84 vf 750f interceptor advice

I'm thinking of taking the old girl out of mothballs and have a few questions. She's an 84 vf 750f interceptor with under 4k and all original parts, so she's over do for some upgrades. I guess the first thing is rubber, what can/should be done as far as tires, tire size, wheel conversions, etc? My bike came with the Pirelli radials which still look brand new but are 30 + yrs old, it's impossible to find a radial, correct, who makes the best tires, and how much rubber can I get on the ground? What can I do with the exhaust? Is there a way to eliminate the side pipes? I really would like to remove the rear fender and have the cans up under the trunk/rear seat, has anyone done anything like this? I saw a system that uses a redesigned mixing chamber and small mufflers so the exhaust is under your feet, any info or other ideas? Lastly I NEED TO DO THE OIL MOD correct? She hasn't been on the road in a while so any advice/info/upgrades/mods would be great. Thanks guys

 

So, how long have you owned this bike and how long has it been sitting? 4K miles and original tires, wow. I just finished restoring my 83, which I owned from the beginning. Mine sat for way too long and had to replace gas tank. Next question, is this going to be your primary ride? Has it ever gone down? What condition are the plastic body parts? A few photos would be great. First, the tires, with a 16" front tire you are severely limited in your choices. Back in 83-84, Metzelers were the tire of choice, and they are about they only ones still making a decent 16". I had the same problem, my tires looked new, but were 30 years old too, so I had to get new Metzelers LaserTecs. All my mods were made in 84 when parts were available, Vance & Hines headers, Fox Shock, Lockart Oil cooler and Corbin Seat. I replaced ALL the other rubber parts as well, you can still get Honda OEM seals, O-rings and dust caps from Partzilla.com, other new parts are going to be nonexistent. Did the carbs sit with gas in them, or were the run dry first? Did the gas tank sit with gas in it, how rusty is it inside? Here is a picture of mine, found an 85 gas tank with a different color scheme, so I bought all the matching body parts, but she is still an 83. Get the bike running satisfactorily first before doing any radical mods. As far as the exhaust goes, no matter what you do, it will never sound like a hot bike! The cadence of the engine is unique and sounds like an over grown twin. My Vance & Hines with Kerker slip-ons is loud, but totally different from modern bikes. There has been much debate about the cam wear problem in the early 750's. In my book "Honda V4, The Complete Four-Stroke Story" by Greg Pullen, the problems with the cams was due to threaded tappet adjustments and non-matched camshaft bearings, causing cams to rock in the bearings if the valve were not adjusted right. To me the oil mod kit is not the solution.

 

For radial tyres you may be able to find some Avon azaro's online.
Although with 30 year old rubber on there now, why not leave it on and practice your skid control techniques?

 

My friend Greg (the lucky bast*rd) picked it up at Long island Honda in Hicksville NY off the showroom floor. When we walked in the bike was for display only and not 4 sale but you could order one, his dad had bucks so when we left it was you can pick it up tomorrow. He sold it to me around 1990 after getting married and no longer riding with about 1700 miles, as for going down the answer is once Greg on the way home dumped it with 5 miles on it, scratches to R.side exhaust/ casing/ small dent in tank. The inside of my tank and carbs are fine my factory valve clearance was too tight but I think I got it in time. My plastics are great except for a few dings/scratches in the lower fairing/chin from road debris I also have an aftermarket 2pc fairing kit for the sides and a complete gasket/o ring set. I'm not worried about getting her running she's never failed me and as for my primary ride yes but I'm 56 and don't put on the mileage I used to. To tell you the truth I kinda like the Honda exhaust I can start her up at 3am and not wake my neighbors. I just want to eliminate the possibility of passengers burning their legs. And as for the next post what to do with my old tires, not a bad idea.

 

You are indeed lucky to had it in such good condition. I bought a 6" wire brush/buffer at Harbor freight and it was great in restoring bolts & nuts and small parts. One thing I did was order some heat resistant material on Amazon to put inside the chin fairing. My pipe got closer than stock and burnt a hole in one side. Had a second fairing repainted with new decals and now there is no problem with heat. I was pleasantly surprised how well the old girl still handled, I have an '14 VFR deluxe as my primary ride, so I will keep the miles off the '83.

 

The skid control sentence was a joke. Just have to clarify that. I'm sure you already know this.

 

Yes I know that skid control on 30yr old tire's would be crazy, that's why I was going to have the wife do it. So far the only name brand tires that I can find are the Michelin Pilot's and the Pirelli Sport Demons, everything else comes from the U.K and has a extra $250 shipping cost.

 

Radial tires on those narrow wheels ???? :frown:

 

The bike came with Pirelli MP7 radial tires. I'm not sure if they came stock or not because that bike was not meant to be sold so those tires might have been an upgrade that could be ordered. I really don't know but that's how this one came. I have that same dead quote on the back of my car

 

It's no upgrade if the tires don't fit proppaly on the rims. Your bike will handle better on premium bias-ply tires that fit the wheels correctly.

 

I bought my Metzler's at Cycle Gear around the corner from me, great tires.

 

I didn't say that the tires didn't fit the wheels correctly, all I said was that I wasn't sure of if they came stock or were an option. So far I like either the Metzler's,Pirelli's or the conti's, I was told that with the Pirelli's I could go with a 140/70/18 in the rear. Is that true and what about the other two brands? What options are there for the exhaust, has anyone tried to reroute them?

 

The Vance & Hines pipes combine the front 2 cylinders & the back 2. Not much room on the rear pipes.

 

Easiest solution might be stubby universal slip-ons.

Another possible option would be the RC30 leftside highmount,
don't have a clue if it's workable with the VF, maybe someone knows?

Any undertail setup would require extensive custom welding/bending,
and with the narrow rear profile IMO the only clean way would be to do a single
canister a la CBR600RR, duals would look strange unless they were very slim cans.

Link for the leftside, 500 USD is not bad! http://www.ebay.com/itm/VFR750-VFR-...94-97-RC30-STYLE-300MM-SILENCER-/141445139299