Ed’s 85 VF700F

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by Ribrickulous, Dec 17, 2021.

  1. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    almost sure thAT'S a result of not having a proper drain/vent tube on the battery, fairly common.
     
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  2. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    Trying to set valves but this alternator cover is *frozen* on.

    All bolts out, they were seized in fairly well… but this thing is cemented on.

    Anyone ever run into this issue?


    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F
     
  3. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    Quite often. Start wackin' with a nylon mallet or a chunk of wood. I tend to start on the bottom to hide any potential scuff marks if I'm worried about that,

    SOMETIMES, I am forced to catch a slightly exposed edge from the opposite side with a long drift. Tricky, and really not recommended for just anybody.
     
  4. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    I wound up drilling and tapping one of the cover holes for an M8 screw and used that as a puller.

    The gasket is an absolute mess, will need to replace it unfortunately.


    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F
     
  5. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    it's easy enough to bump the engine over by rolling in gear or with the starter motor.

    ****** so there is no real need to remove alternator cover to adjust valves*****
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2022
  6. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    It was the alternator cover that was stuck - the engine is free.

    Some notes from today:

    Rear brake is still dripping fluid. Not sure if it’s the lower (original) hose clamp or from the brake assembly itself. Replaced the hose clamp, keeping an eye on it.

    Swapped spark plugs. The right kind were in there, and looked to be in good shape. They weren’t original - there was anti-seize on them, but they looked to be in good shape, maybe #1 is a bit lean… shown left to right #1, 3, 4, 2:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Drained antifreeze - the stuff in the bike looked largely fine, but the stuff in the reserve tank was full of scuzz. Gave it a good rinse out w/ distilled water.

    Adjusted all valves. Almost every one was tight. Spec is .005” or .012mm, I couldn’t get anything larger than a .08mm feeler under any of them except #1’s intake.

    Readjusted all to .005”. Only noticed this one issue on the cam at #1 exhaust. The bike has 18,500 miles on it, so I’m not fretting much:

    [​IMG]


    Reinstalled everything and filled the coolant with distilled water to flush the system before it gets fresh coolant. Need to fix my petcock rebuild first because I screwed something up - no fuel flow from reserve or regular, then I’ll run it, clear the air out and drain/refill with 50:50 ethylene.

    Heres some more photos under the valve covers:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]


    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F
     
  7. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    Maybe I’m going real basic here, but how do you make sure you’re at TDC on the compression stroke?

    Roll until you’re in about the right spot, screwdriver/dial indicator/something in the spark plug hole?

    Or just assume that anywhere on the base circle of the cam is a-ok to set the valves at?


    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F
     
  8. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    that's right, anyplace the cam lobe is generally pointing away from the valve is fine, position doesn't need to be exact for setting clearances.
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2022
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  9. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    re: the thermo switch.

    I found an old post that listed some models of replacement, but none seem to be made anymore (comment 13). I've found this one on amazon, which seems dimensionally about the same size as the OEM, albeit with two spade connectors instead of one, not that it matters, and at least lists the temperature it opens at (93DegC), this one on ebay which lists an 85degf open temp.

    Anyone have experience with the chinese knock offs, or have another p/n I could cross reference?

    Still planning on keeping the manual switch (which the PO unfortunately drilled through the fairing) and wiring it in parallel with the coolant switch.
     
  10. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    keep your bike chinese-free. :eek: low quality isn't worth it, and i'm sure you can find one new as the same switch was used on thousands of bikes over dozens of years.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2022
  11. straycat

    straycat Member

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    Agree with Squirrel. Too nice of a bike for that. If it was a lesser machine and the Chinese parts are worth the gamble , go for it, but on this one Id try and stay OEM ing I were you.

    I used all kinds of Chinese parts on my VF500F "Rothmans" and had no issues. But again, here, stay OEM if you can
     
  12. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    For some reason, all of the online Parts Houses took away the "Where Used" function for parts that are NLA. No idea why, it was a great resource. I would take a part # and find every bike that used the same part. Then find the nicest, cheapest example on eBay.

    I scored so many killer deals with it.

    Maybe CMSNL still has that function.
     
  13. sixdog

    sixdog Member

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    I sometimes put the number in Google and I get a list of bikes where the parts is used …..


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  14. raYzerman

    raYzerman Member

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    Try Ron Ayers.com..... if you have the part number, you can get the usage....
     
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  15. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    I didn’t know about this website. It’s absolutely fantastic, and significantly cheaper than partzilla/cmsnl.

    Well heard. I’ll pick up an OEM thermo switch.

    I think they used the same switch on like a CRX or something like that, but for $40 it’s not worth saving the $20 or whatever it’ll be cheaper to get one off a Japanese car.

    Thanks all. Picking up that and a few rubber bits that have busted off while I’ve been working on it.

    Partsklassik fuel hose came in also. It’s black not red, but it’s got the cloth braiding and I believe will fit the clips on the bike. Will post photos this weekend.


    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F
     
  16. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    Girlfriend got the COVID, so I was on a self imposed quarantine, hence no weekend work, but all looks clear. Hope to be at the garage tonight.

    Anyone have favorite brake pads?

    Not going for track or overly spirited riding, just need something reliable and long lasting.

    Current rear pads… I’ll do all three rotors.

    [​IMG]


    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F
     
  17. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    COVID close contact had me isolating for a few days, but back in the garage last night and made good progress.

    - New fuel hoses (https://www.partsklassik.com/p-2008-...ided-6-mm.aspx) all installed.

    - Replaced some miscellaneous rubbers, fairing mounts, shifter dust covers, etc…

    - Rebent both the kick stand and the shifter. The kick stand had wobble in it (the opening that wraps around the pivot was .6mm wider at the top than the bottom)

    - The shifter was certainly bent in as well, that was a simple task on the vise. Seems like the shifter getting caught up in the kick stand spring is a thing of the past now.

    - Started the bike just to hear it and burp the air out of the coolant and found that the tappets were a little noisy, but not worryingly so. I set them a little loose, probably closer to .006” than .005” (.005” is spec).

    - There was a lot of smoke coming off of the right side exhaust. I believe this was brake fluid that had been leaking down the muffler onto the header. I have both the copper gaskets at the engine and the graphite gaskets for the mufflers, so I’m thinking I may remove them and give them a good clean within reason.

    - Also got the LED headlight installed, looks great, I need to adjust the headlight a bit but otherwise I’m happy with it, and specifically the lack of fan noise.

    [​IMG]

    - Replaced the air filter. Holy cow that thing was dirty.

    [​IMG]

    Still to do:

    - remake the broken fairing post
    - replace the thermo switch and add a relay so the full fan current isn’t running through it
    - rewire the manual override switch so it has connectors… dummy PO had no way to pull the fairing off without cutting the wires.
    - replace all the brake pads
    - replace the steering bearings
    - replace fork oil
    - get back into the L/H controls and regrease the pivots… the blinker switch is sticky…
    - replace the battery. It was reading 12.3 volts after a few hits of the starter, and that's after being on a trickle charger for a week and a half.

    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F[/QUOTE]
     
  18. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    Video of the smoke, jumpy camera, apologies:




    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F
     
  19. Ribrickulous

    Ribrickulous New Member

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    Any idea why the front left caliper might have play?

    My only guess was something to do with the anti-dive. Changed the fork oil recently, recharged the air pressure, and after I changed the pads, this:

    Note that I’m not sure if this play was present before I changed the pads.




    -Ed
    1972 CL350
    1985 VF700F
     
  20. Captain 80s

    Captain 80s Member

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    Normal. Not saying your sleeve doesn't have some wear, but that is 100% normal.
     
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