Hi Guys apologies for my first post to be a help me thread but needs must!! Ok I have a vfr 750 1995, I bought it about 6 months ago had been sat for a while so I have been doing work to bring it back to a useable beast! So I was about to take it in for uk MOT test and after running for about 2 mins the temp guage was in the red, rad full of new coolant but barely warm, exhaust pipes 3 warm #2 not warm, also oil looks a bit murky brown on closer inspection. Soooo I have a couple of thoughts, when I got the bike it had no coolant in it and so I am thinking maybe crap in the water system? Or faulty thermostat not letting water through? Also water pump could this be an issue? I have run the bike over the winter trying to keep it going however I believe I may have caused condensation in the oil? Short runs on my drive as the bike has not been ridden since I have had it. Any suggestions as I have been off a bike for four years and I desparately want to be riding now I have a bike and nice weather to ride in so any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks oh and hello!! Great forum! Francis
first off drain the oil and change it, fill it up with water and try to run it to see if water gets in the oil. kind of sounds like water pump. also sounds like you got a bad spark plug as well.
Thanks! I will drain the fluids at the weekend and see if that changes anything, is it worth me having the water pump off and checking it? whislt the fluids are out? Also is it worth flushing the system with water before I re fill? Thanks for the help so far!
Ok I have drained all fluids coolant came out clear as if it were new, out looking like coffee however I have some more theory behind that maybe. The bike previous to me buying it had been sat in a barn in the middle of sheffield england, notorious for its rain and cold, so it would have been there through two very cold winters and in a barn in sweltering heatwaves we get in this summer, also this year when i got it we had the worst winter weather in a long time and freezing temperatures. The oil has been in the bike for 3 years all would this be enough to make the oil look this way through repeated moisture build up? bear in mind I have not ridden this bike yet only started it for very short periods in the cold ( i know bad man!) however I also never remembering it getting over hot. Anyway back to current affairs, the bike now has new oil and coolant, I turned the key in the ignition and the temp gauge already started to rise to about half way? is this normal its not a particularly warm day either. Then when I turned it over the gauge kept rising but then all of a sudden feel to nothing. Left bike running for a minute or so and the coolant began circulating I am assuming when you rev the bike and the coolant level drops in time with it thats it being pumped? then the gauge just went straight through the roof again, however I can touch the thermostat housing and it barely feels warm I mean i does not burn mean i can keep my fingers on it, does this sound like I have a dodgy gauge? If so is there any way of testing the gauge totell if its working or not. New iridium sparks work a treat shes running a whole lot better as well. Any ideas as I need to get this bike on the road I am sitting at a computer when there is beautiful riding weather outside! Cheers guys
Also, Had thermostat out and checked it, opened fine in boiing water, and water pump no marks or missing impellers and turns with the engine!
It is very common for oil to get milky over the winter due to condensation and probably explains the oil. Looks like you've already got the issue with spark straightened out. I concur with Toe's suggestion on sensor/sensor wiring but would keep the idea of a faulty gauge in the back of my mind... but it is relatively rare for it to go bad. More likely to not function correctly due to it receiving bad signal from the sensor hence the suggestion for checking the sensor and the wiring.
thanks for the info! Just been outside again turned the key in the ignition and temp gauge through the roof and the bikes cold so I will check the sensor out and wiring. As for the oil, how many changes should I do before i should not see any more "milkyness" ? As I have put a new load in but obviously there was a small amount of residual in there so i am getting a minimal amount on my dipstick now.
I checked the gauge by grounding it and it appears to work fine! As for the temp sensor I checked the resistance and cold it reads 500 ohms does this figure shed any light as to whether it's broken or not? Also ran bike for about 20mins at idle, no coolant level drop and also only a mild foam of White on the dipstick I am assuming this is residual moisture from before?
Depends on the water in there and if changing it hot/cold. My dad dumped the mower into the river 3 weeks ago and I drained 5 quarts of water out along with 2 quarts of oil. It took me two changes to get rid of 99% of it and the rest of it has boiled out now. Someone with a service manual would have to give the specifications for the gauge to know if 500ohms was in tolerance at XX temperature.
