Restoring 1985 VF1000R

IHello,

My name is Ed and I'm in the beginning stages of restoring a 85 vf1000r.
This bike was a , brain fart, ebay purchase that I should have ran away from.
Anyway, I didn't. The bike shows 15,000 miles but looked like is was used hard.
I should have done more research on these as I didn't know parts were so hard to come by, but
I like a challenge so here we go. So far I stripped it to a bare frame that was chemically dipped
to remove the old paint and I painted it with urethane single stage.

Completely disassembled the engine, stripped the old paint and repainted .
Was surprised to find the engine had a bed main bearing and one shift fork was shot along with the shift drum.
About a year ago I found a 85 parts bike local that I picked up that had 51,000 miles and was able to salvage those parts from it. Going to reassemble the engine next week.

Since I have never owned one of these bikes I'm not aware of the common mechanical issues they have.
Like I said, I was surprised to see one bad main bearing in the engine. This bike needs everything and is going to be a tough restore but I like it.

Having a hard time finding a pair of side covers for this bike.
So, any input or comments on restoration and part sources would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Ed

 

I have 3 VF1000R. My first one is a very nice original. Completely restored a 1985 that had been crashed heavily on it's right side. And an ongoing 1986 RestoMod that I bought off of my neighbor after he slid it down the highway and ground off the left side of the bike.

Certain parts can be a challenge for sure, but they are eventually out there. I started restoring the 85 before the internet and eBay. Found everything pretty much thru word of mouth. "I know a guy..."

The side covers come up every now and then. Be prepared to pay more than you want for condition less than you want. Keep re-checking eBay often for parts. International shipping has become pretty cheap too, I've shipped parts to the US from Europe for less than buying used parts here in the US. The 84 VF1000R is quite different than the 85/86, so buyer beware.

Abused transmissions is probably the most common failure on these bikes. Inspect your second gear(s) closely. Bikes that have been abused in the shifting department (like yours sounds like it was) will often have failed second gears.

Not really known for main bearing failures, but it's an engine, and they need maintenance and oil changes. Could happen to any bike. Inspect the cams and followers for pitting / galling too.

Oh... and we (I) like pictures. Post your progress. People really love these bikes. They are not for everybody, but they sure are nice to look at.

Cheers and good luck.

 

I had a 85 years ago. Mint cond. Loved the looks of the bike but you quickly realize it is a very unique bike. It doesn't share a lot of other bike parts. It was a bit heavy and underpowered for what it was. Parts are out there but it takes a long time to find them. Some parts you may never find. Good luck with your restoration. When you are done you will have a very collectible motorcycle.

 

Hello Ed, there's a public VF1000R group on Facebook. One of the members, Lorne Tontegode, has posted extensively on his recent restoration. hth.

 

Pictures and some . Nice to see progress!

 

One of my VF1000R's had the second gear failure too, it had a bad shift fork + a bad gear + there was a washer shattered on the transmission shaft as well (found it in the pan and the oil strainer). So check the dogs on the gears carefully before you re-assemble, see if they are chipped/worn. (pics on my old VF1000R thread here:

https://vfrworld.com/threads/project-1985-vf1000r-euro-take-2.58827/page-4

see page 4 and 5

 

Thanks for the replies guy's
Straycat, the link you sent with the picture of your bad right shift fork is a carbon copy of how mine looked.
The slot in the gear was a bit worn too.
Captian 80s, I had to look for the ebay posting photo of the bike as it is the only one I have of it all together.
Looks way better in the pictures. I think the previous owner was racing it because of the tranny damage and it's
been down on both sides and items stripped off of the bike.
The seller described the bike as excellent. fair to poor would have been more accurate.

Took a couple of pictures of the frame and engine parts after painting.
Today I am going to play around with a plating kit from Caswell plating to replate all case bolts before I assembly the engine.
I still have to prep and paint the side covers and valve covers.
Just finished rebuilding the water pump with new bearings and seal.

I need to do a better job of documenting my projects.

Thanks again.

Ed

 

Oh yeah... I remember that bike now. It was a mish-mash of 85 & 86 parts.

Everything is looking good!

 

nom nom nom.. pics!

 

Assembled the engine today. Took longer than expected.
The re-plated bolts look great against the black.
Now I have to paint the covers.

 

Looks really good Ed ! Nice Work

 

super clean!!

 

thats purdy...

Nice job.

 

you rebuilt the waterpump ?? oh goodness, that's not ez. cool trick, lad

 

Such a beautiful engine.....

 

Thanks for positive comments guy's, I appreciate it.
Big pain to get that engine looking good. I removed all the old paint, gave it a couple light coats of etching primer followed with epoxy primer and
a couple coats of single stage urethane. Masking the parts was the worst part.

Rebuilding the water pump wasn't a bad job squirrelman, it's getting the parts.

I ran across an add on craigslist about a year ago by a guy selling his motorcycle water pump rebuild business.
He was having the drive slots laser cut into the replacement bearing assembly and had replacement seals.
He was getting over $300 dollars to rebuild a pump for a vf1000. I'm a retired machinist so we hit it off well.
Tried to sell me the business. I did purchase a bearing assembly and a seal. All you really need is a press to remove and install the
bearing and pay attention to the original location of the bearing in the housing so you get proper spring load on the ceramic seal.

I recently noticed a ebay posting for water pump rebuilds and the location is in north phoenix.
The man I got the parts from was in Mesa, so he may have sold the business.

Here is a picture of my pump after dis-assembly and before bead blasting
Also a picture of the ceramic seal and bearing assembly.

 

Welcome Edd. That VF seems to be in the right hands. Nice Nimbus too.

 

I was impressed you recognized the Nimbus rc24dk.
Very few have seen one.
Then I see where you live and it makes sense.
Have a great evening.

 

Good Morning. Been busy lately with other stuff but finally got some time to play with the electroplating kit.
there is more to plating than I thought and it is time consuming. Cleaning parts and painting take so much time.
I have the swing arm restored and ready to install. Going to look so much better with restored bolts and brackets.
Hopefully I can start doing some assembly next week. Still have a ton of work to do before it's up on wheels again.
Have a great weekend.

Ed

 

All looks killer. Nice.