day!!!!

I am building a bike from scratch.
I got an vf1000F engine from a salvage yard.

Today I was removing the valve covers because I want to polish them.
I found out the engine has gear driven cams!!!! A VF1000R!!!

I am very happy.

I was looking for the two CDI's in the tail section of the bike but now realize I already have the right CDI box. Now I just have to figure out if the wiring harness is correct.

 

Could the cams come from an R but the engine remain a F? I don't know much about the liters.

 

I think what he's saying is its not JUST the camshafts themselves - but the actually cams are gear driven instead of chain driven, making them much less prone failure.

 

AFIK this is not possible. The chain driven cams are different enough from gear driven that the two top ends would not be interchangeable.

-Jake

 

The gear drive doesn't play any role in the top end failure discussion. The R's are just as prone to rocker wear as any of the other models, in my experiences even more so.

No, the R and F cams are not interchangeable because of the above mentioned reason.

 

Ahhh. Well then why did Honda go to gear driven cams? All my reading says that it was to prevent wear and was like some magic fix on the V4's.

 

Nah, that's #2 on the list of "Biggest V4 Top End Myths" with #1 being line bored cam journals. The gear drive was done strictly for performance reasons. When racing, chains can stretch and throw off the cam timing. With gears it says put forever.

The top end wear issues were cause by two separate problems 1) the rockers were not hardened deep enough and 2) the oiling system was inadequate and did not lubricate the parts well enough. The gear drive does not address either of those. If a solution does not address the problem then it's not a solution after all!

 

That's good to know.

By the way, my F2 rear wheel just showed up in the mail - so when riding season gets too cold here in Cleveland, I'm gonna do the rear wheel conversion with you.

 

I thought the vf1000's were chain driven. but after reading up on the net it looks like the canadian models were vf1000f ( chain driven ) and the rest were vf1000r ( dual overhead cam gear driven, a whopping 122 horses ).
Hrm learn something new everyday. I guess that thing will be a scary fast machine....ride safe

 

The US also got the chain driven F model in 1984 only. Basically, the F's have chains and the R's gears.

Be careful what you read online, it very common for that information to be incorrect.

 

I had an opportunity to purchase a 1986 VFR1000 that was in great condition, relatively low miles, and at a good price but decided to pass due to the possiblity of engine problems due to the cam wear issues I'd read about. Didn't want to mess with adding an aftermarket oiling system. Hopefully I made the right decision with getting a new model rather than a classic.

 

Would those cam oiling issues be mitigated by modern synthetic oils?

I know a machinist who told me recently that if he chucks a piece of round stock in has lathe, that if it has had synthetic oil on it, that he cannot keep it from slipping in the lathe!!!

 

I don't believe that there is any way around the cam oiling issues other than an auxilliary oil line. IIRC, the oil pump is weak in these engines, and the top end of the heads are the end of the line for the oil galleys.

The aux line taps into the pressurized oil supply sooner.

I'm sure Jamie will clarify and probably prove my memory incorrect, too.

 

wasnt the oiling problem "addressed" by 86?

 

Bummer, you missed out on a great opportunity. Those bikes have a lot more character than newer stuff, in my opinion.

No, synthetic oils don't help. Whe warm at idle there can be 0psi going to the top end (nothing).

Correct, a top end oiling modification is the only thing you can do to correct the problem. All 1987 and older V4 Hondas should have one. Here is a page from my old site showing the modification:

The VF1000F Project Page - Top End Oiling System Modification

Nope. The 1986 VFR700's were ok but the VF1000R's and VF500F's were unchanged from previous years in this regard. It really wasn't until 1989 that Honda finally corrected the issue on all models.

 

So the First generation has the problem, and the second generation is fixed...right?
( I think the 86 vf's are gen 1 and the vfr is gen 2 ). Correct me if I am wrong here?

 

That's a good way to look at it. There were some models in 1986, 1987, and 1988 that were still affected because their designs were carry overs from previous years. The second generation VFR's are ok as Honda made improvements to both the rocker arm hardened layer depth and the oiling system supply to the top end.

 

When you say SECOND GENERATION, is that years ,models or certain engine or VIN numbers?

 

It refers to model changes. Here is the breakdown:

First Generation - 1983 through 1986 VF models
Second - 1986 and 1987 VFR700 and VFR750
Third - 1990 through 1993 VFR750
Fourth - 1994 through 1997 VFR750
Fifth - 1998 through 2001 VFR800
Sixth - 2002+ VFR800

 

you just scared the shnit out of me with this one...