Help on 1986 VFR750F Rear Shock Substitutions?

Since I purchased my 1986 VFR750F, I have been diligently searching the web, VFR groups and reviewing the Archives for parts and advice on upgrading the suspension.

I am going to go the fork brace, progressive springs and Racetech gold valve route because I have decided to keep the bike as close to "stock' appearance as possible.
This model seems to be appreciating in value. I did read all the information on using different forks and hurricane wheels.

What I don’t find is any suggestions about substituting a higher performance affordable Honda rear shock. There are a lot to choose from, many of which offer aftermarket higher performance spring and valve options that would cost far less than the $600 plus for anything listed for the 86 VFR750F.

Since you can purchase used excellent condition F4, CBR and RC51 rear shocks for well under $100.00....I am very tempted to experiment.

Has anyone else?

Thanks,

 

I have an 85 VF700F and I have been wondering the same thing.... It's 700 bucks for a new version of mine.... And I gotta say it would be nice... If I had any kind of welding skils this would be somewhat easier..... sigh....

 

I found a Fox shock a long time ago off the first generation CBR600F Hurricane. I had to change the bottom 'clevis' device (attaches shock to swingarm) because the vfr and cbr are different. Otherwise works great. Good Luck. Dave.

 

would love to know if I could fit a different shock on my VF1000F as well??????

 

Did you change the Clevis on the shock itself or the swingarm? Can you be a little more specific?...

 

changed the bottom clevis on the shock. It was a Fox part. I did this probably 10 years ago. I have no idea if any of this stuff is still available. I know the shock is fully rebuildable and Fox is still in business so the parts are probably still around.

 

I've got a Fox Twin Clicker with remote reservoir for the 86 VFR as well as the
two lower linkage pieces from the 86 VFR 700 which was a popular mod to give a more linear progression. Some other stuff as well:

K&N air filter
Honda OEM Shop manual
Honda OEM valve adjustment tool
exhaust gaskets, new(4 cylindrical, for header pipes to mufflers)

email me if interested

DonS
Vancouver, B.C.
donscurlock@shaw.ca

 

I've been modifying late model CBR or VFR shocks to fit the early VF's. The only problem is if you want to use a CBR shock on a 700/750/1000. The springs on those are way too weak. Luckily I can install the spring from the original VF shock onto the CBR one. The VFR shocks are nice because they have a stiffer spring rate as standard and can be used as-is.

$100 for a CBR shock??? They can be found on eBay for under $5. The modification I do runs about $175. I haven't had the time to add it to my website yet but I plan to soon. I've got some pictures, I'll try to post them tomorrow. If anyone is interested just e-mail me and I can send them to you directly.

 

I just bought an 86'VFR750 that has the Fox Twin Clicker shock and I can't find any info on how to set it for my weight. I'm told they aren't made anymore.....any suggestions where I can find the specs??

There is a local guy who said he would set it up for me ($40) but I'd really like to know how to do it myself.......

 

I have a Hagon shock on mine, and happy whit its performance. Much cheaper than a Öhlins.

 

It would help if I knew your weight and type of riding. You can start with just a different spring, but the best thing would be to check the valving and make adjustments as necessary. I can help you here too, but that requires full disassembly of the shock. Let me know what I can do to help!

 

I rode a 86VFR 750 for 14yrs and still have the factory Honda shop manual for it. It's not so much about setting up the shock as about setting up the chassis in general. The 86VFR chassis, as are many sport bikes, is very sensitive to it's angle of attack(front ride height versus rear ride height). Any thing that alters that angle from stock is going to be a step in the wrong direction. Is the Fox shock the same eye to eye length as the stock shock? I know the one I purchased for mine wasn't and had to be modified. Does yours have ride height adjustment?
Don't even think about changing springs or letting anybody talk you into revalving or selling you anything until you understand your bikes suspension, set it up to work as well as it can, and then ride it to see what if anything needs improvement. Having fresh tire profiles, especially in the rear is very important, a flattened rear tire profile will make any bike feel terrible.
Number one is setting the bikes static sag and then setting your available compression, rebound and preload adjustments.
Read this:
http://www.racetech.com/articles/SuspensionAndSprings.htm

 

I don't want to hijack this thread but I have a Works Performance shock that I will be selling to fund another project. It fits a 1983 VF750F. If you look at their web site, it is a Ultrasport 2 way adjustable model. I bought it used but it looks in nice shape. Asking $250, if you have any interest please PM me. Thanks.
Ben

 

I have tuned the bike and made it more similar as possible to Bubba Shobert's one: front end is lowered a lot and rear end.....well, Ive tried to raise it. The mech put a lot of preload on and touched the link.

Its possible to get the same damper Bubba had, but the cost overtakes 300 bucks.
Should u have any idea about finding a damper which can fit and can lift rear end, Id appreciate to get informed about.
tx

 

I'm not sure if I have a height adjustment or not. I just took the plastics off to clean the shock up to see what's under the gunk that has accumulated.

I'm not much of a mechanic, so I won't do anything to my suspension until I understand it a bit better. It rides fine but I still want to know how to set it for my weight (I'm 160 and the guy who had it said it was set for 140). My weight tends to fluctuate (depends on how many microbrews I consume) but regardless, I like to know how my bike works.

Thanks for all the help!!