1986 VFR700F2 Rollin' Rebuild

I have a problem. Every day I'm on Craigslist looking at motorcycles. Even when I'm broke, I still look...

Last week, "$800 for a 'running' VFR700F2!" popped onto my local listings. Right, like that's what I need right now...

2 hours later it was mine (for $700!). I rode it home on a 30F (but sunny) day with a shit eating grin on my face. It was loud, smelly, and caked in 26 years of filth. Finally I had what I secretly wanted, a winter project!

Here it is:





So 80's...and so dirty!



Naturally, one thing lead to another:



A sample of the nasty: (after a scrub of the wheel itself, the black sprocket/carrier had close to 1mm worth of built up lube/death)




At this stage, this bike is my "rolling" winter project. A thorough cleaning, maintenance, and replacement of worn parts is the name of the game. I'm not looking to drop the motor, but it may come to that.

The Good:
-It runs, idles, rides, and stops well enough
-It's mostly complete, minor fairing damage
-The mirrors, front signals, rear fender, and SEAT COWL are intact (all are made of ground-up unicorn)
-Factory service manual, user manual, and toolkit are accounted for
-Service records since NEW, I can track oil changes since the 80's!
-Came with a cover and newish saddle bags
-Aftermarket "Fox" rear shock (factory rear shock is apparently shit)
-Tires are from 2010 and have less than 2,000 miles on them.
-Brakes look to have plenty of meat left but master cylinder might need some love

The Bad:
-78,000 miles
-It leaks coolant and has a recently dead rad fan (used rad/fan incoming from ebay)
-It weeps oil from both valve cover gaskets (which can be replaced without dropping the motor!) AND some mystery holes/ports in the heads
-The mid section of the exhaust is shot
-It looks like someone tried to steal it at some point, the ignition surround is missing and the keyhole is slightly ragged
-Seventy-eight thousand miles
-The chain probably needs to go (it's got an awful lot of slack and the axle adjuster was pretty much fully extended)

Thus far, it's been nothing but cleaning and polishing. I've got the following junk in the mail:
-Grips (oem)
-Brake/clutch levers (oem)
-Valve cover gaskets
-Thermostat (and gasket)
-Spark plugs (oil/coolant/brake fluid I've already got)
-Replacement screws/nuts for any rusty ones I found
-Various rubber bits, clips, springs, etc
(thanks to MrCycles.com and BikeBandit.com)

The service records (from a month back) indicate the radiator fan and thermostat are dead. The local shop wanted $700 bucks to fix it. I should be able to get it done for $80 in parts. I think this is the reason the PO was selling.

The end goal is a good running sport-touring bike that looks good from 10ft away. I've owned nothing but supersport bikes thus far and I'm looking for something less edgy.

 

Looks great for $700. You can try to ride it as is but chances are you'll add the mods soon enough. Some F2 wheels are a nice upgrade visually and handling wise.

Welcome.

 

Good score! Very doable. The only major so far looks like the exhaust. You may want to do a double take on the sprockets if the chain is that bad. Glad it's back in good hands.

 

Great find! It'll be fun...hey, I see a VA tag on it - update your profile to tell us where you are!

 

Thanks! I'm going to get at the front sprocket before I make the call on replacement.

It looks like a may have to cut off the exhaust rear section. Several pipe clamp bolts sheered and one clamp was rusted clean through. The slip-ons are all but fused to the header pipes. I hit it with the PB blaster like it owes me money, so we'll see how hard it fights tomorrow. :biggrin:

 

Two questions:
1.) I assume I need a 530 chain, 110 links (stock gearing/teeth)? I'm looking at a Renthal R4 SRS or a D.I.D 530V or something similar from RK. Any issues here?
2.) Any idea what the little ports on the side of the heads are? ...and why they're leaking oil from both sides?

Pics:

 

You got a great deal on a great bike !! Good work !

Add to your list a fork oil change, a compression test, and the mandatory check/cleaning of the plug connection between the stator and the r/r.

The phillips-head ports are vaccum taps for attaching synchro gauge setup.

We know the VFR will surpass your Duc in a few areas, comfort mainly, but what else will you find better ??

 

Good stuff. The Duc is amazing but it's not a good around town bike.

I've got a carb synch tool ready to roll. Any idea what the leaking holes are in those pics?

 

That makes sense. Judging from the design of the valve cover gaskets (notably the center rings) I assume some oil is leaking from the seal near the plugs.


Stock (mostly) is the plan for now, although the exhaust rear section connecting pipes are rough and warrant a slip on.

 

Looks to be a great project, try to avoid buying the stock tires like I did and then upgrading later to newer wheels/tires, you have the shock so the wheel/tire upgrade is a natural progession and gives it a solid feel. Best of luck with it.

 

You might want to get some new gasket/washers for the head screws while getting new head gaskets. That should help the leaking from the heads considerably.
Can't see the pics from my work computer but it sounds like you got a good deal with all the extras, enjoy.

 

Sweeeeeeeet find. If you get it into proper working order it will go forever.

The one I restored has!

 

Quick update. My camera (phone) is pretty much worthless.

Still waiting on the radiator/fan/switch, thermostat, valve cover gaskets, plugs, and chain to arrive. I went with a RK 530 chain with gold side plates, should match the factory gold calipers and graphics.

I've got a line on a few used exhaust options. I don't think anyone makes new slip-ons for this bike?

Fresh levers, grips, and refurbished bar ends. Misc rusty hardware replaced with new OEM bits. It's amazing what a few bucks in bolts can do to liven up the place. PO covered the top of the cluster in velcro which I managed to scrape off along with the decade plus old adhesive.


Exhaust off (was total pain in the ass). The center connecting pipe was rusted through. Sheered off multiple clamp bolts and one clamp just crumbled completely.


Cleaned and polished the rearsets, pedals, and passenger foot pegs/mounts. After many near escapes, I've mastered those little spring-loaded balls that keep pegs in position. Those little bastards fly if you let them.

Once the above junk arrives, off comes the tank!

 

Nice work my friend. As far as exhausts go, I'm not sure if there's much out there in terms of a complete set (lines from the engine included)

Might have to use some OEM headers and aftermarket pipes, such as supertrapp, etc.

might be wrong tho, Ive been good at that so far today

 

You can find some 4-2-1 exhausts on ebay and what not, but know this, that pretty little center stand will have to go for it to happen. With the laser 4-2-1 you can add a lot of newer slip-ons to it.

 

Update:

The weather was so nice (64F for your VA people) so why not spend a sick day in the garage banging on the VFR. Just because I can't breath out of my nose doesn't mean I can't turn a wrench...

The gas tank making a break for it... Pick taken right before cleaning and new OEM rubber & bolts all around.




Tank off, surprisingly with no gas spilled. Let the cleaning begin. I noticed more than one dry rotted hose so I need to cobble together yet another parts order.




Doesn't look bad in here. I was expecting stacks of some sort, but the more I look the more I think it never came with any. Can anyone confirm?




New RK 530 chain w/ gold plates. Luckily it's not too ricey as it matches the graphics and calipers.



New (used) Supertrapps are fitted but not quite perfect. It needs some more adjustment (read: hammer time and strong arming) before I can tighten up the clamps. I sanded the connecting pipes and hit them with 2000F flat black paint. The cans will get polished shortly.


Right as I was cleaning up my new (used) radiator, fan, switch, and pipes showed up 'courtesy' of UPS. My new thermostat/gasket should be appearing later today. I've got Thursday off so hopefully I can get that done.

Until then it's clean clean clean. This bike isn't in bad shape but it's straight up filthy.

Things left to do:
-Radiator/Fan
-Thermostat
-Valve cover gaskets
-Spark plugs
-Throttle cables

 

Before riding you need to test that the charging system is putting out the proper voltage and need to verify that the fan will come on when the thermoswitch activates ( about 210 F.) or instal a manual over-ride switch.

 

No Velocity Stacks on the 2nd gen.