VFR 750FV Shim Check with Pictures.

I am new to this forum but not new to the VFR. I have owned a number of models for the past 15 years. This is a tutorial that I posted on a UK VFR site that I thought may help those who do their own maintainance.

First things first, remove the seat, the rear bodywork and the side panels. If you need pictures and instructions on how to do this then read no further, this job is not for you. You don't have to remove the seat panel, you can just pull the sides apart to remove the tank, however, I remove it in case I damage it. :t



Next, remove the tank. Make sure you turn the fuel tap off and remove the fuel sender connector and the breather and overflow pipes from the right hand side of the bike first.



And remove the fuel feed from the left hand side.



It should look something like this.



Remove the air box cover and filter, disconnect the pipes and then remove the air box itself. A long philips screwdriver is useful here.



Use something to stop any crap getting into the carb intakes. I have used some tape in this case.



It's not strictly necessary to remove the carbs but it gives you a lot more space to work and only takes ten minutes to do. If you are removing the carbs you now need to remove the choke cable...............



and the throttle cables. Don't forget to release the idle cable adjuster from it's wire hanger.



If you the look under the carbs, you will see four screws just like these, two on each side at the bottom of the inlet rubbers. Loosen all four screws.



Remove the carbs. Now, they can be a bugger to remove and all the pulling in the world wont help. I use a piece of wood under the carb body to lever them gently up. Be careful as when they do release it's all at once and you could end up on your arse with the carbs flying through the air. Once they are off, once again cover the holes to stop dirt getting in. I have used tape again. It should now look like this.



I now removed the rear cam cover. There are four 10mm heads, one in each corner and two that hold on a rubber shield. Remove the rubber shield first and then the four corner ones diagonally and a little each at first until all are free from the cover. You should then see this. Don't those gear driven cams look lovely?



Repeat with the front cover.



I then removed the radiator securing bolt from the left side to aid removal of the spark plugs, it's an 8mm head. They are much easier to remove with the covers off than on believe me.

Now, you need to remove the timing mark plug from the right hand side engine casing. This is it.



Then turn the exposed nut clockwise using a socket and bar until the T1 mark lines up with the groove in the casing like so.



In addition, the two lines on the rear cylinder cam gears should be parallel with the top of the head and the cam lobes should be in the 10 and 2 O'clock positions like so. If they are not, turn the nut clockwise until the T1 mark comes around again.





You can now check all four valve clearances on cylinder No 1 which is the left rear. On the 91 model year on should be Inlet 0.16mm + or - 0.03mm and Exhaust 0.25mm + or - 0.03mm. You will need a good assortment of feeler blades to check and it should be a nice fit with just a little drag. If you have to force the feeler blade in then it's too tight, go down a size. You will also find it helpful if you bend the ends like this and keep them for this job.



Checking No 1 cylinder inlet.............



and exhaust.........



Now, turn the timing mark clockwise until the T3 marks line up and check all four valves on No 3 cylinder which is the rear right. Then turn once again clockwise Until the T2 marks line up and check the cam gear timing marks as before.



And check all four valves on No 2 cylinder which is the front left. Finally turn clockwise once more until you get to the T4 mark and check all four valves on cylinder No4 which is the front right.

You need to make a note of each clearance in case any of the shims need changing. I do this on a plain piece of paper and write down each value as I take it like this.



Fotunately for me they are all in spec as you can see. That saves me a lot more work but unfortunately I won't be showing you the cams being removed and installed, maybe that can be kept for part 2 another time.

I will be renewing the plugs and putting everything back together tomorrow afternoon when I will finish this post.

I hope you have found it helpful so far?

Now for part 2, the rebuild.

Replace the timing mark cover and tighten. I can find no torque spec for this but it does have a rubber 'O' ring so tight but not too tight.

It's easier if you now replace the plugs. It seems silly to do all this work and not to change them and it's MUCH easier to do the front ones with the covers off. Use a torque wrench if you have one but whatever you do DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN them.



All four plugs in and it's time to put the covers back on. If you were lucky enough for the gasket and cover to remain together then you don't have to do this bit, leave them together and clean ALL traces of old silicon from the bottom face. If like me they came apart then you have to clean ALL traces of old silicon from the gasket and from the cover. It's a real PITA but I cannot stress enough to get them clean. In this case that will do will not. They need to look like this.



You then need to add a thin bead of silicon to the groove in the cover. Not too much otherwise when you tighten the cover there is a chance that you could get silicon inside the engine. So, just enough to hold the gasket in place and no more. Dont forget to do the two circular plug recess holes too.



Then place the gasket on the cover. Note the 'In' mark on each one. The 'In' arrow faces towards the inlet valves. Get this wrong and the gasket won't fit.



Finally you now need to add a SMALL amount of silicon to each corner of the four semi circular parts of the gasket like this.



Make sure that the head surface is clean and free from oil then carefully install the covers. Make sure that they are properly located all the way around and in particular seated properly around the spark plug recess and corners. Once in place replace the bolts and tighten to the specified torque of 10Nm. Beware, these bolts have a flat base to them and do not stretch if you overtighten these they will snap. So, get a torque wrench and tighten them evenly and diagonally a little at a time until they are to spec, like this.



Then do the same with the front cover. It will greatly assist plug fitting and fitting the cover if you pull the radiator as far as possible like this.



Once the front plugs and cover are in place install the 8mm bolt to the left hand stay to resecure it. Also make sure that the two hoses are in their clips at the sides of the radiator.

It's now a simple case of doing the reverse of what you did earlier but remember the following points. Some people have a problem working out how the left hand rubber protector locates so I have included a close up here.



And here.



Then istall the front crap protector plate using the two plastic push pins, one on each side. Remember that the left hand plug lead exits between the engine and frame, unlike the right hand lead which exits around the frame. It will then look like this on the right side.



And like this on the left side.



Now it's time to replace the carbs. I find the best way is to put a smear of silicon grease or red rubber grease around the lip of the rubber manifolds then push the front two part way down. It now looks as if the will never go on but don't fret, they will. You need to push forward and down quite firmly and they will pop in to place no problem. Once fitted, reconnect the fuel line so that the pipes look like this.



Remember to connect the choke cable, the throttle cables and feed the idle adjuster through and clip it to its retainer.



Next, put the airbox on and connect the pipes like this.



Replace the tank, connect the two pipes from the right and the fuel feed to the left. Don't forget to turn on the fuel tap and connect the fuel sender here.



It's now time to put the bodywork on and have a beer. Now, where does this left over bolt come from?

 

thanks for sharing your hard work.

 

This is a super write up m8 with pictures for people like me who are willing to learn :smile:

TPR.

PS. I'm only down the Road from you, so it's good to see other members who live not too far away.

 

Nicely done, sir. That's one of my winter projects so it will be nice to have a step by step guide.

 

It had been quite some time since anyone posted a good mod/tech thread, you have now fixed that too! Excellent Post.

 

Thanks for the great write up! With your help I did my first valve check. Take it easy!:thumbsup: