New 1986 VFR700F owner in MD

Hey all, I'm a new VFR owner in MD. It's my first bike and my first VFR. No pictures yet, but I will post some shortly. It's an '86 VFR700F with 20k mi. Seems to be in good shape, but I'm troubleshooting some electrical gremlins - the battery won't charge. On that note, I'm looking for anyone with a spare regulator in MD/VA that I could borrow for troubleshooting because I think it might be the culprit. Any help is greatly appreciated and I look forward to meeting fellow VFR owners.

Lenny

 

Welcome to the zoo lad. You've chosen a fine machine for your first bike. 20K is barely broken in for these bikes.

If the bike has been sitting for awhile the connections in the charging system may just be corroded. First order of business would be to remove the battery and charge it. While it's charging disconnect everything, clean the connections, and snug things down, then reinstall the battery. If you have a halfway decent multimeter you can do most of the testing you need to do without any 'spare' parts.

It would help if you added your location info to your profile, so locals could provide assistance should you need it.

 

:welcome: to the nuthouse. Can't wait to see pics, where abouts are ya?

 

Sorry, didn't update my profile - I'm in McLean, VA.

 

welcome aboard. Fine machine. Pics.

 

I know, I know, pics coming...

Bought the bike for $1500 and I think I overpaid a bit, given it's condition - tires had to be replaced (put on Dunlop GT501's), the regulator seems to be broken, piece of the windshield is broken off, the wiring looks a little hacked up and the plastics are not original. On the bright side, mechanically it feels strong. Had new carbs, air filter, battery, brake pads installed by previous owner. Idles at 1000 rpm. I still want to check compression and change the oil/flush the coolant.

Honestly, this was an impulse buy - I was actually looking for a friggin' Ninja 250 This is, after all, my first bike. But I always liked the Interceptor (esp. the 1990-1993 era) and this one just popped up on CL. I'm kinda glad...

 

You know what, if you like the bike, then fuck it. Don't kick yourself for "possibly" overpaying.

Foothill is correct. No need to borrow a R/R to find out how yours is doing. Although, if you said there's a hack job on the wires, its possible there's been some issues.

Don't be afraid to ask questions if you don't know what to do. We can walk you through it. But definitely start with the basics. Get the battery out. Charge it full (preferably on a trickle charger for at least 24 hours). Clean all those connections. Reinstall, and get your multi meter ready. If you don't have one, you can get one for $10- $20 at any Wally World or chain auto store.

I have the mechanical skill of a monkey, but with the help of people here, have no problems in performing the basics, including checking the charging system and R/R.

 

:welcome:

Overpaid ?? You won't think so after you get it running reliably and you're cruising slowly along a quiet Virgina lane on a sunny day.

Take an MSF new riders' course to learn some skills and strategies for safe riding.

I'd advise removing the lower fairings for awhile until you have more riding practice.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I did take the MSF class already and got my M class license, but that was more than a year ago. I was scared as hell to get on the VFR the first time I took it out, but after a few laps around my apartment complex and a half hour of figure 8's in an empty parking lot I feel a lot better.
Here are the promised pics.






It's got a Kerker System K exhaust on it, which I don't know much about. Was told it has low miles. Sounds pretty good, kinda loud. Is this considered a good exhaust? How much is it worth? Any performance benefits or just noise?
The plastics are not original, although I do have a red-white-blue set that came with the bike. Don't know if those are original either. I just know that blue was not offered on the VFR700F in 1986.

 

Hmmm... the attachment links don't work (the pics should just appear in the post). The Kerker system was very popular on these bikes. If it has been rejetted to suit the Kerker you might get an extra 3-5hp, other than that it'll sound good.

 

Can you guys take a look at these pics. I was checking out the subframe and a lot of the welds look kinda homemade. Now, maybe they aren't supposed to be pretty, but knowing nothing of the bike's history, I'd like to know if that's what they are supposed to look like from the factory:



I'm trying to dig up some history on this bike, but it's kind of tough. As I mentioned, it was an impulse buy and the guy I got it from (call him GUY#1) bought it at some sort of auction three months ago, so he didn't have it long. His plan all along was to just resell it. The auction included some paperwork for parts and repairs from the previous owner (GUY#2). At the auction, the bike was being sold under power of attorney, which may mean that the owner (GUY#2) died (is this true?) So, even though I know GUY#2's name and address, I don't want to call and start asking about a motorcycle if they just had a death in the family. I did a free VIN check at nicb.org and it was clear, i.e. the bike was never reported stolen. I don't feel like paying for a detailed VIN report. My hope was that maybe... maybe this bike surfaced on some forums.

 

Sorry about the first set of pics. Try it again.

 

And to aid in my search for information, the VIN sticker:


It's a California model...

 

The re-welding is evidence of crash damage. Big deal, the rear subframe might be a bit tweaked but the frame might be straight; it's still a great bike !

Your handlebars are not stock.

 

I was wondering that, who's bars are those?? They look kinda cool!

 

Power of attorney could mean bunches of things, not just that someone died. Maybe he (guy #2) is now old and gave his kids POA. Maybe he hit the lottery and assigned POA to someone else - like an attorney. Maybe his wife has a magical vajayjay and told him he must give her POA if he ever wants any action. The list goes on.

I think if you were to reach out to them in a polite and professional manner, knowing that it IS possible the guy is deceased, they would probably give you some info.

 

No idea on the handlebars, but I have another set that came with the bike. Those might be the stock ones.

As far as calling the previous owner... I don't know. I might try, I guess what's the worst that could happen.

 

Charging problem fixed with a new(ish) R/R. I can finally ride!!!

I also want to clean up the bike - wiring, all the plumbing/routing, etc. because on mine, it's not exactly factory-fresh tidy. Does anyone have close-up pics of their '86/'87 with the fairing off? Or better yet, can I be really obnixous and come over to look at your bike, take pictures/measurements?

 

Glad to hear things are up and running and that you have some plans on cleaning her up.

But I gotta ask - what's a "new-ish" R/R? The R/R ain't just a light bulb, ya know? You might want to consider a "new" R/R, and keep your new-ish as a just-in-case.