New owner of a vf-750

My uncle decided to give away his 1983 vf-750f. He bought it to tinker with and ride but found out he didnt have enough time. I did a nice jester to him in the past and he decided to return the favor and give it to me. He said he thinks the head gasket needs to be replaced. He had it running and some white smoke came out and there was some water in the oil. Sounds like a head gasket to me. Is this a common problem? Also is there any thing that I should address about it? I have owned to suzuki 750's and this is my first honda. Any help would be appreciated

 

Ill be sure to do those. I will essentially check everything as I go. The funny thing is, I dont even have the bike yet. I go to pick it up this weekend

 

Save yourself the expense and frustration: this will probably never be a good-running bike again.

 

Why's that? Was that an invitation for him to give it to me?
Congrats on the new ride.

 

Thanks for that info. Being a new Honda owner that makes sense.

I agree with going to the basics of troubleshooting and checks as well.

Congrats again on the new ride.

 

Squirrel is in love with gen 1 and in time will come to grips with it. I for one say pull both heads and inpect. Just got bit on the ass by a gen 1 that looked good and passed leak down test but had a bad spot in the bore due to corrosion from sitting. Given the known problem pulling the heads and inspecting is the best path in my opinion.

 

I will definetely give it a all around inspection. And it only makes since to make sure the bike is running before buying cosmetics or anything. I cant wait to get it this weekend and give a quick run through and see whats going on. Great thing about it my uncle is pretty good with motors and mechanics. So Ill get the list of what he has done and reinspect it all. Just as a quick note. How much are these things selling for?

 

So Honda has an issue again but this time with their process in plating? hmm, I am not feeling all "warm and fuzzy" the more I read about the VFR.

 

Welcome to the forum. I wished I could offer you sound advice on your ills but I can't. Toe and Tunk are great sources here so listen to what they have to say. I am sure there are many others as well.

Post up some pix when you can. We all get orgasmic over good pix.

 

The first gen problems arent quite as bad as ppl make them out to be IMHO. Most of them were resolved by 83' anyways. I've got a 1st gen with 56k miles on it I think the main problem with 1st gens is that they have been molested by PO's. I've owned 4 VF's and only had problems out of one of them (a 500) and that was mainly my fault.

While you have the motor out and heads off it would be a good idea to replace the cam chain tensioners. Get the carbs freshened up and as long as the cam lobes arent flat and nothing is bad out of place you shouldn't really have too many probs with it. Do a valve adjustment while your at it too. You will run into little stuff here and there like you would on any old machine. I love projects like this and since this was a free bike you dont have much to loose!

Good luck!

 

Man I'm all hyped up about it. I was going to get it and sale it, but that might just change after I get it running

 

Im sure Im jumping the gun, but I like to learn as much as I can before I tear into a bike/car. But every car I have owned there have been some kind of free or cheap mods. Is there any known ones for these bikes? Maybe forks or brakes from later years. different plastics. Again, first priority is getting it running. I just want to see whats out there

 

I would love to get my hands on a free V45 Interceptor, trashed cams or not. ANYTHING can be fixed with time and money. There's quitters and doer's. Doer's bring bikes/cars back from the dead, quitters don't. If it weren't for quitters, doers would have a hard time finding projects, so we really should be thankful for those who are easily frightened. If it looks like a lost cause, pass it along to someone else. Some issues can't be addressed by everyone. Some lack talent, some lack tools or space or time or money. If it's too much, try to give it away as a whole bike. The trouble with parting it is, after the choice parts are gone many are left with a half complete bike that just gets tossed in the dump and that's a waste.They should be repaired not junked. Can't wait to see how you make out. Keep us posted.

 

+1, nicely written Hop.

Owing a vintage bike isn't for everyone but for those who enjoy the challenge they are great projects and can be very rewarding to work on.

On this note, Tink's posts above are on the mark as well. Diagnose the issues first. Mr. Tink has a great deal of working knowledge and can be very helpful,,,even if he is ever so slightly disappointed in the engineering on First Generation V-Four engines.

 

+1... agree on both points.

 

to be fair you mean VF. we should really be calling this site InterceptorWorld.com VFRs are not problematic at all.

 

Welcome to ownership of a 1st Gen. If you aren't crazy yet, you soon will be!

Head gasket blew also on my 1984 VF750F, but I don't know how common that is.

I am no expert, but I was able to replace the head gasket on mine. A Honda shop manual is a must. The Clymer has some errors on valve timing.

There is considerable expertise here on these old VFs. masonv45 has been very helpful to me. Jamie Daugherty too. Lots of others as well.

Good luck.