i read the manual it sais remeve clutch and exhaust - all that to remove the oil pan? 1986 VFR700F honda intrceptor- i changed the starter clutch and in the proces the penny (used to hold the gears from spinning)rolled in the oil pan plus upon ispection of the old starter clutch i noticed it was scratched and nicked around the edges i can only assume something is loose inthere and its banging around . but i didnt find anything at first, i feel a closer inspection (in the oil pan )is waranted.
Sorry I didn't make this response sooner. I think you can remove the oil pan if you remove the front headpipes on your model. If you want to remove the oil pump via the pan you have to remove the clutch first though (to access the oil pump chain). Last summer I worked on a 93 that the oil pump chain came unraveled. Luckily, the owner saw the oil light and discontinued driving it. I surmised that somehow the first thing to happen was a side link came off the chain. Don't see how it could have caused it but the bike was low speed crashed on the right side just previously. Anyway...you might want to at least visually inspect the chain if it appears something has been loose in there. I think you can see it behind the clutch and do so by turning the engine over by hand.
