I am new to the VF. I am in the process of buying an 85 VF700F. I went over the bike pretty good but I am not sure of what I am going to have to put into the bike to get it on the road. The main thing that I see being a problem is the clutch. It is leaking bad around the slave cylinder. What does it take to fix this and can it cause any other problems? I assume that the clutch not having any feeling is because of this. I read that this is a problem area but what I read did not go into any depth about a fix. I could not start the bike because it needs a new battery. It did turn over a couple of times but then the battery died. The other stuff is typ. for an older bike. Fork seals leak, top head leaks oil needs new tires and it has an ugly bomb can paint job. I was wondering if I missed anything that is a common problem spot on these bikes? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
There are two fluids that can be leaking from around the slave cylinder: Brake Fluid and Oil. Typically it's oil. Here's how it goes . . . The slave cylinder's o-rings fail which then allows brake fluid to settle on the clutch pushrod. The pushrod gets corroded from the brake fluid and everytime you engage the clutch, it tears the pushrod seal - which then leaks oil. "Proper" replacement of the pushrod seal requires splitting the cases and installing from the other side. However, there are three other methods: - Turn the pushrod around after replacing the slave cylinder's o-rings - Heat up teflon tape where the pushrod is corroded to increase it's diameter - Drill out the lip inside the slave cylinder recess and install the seal from this side. Do a search for threads I've posted to - clutch pushrod - refresh fork seals with sandpaper The top head leaking oil - where? Possible valve oil seals, blown headgasket, leaking valve cover gasket . . .
I'd get this thing running before buying, even if you have to buy a battery. When you get it started, listen for a ratteling sound around the top of the engine. If this bike has not been serviced regularly or has more than 25,000 miles on it the cams and cam chains could be worn, causing the noise. This is a very expensive repair ($2000.00 US or more). This is a problem common to these engines. A little rattle is expected, but if too loud I'd pass it by.
