Where to start with 86' VFR700F that hasnt been touched in over 5 years?

Just keeping the thread alive... I've been sick for a few weeks.

Valve job is done for the third time. I torque the nuts down, turn the timing rotor, and it seems like the lash changes slight. It will either loosen or tighten up slightly.

I had some questions about paper gasket for oil pan needing sealant but some opinions say its not necessary.

Also got some input about my torque wrench potentially needing recalibration since I broke a bolt head of during torquing.

Poor bike hasn't been ridden in like 3 weeks. Should get it going this weekend though.

 

Okay, so the nut was reinstalled and the valve train sounds like it doesn't have anymore issues... but the bike seems like it has slightly less power all throughout its powerband. Could this have to do with me reinstalling the front exhaust pipes, from when I had to dig out the valve nut from the oil pan? The bike also pops a little bit more on deceleration.

This valve adjustment wasn't any different from the other ones - I adjusted the valves and synched the carbs.

I'll be uploading a video shortly.

Ignore the picture of the bolt.

[video=youtube;R65d6O_RbHw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R65d6O_RbHw&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

See above post. I edited it instead of making a new post.

 

Sounds rich to me. how does the exhaust smell?

 

It doesn't smell like gas... I didnt know bikes could sound rich or lean. That's interesting.

 

In deed, very interesting. Well on one extreme if it was really lean, it would hang or slowly drop rpm after the rev. On the other side (really rich) it would sound like garbage, quick blip of the throttle at idle, the rpm might drop down below base idle then come up.

But too me in that video it sound kinda muddy, sorta rich, maybe a miss. How did your sync go, any of the reading boucing or low, Did you pull the plugs and check them?

 

And what octane gas did you use

 

I use 87 octane; synch went fine; haven't checked the plugs but I will on the next project...

The bike seems like its just riding better and I dont know, maybe it needed to be broken in a little since then because it seems to pull harder all throughout, except around the 4-5k rpm range, but maybe that's just a flat spot on these bikes?

With some insight from SquirrelMan I was able to reconsider my reinstallation of the exhaust gaskets. I didn't see them and just forgot about them, so I just went out and replaced the front ones and already the bike doesn't pop as much and even seems to run a little bit smoother than it did.

I took some pics of the old gasket and was also curious about the inner rim of the exhaust pipe. What is the ring inside there? Its bent. Should I be concerned?



Here's what it sounds like now

[video=youtube;2rC3YBMWa0w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rC3YBMWa0w[/video]

 

Ok, I see what you mean about the popping, right when you let off on the throttle. I can't see the temp gauge, but I assume this is fully warmed up? (I see the choke is off). Does it change if you put the choke fully on?

I will say it definitely sounds a lot better, but it still doesn't sound right. How is it when out riding? (granted it's pouring buckets today, but did you get a chance to ride it over the thanksgiving weekend?)

 

I rode it wihle it wasn't raining today. It feels pretty good. I only changed the front exhaust gaskets since they're easier to access. I'll do the rears in the near future.

Yeah, it still doesnt sound as smooth and clean as yours. Maybe replacing the rears will help a lot?

I've done a compression test which read well; adjusted valves; cleaned carbs; spark plugs are less than 200 miles old (though maybe one or two are slightly fouled since during my wet compression test I put a lot of oil in the combustion chamber since the bike smoked for about 15 minutes). Slowly but surely, its getting there.

 

Now I'm starting to think that replacement exhaust might be in the works all together. I'm going to look stupid posting this but I kind of forgot about it since I hadn't focused on exhaust leaks up until this point.

Could this nice large crack in the muffler be affecting performance/sound? Theres also a little condensation leak where the pipe hooks up with the muffler and also where the header pipe connects to the rear pipe.



Also, just so its not forgotten, I need to know what the ring is inside the exhaust pipe I took a picture of and put in my 2nd most recent post.

 

It will be hard to find a good aftermarket system, and you don't want to chop in slip-ons. I would track down a stock system on eBay.

Also my 87 calls for min 90 octane, check under your seat on the chart. Seemed my bike didn't run right on 87 iirc.

 

From what i've gathered on this site is that most people just do what they feel comfortable with. I tried 91 and it didn't seem to make much of a difference at the time but I will experiment again now that the bike seems to be falling into place.

After starting it up this morning, I realized that one of the awful rattling sounds was one of the exhaust pipe clamps so i moved it around a little bit and it was loose (naturally). I tightened it up and the bike sounds even better. This is the probably the best its ever sounded to me. It may not be very audible via this video but I think its still the best sounding video I have and one I'm proud of.

[video=youtube_share;xJg-oLaEa50]http://youtu.be/xJg-oLaEa50[/video]

Another thing guys, with the choke fully open and on a first start of the day, the bike will sit around 2k rpms for about 5-10 seconds and will then suddenly jump up to around 4k rpm and hold there until I close the choke a little bit. What would cause that?

 

If the engine is fully cold, will it start with no choke?

 

No, it will not start with the choke closed.

 

This is the inside of one of the front brake calipers. As you can see, the dust seal is bulging from the right bore. I dont know if the caliper is bent or what.

The other appeared fine, but when I tried to reinstall the piston, I ended up tearing the dust seal. How much resistance should be felt because even with a C-clamp, I could barely get it in.

 

It's easy to get the piston slightly cocked in the bore, and that will make installation very tough. Use plenty of brake fluid for lube. More force isn't the solution. Honing is a no-no.

 

Ya, I think thats what was happening. I finally got one in. It seemed to clear the dust seal and was centered because once it initially popped in, all I had to do was just put slight pressure on it to push it down from there.



As you can see, the piston caps look like shit. The others are actually worse than this one. K&L makes a replacement set for the rears but not the fronts. I assume they're different. Where can I get replacement pistons? Not much is coming up via google...

 

That sounds about right. It definitely sounds a lot better now.

Mine does the same, and I've figured it's the engine warming up enough to atomize the fuel better, possibly mixed with a vacuum leak. I still have original carb boots, and a bunch of other original rubber bits that could be leaking. Add in the trapps, and it always acts like it's a bit lean (and I believe I have stock jetting on my bike).

Or, it could just be normal and expected.

 

Hey Woody. Good to hear from you.

The rattle actually came back. I have a feeling that one of the rear exhaust clamps is a little loose or something like that. That will be the next project following the brake issue.