Owner for 22 years but Newbie here.

That's a very sweet ride. Well done, sir. I wish I had your mechanical ability and insight.

 

That sounds really expensive! RC30 & 45 parts gotta be few & far between.

 

That's funny. My first thought was radiator cap access. But I remember the cap being on the right side.

 

I think only the tank woudl be difficult & expensive to find. The rest would be available as race bodywork, I expect. Even with an endurance headlight...
Kinda got me thinking, as I'll be doing a single centre nut conversion for the rear hub. Would be cool to make an RC30/45 replica... The only thing is, I'd lose the ability to carry passengers & go touring - and that's not what I want for this bike so it's not happening! But it was interesting to learn anyways.
At the risk of taking the thread a little more off topic - Here's an interesting picture (Chassis is a 94-97 VFR750's, I believe). :courage:

 

Someone is selling a RC30 tail section on Ebay right now for around $3000.00 US dollars. That is a 94-97 bike above :thumbsup:

I don't understand how that fuel tap works, on our bikes, you have to lift the seat off and turn the petcock off/on, there is no reserve as you know, so why put the on/off on the plastic inner fairing. You learn something new every day, never knew it was like that before.

Have seen some neat conversions where they drilled a hole in the swing arm and routed the rear brake line. I had a NT650 for a short time, nice build quality and shared some design aspects of our "Interceptors." Cheers

 

What kinda windscreen is on your bike?

 

You can see the components for the tap in this microfiche. I'll bet if you check inside your top left cowl on US models you'll find there's 3 brass screw fittings onto which such a mechanism would attach?

http://www.bike-parts-honda.com/pieces-honda-detail-4681-13MT4L41-VFR750FL-1990-F__1500-VFR+750.html

There is a reserve on European bikes - Having looked at the in-tank filter & tap assembly (Mine leaked, so I replaced it last year) it's there that the reserve works from. I guess US versions didn't have this feature. It's not a great design. The cables tends to get sticky & dry over time then eventually from too much effort if not lubricated - the lugs inside the top cowl can snap off (I've repaired mine on the original panels using www.plastex.net - The top cowl panels fitted are brand new and I have no intention of ever breaking these!) so I wouldn't recommend having the tap... You might want to investigate the reserve mechanism from European versions, if that's something you'd want though. Seems a pain to have to lift the seat off to access though!

I used to run out of fuel sometimes, so switching to reserve was just a matter of turning the control whilst the bike was still moving.
Now I just zero at fill-up & watch the odometer, as the fuel gauge isn't really all that accurate.

The screen is off a later model - maybe from a European model FP, if I recall correctly. It came with a little T/T anniversary sticker. It's the same shape as original, but with a greenish tint to it.

 

Ah, that sounds like a ridiculous Ebay scammer price. I'm sure I've seen RC30 tail cowls a lot cheaper than that. A few hundred bucks would be the norm in Japan, if it had a few scratches or cracks I think. A fuel tank might fetch stronger competition but would cost $700 or so here, when one comes up. I see them from time to time...

I'd be tempted to just go for an FRP race fairing kit, either used or new - if contemplating such a conversion...

 

Can't believe how complicated that reserve set up is oin that bike! Cables blah blah blah, I can remove my mids in under 1 minute, it takes longer to go to the drawer and get out the appropriate stubby screwdriver. We have ON/OFF and I always zero at the pumps, I know by now how many miles I get and gas up appropriatly, usually every 100 miles or so on the road. My other bike I did away with the reserve petcock and just have an ON/OFF Pingel petcock.

Nice screen, I had someone that worked in a pharmacutical machine shop fab up some "frankenstein-bolts" for the rear tail section. Kind of cool as he knurled the nob and it looks bitchin. Latest bike has the oem ones. Cheers :thumbsup: I replaced mine on my 91 with a new pet cock, latest bike, they must have tried to go that route thinking that it would keep the gas clean, I had to buy a new tank for that beast as well.

 

Now thinking about it, that euro-set up is on the upper fairing, so removing the mids does not come into it. Its still an over engineerd "gizmo" though. If you want to laugh at Honda Engineering on this bike, its actually pretty neat. Look at the tab that is supposed to hold the chain guard to the swing arm, its a fancy tab with a phillips head on it. The corresponding chain guard has a tit on it to be retained by this fancy copper looking tab.

And how about the little toilet bowl/urinal petrol catcher under the gas tank? Its an amazing bike really, they could never afford to build chit like that today. Maybe if you bought an MV Agusta or something, but certainly not the mass produced stuff thats being churned out.

 

A bit late to this party, but your bike is stunning man.

 

The original bolts & fasteners lost their lustre over time, so I bought a complete polished stainless fairing kit from Pro-Bolt, which is inexpensive & nowadays comes with little aluminium screw-on collars. It didn't come with all the bolts needed, so I measured the OEM ones not included and ordered replacements. For the exhaust's red shields I've replaced with simple dome headed stainless bolts sourced from a home-centre. The rear master cylinder is secured using dome headed Probolts too. I now keep a few bags of different M6 sizes & collars so I don't find myself lacking when in need. :love-struck:
On the forks I've now replaced every fastener with titanium, ready to keep the unsprung weight to a minimum when the carbon wheels go on. I might get a titanium front spindle too, the difference is vast compared to the original's weight.
I realise it's all absolute overkill, as this isn't a race bike - but all this helps keep it as presentable as possible (titanium isn't just light, it never corrodes either) and with mostly new panels now, these fasteners help give the bike a whole new look. Besides there's nothing wrong with losing unsprung weight, yet alone centripetal force from the wheels!
For the rear swinger I'll probably get every fastener replaced eventually incl. linkage bolts, but aside from the carbon wheel, it's destined to remain a heavy swing arm. The wheels will make the vast difference I expect...
With less trial and lower centripetal force, plus a slightly raised rear compared to standard this will be a faster steering bike than original. It was already faster steering since the previous suspension upgrades, so I know I'll be comfortable with the difference.

It's going to take a while to complete as I need to spread time & expense, but in the end it'll be a pretty special old Viffer with typically high mileage. I just can't help wanting to make bikes I intend to keep as best as I can for their intended purposes, hence the attention to details I guess.

 

The VFR750 RC36-1 was designed and built just before Soichiro Honda passed away (Ironically his grave is at the Gotemba cemetery which neighbors Fuji Raceway, which is owned by Toyota (Honda's circuit is Motegi, around 300 km away). Motorsports were something he particularly enjoyed.

The RC36 was also made towards the end of the Japanese bubble era, when there was a lot of money for development & investment. The most amazing & innovative machines from vehicle manufacturers (both cars) in Japan were designed & developed during that era. These were the times when Honda made the NR750, the RC30 & then RC45 and various great sports bikes including 2-stroke race replicas, etc.
The VFR was designed to be the very best all-round bike and it needed to be as perfect as possible. Not just in build quality, but with solid engineering to make up for the chocolate cam'd predecessor VF750F's. Hence why it was so well made since 1986.

After Soichiro's passing, it would seem the passion that fueled Honda's progress died a little too, but that financial bubble popped around the same time too. It was a unique time in Japan...

 

FYI: I received an email from Pro-Bolt about a data breach. This was July 3. They recommended changing pass words.

 

^wild! I had to hit the "print" button on that post. Uber interesting, when I was in Tokyo in the early ninties, I have fond memories of taking the subway to the Ueno Station and walking for hours and hours in the motorcycle district. As far as my eye could see, there were all sorts of motorcycle related businesses, if it existed, it was there.

I spoke to someone recently who told me that entire area is different, ie, smaller. I guess the "bubble" affected everything. At least I got to see it in its' DAY. eace:

 

I was in Japan the first time in 1993, to see my then girlfriend of 2 years who I'd met in England whilst she was there... I spent the summer in Tokyo and we did a bit of touring too.

Japan was quite amazing even then. Young kids driving very cool new cars, 2 stroke race replicas a regular sighting, quite a vibrant place. Lots of street racing at night, etc. I'd often hear bikes being ridden very quick at night and remember wishing I could be out there too.
It still is quite a vibrant place today, but there aren't as many of the cool vehicles that existed in those days... Not nearly as much money as before, but those were crazy times perhaps never to be repeated...

 

Did a bit more work on the bike Saturday morning... She now runs again.

Fitted a used TSR clutch slave cylinder I picked up from a CBR1000, to work better with the RC51 original clutch master. Clutch feel & weight is good now.



Took the bulky old right side electrical controls off and replaced with the old ones from my RC51 (That's got a new set now), with some soldering.
These are the same kill switch as used on HRC bikes so I thought I may as well use one too.
Used a stiff pair of pliers as a heat sink to keep shrink wrap from getting hot.



Soldering & shrink wrap all done.



Also fitted a CBR1000 throttle (Same as RC51 except for a hole to allow easy lubrication).
Just awaiting some slightly longer new throttle cables from convertibars, as those I received were too long. Their service & backup has been great.
The bars are very good too, just want to do some final adjustment to get them exactly in the best position for me.



I went and bought some new Goodridge brake lines for the front and fitted them. Took the bike around the block a couple of times and it feels fine. Just don't want to ride much with cables that jam the throttle when stretched from being too short. That'll be resolved soon enough but I wasn't tempted to go on a ride, no time either.

The smaller bore rear brake master cylinder (CRF250) works OK. Slightly longer travel than original, but the intention is to mate it to a Brembo M4 caliper (In underslung position) in the future. It should work fine with that as my original (larger bore) rear master on the RC51 has virtually no travel before the pads bite.

It's coming together well. I'll take it for a ride before Wednesday if I get a chance (& the cables arrive by then) otherwise it'll have to wait till after we get back from holiday.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share those pictures, I was looking at one of those slave cylinders a while ago and thought it would fit! I have the web pages saved, the current price on them is 26,000 Yen, or $256 US Dollar. I replaced my worn oot slave with an OEM one and had difficulties where the bleeder valve was asit was leaking slightly. I did a mickey mouse fix with teflon tape around the bleeder but to no avail as I got "weepage" where the bleeder nipple threads into the slave. I like those areas to be as bone dry as when I used to drink martinis. Anyway, I used some liquid teflon stuff from Locktite that we used to use on locomotives and it worked. I was speaking to some people and they told me I could tune up the bleeder hole with some valve grinding compound and maybe a golf tee or something conicle. The seal is from the taper, not the threads (thats where I was getting the weepage.)

Nice job on the rest of the modifications, I installed a "euro-switch" like your removed from a seller in Germany off Ebay and had it shipped to my mother-inlaws house in Germany, then had my wife bring it home to me in the states. Talk about logistics, it worked and makes the bike a little more unique. Cheers and happy and safe riding. :thumbsup:

 

Thanks ridervfr.

The new throttle cables arrived today from convertibars so they should be the right ones.... will fit them tonight, it'll only take about 10 minutes tops..
Then maybe late tonight I can go out for a ride and see how she feels. Would be nice to go during the day but no way - going on holiday from tomorrow and there's too much else to get done to be playing around on the bike!

 

Took the VFR out for a ride on a sunny day today and it ran great. Saw a little local Japanese shrine on the way to town, so I stopped and shot a few pics. Spring is just about here, at last!











New Maxton GP10 shock is working well and feels well matched to the Maxton reworked front end, it seems. Bike was confidence inspiring with handling & braking, but I was only riding in town. I've yet to get it where I can really scratch about with it on country roads.



Exhaust sounds nice with the titanium silencer too. A few pops on the over-run, I think I may need to change the rubber inlet tubes for new ones as they may be leaking air.
May as well change the plugs too whilst I'm at it and adjust the carbs if needed, but aside from the backfiring, she's pulling strongly all through the rev range.



The titanium silencer sounds good too.



Still got to fit a larger bore rear master cylinder as the CRF one can barely pump enough fluid to give the brake much power, but it'll do for now. I have a nice billet reservoir for a VTR SP rear master cylinder coming shortly from Germany.

Also fitted LED's into the instrumentation and warning lights. It's a lot better, even in the daytime. Might adjust the bars a little more, dropping them a tad and swiveling forward, but it's almost there. Just a little more tweaking...
Next time I change the front tyre I'll put on a Silver front SP2 rim so they match a bit better, although I quite like the black front...



It's finally in use after fitting all these bits I'd gathered up.



Happy days!