My VF1000R Saga

So, I have this friend, Stan. Back in '93, Rick (a friend of Stan's) got him into bikes and sold him a VF1000R. Stan then ran hell out of this bike (Track days, road trips, daily rider, whatever) for 10-ish years. Over this time it was run hard, put away wet, and laid down a few times. In the end it became impractical as a daily driver for him (he's a carpenter), so he parked it. A couple years ago he got it back out and road it around for a summer for old time's sake, then the hydraulic clutch went out. So he parked it again. Under a pine tree. For a year. Yeah.

Well, in the fall of 2009 he saw I was getting into tinkering with bikes, and during the winter he offered it to me. Spring rolled around and I drove out and brought it home. Needless to say, it needs a lot of work. Aside from everything needing to be stripped and painted, the forks are getting rebuilt (by Jamie Daugherty), the rear shock is getting replaced, and at some point I may do a CBR600F2 rim swap.

Here's my budy on the day of the hand off. His only stipulations were that he get a ride when the bike is back up and running, and I'm not allowed to sell it.
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More shots of the bike from when I first received it back in June of 2010

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Tear down revealed the end results of storing a bike uncovered under a pine tree for any length of time.

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The carbs cleaned up pretty well. Once I removed and cleaned the emultion tubes it all came together. I insured the bike and rode it around to prove that it all functioned properly, and once it was proven I removed the insurance and proceeded to tear the bike part.

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I did find one bad cam lobe (which I didn't think was too bad for a bike that got thrashed for about 26,000 miles with an unmodified oiling system), but eventually found a replacement cam on Ebay that is now fitted.
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The gas tank also had some rust related issues, including holes. I wound up replacing the tank with an ugly dented one that was rust and leak free. I've currently got a line on an NOS tank.
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I removed the black spray paint from the ferrings, and this is what I found:
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They look a little beat up, but actually clean up nicely. With paint on them you really can't tell that they've been patched over and over again.

And here's a grab bag of goodies I got from Rick and Stan over the summer.
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This
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Became this
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Became this
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Then there was some cleaning:
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I also replaced the rear fender, repainted the fender's frame, and replaced all the rubber grommets that go with it.

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At this point I'm deciding how best to tackle the frame. Whether I should sand blast it completely and repaint the entire thing, or just use a wire wheel and some touch up paint to hit specific areas. There are a LOT of specific areas that need to be touched up, which is why I'm leaning toward just respraying the whole thing.

 

Awesome thread dude! I love watching the birth of an awesome bike!

My .02 on the frame would be to just go all out and do the whole thing! Why not?

What are your plans for the paint on the rest of ths bike?

 

Ah, I love these threads. They could easily be motivational post's when completed with a stunning finish.

 

Pure white

 

Seeing threads like this almost make me wish my bike was in need of a complete strip down when I first got it. After seeing these there's so much I want to do.

I look forward to seeing this great restoration.

 

Pcohen: I hear that. My brother is rebuilding a CM91 and is going to get his frame sandlbasted, if it turns out well I'll probably take mine out to the same guy and get it done.

rpierce: Your bike doesn't have to be junk to warrant a total tear down, but it is handy to have a second bike to ride while you're working on the first.

jesusbuiltmyvfr: Maybe, but I'm also looking hard at rothman's colors. The only thing that worries me about that is finding the graphics to go with it.

 

It certainly lead a hard life. Looks like you're on the right road. Just be patient and it will come together. My R took 2 years but really half that since I really couldn't do much in the frozen winter. You can still get the stock R decals and even the Rothman's if you look hard enough. Keep the pics coming. It's nice to watch one for a change!

 

You're definitely making some great progress. After sitting outside for so long, I'm surprised you didn't have mice in the airbox (which is what I found on mine). You have the bike torn down so far right now, that it only makes sense to do the frame. As far as paint scheme, I say go with the original RWB. Please keep posting pictures of your progress. Keep up the great work.

 

Love these threads.

Keep it up.

 

I'm glad everyone is enjoying it so far.

Hopit88, I see you finally got your bike painted. It's been a while since I checked up on your build thread.

Oddly, there were no mouse nests when I got it all opened up. But a mouse had been chewing on some of the wires in the tail light. Everything still works, but the insulation is gone in a few spots. Oh yeah, something had been living inside the swing arm. I shook more than a few walnut shells out of there.

I started a thread on this way back last may over on adventure rider. My VF1000R saga. - ADVrider It only recently occurred to me that I might get some useful input from some other VFR-O-philes.

 

Keep up the great work. Your photos could very well belong to any number of VF1000R owners who've been through the same experience. it brings back some fine memories - and a few bad ones! Arrggh. Good luck, man. It'll be fun for sure! Keep posting updates.

 

Great thread, keep the pictures coming, I've always wanted a 1000R, till I find the right one I'll enjoy reading about everyone elses.

 

great job, love these threads. Love turtles

 

Awesome! I'll be watching this. I did a full job like this on a TDM 850. I powdercoated everything I could. Looks nice, is cheap, and durable!

 

Yep, finally checked it off the list. The paint scheme was easy for me, it'd been in my head for some time. I had all the paint and most of the decals to do a Rothman's job back in '89 but never got around to doing it. I ended up painting an aluminum boat someone gave in the Rothman's colors including the decals. Looked pretty funny. It was full of holes and had a No Left Turn sign as a patch. I christened it the "Ho Pit Floats" (Hope it floats). People just called it the Ho Pit, hence the Hopit88.

 

Just got an email from Jamie, my forks are done. It's time to find a properly heated workshop where I can paint the frame, then pull the trigger on getting it sand blasted.

 

And I have been saying 'Hop It 88' all this time!