New guy looking for

New guy looking for a VF1000R and some advice

OHey Gents, the name is Mitch and i hail from Vancouver Canada.
i recently got my Motorcycle license after 14years of my dad hounding me so i could ride with him. He's big into Harley's but i've always had a thing for the older Japanese bikes most specifically the mid 80s Honda's. i'm on a ton of car forums so this is nothing new to me aside from the content.

Some basic details on me, i've been an Automotive tech for the past 10 years, worked for a professional race team running Porsches at the Daytona 24hr, modify damn near everything i can get my hands on and have built a multitude of extremely fast cars of all makes and models... amazingly enough, a bike is one thing i want to keep stock! *

I'm currently looking at a few bikes but most focused on getting my hands on an 84-86 VF1000R or a Canadian CB750 SC nighthawk, and being a Canadian, this works well for me as they are pretty easy to find up here.

I'm already on the nighthawk forum but figured I'd sign up here to do a little research on the VF's.

I'm looking at a few 1000s around me in the near future and was wondering if there is anything I should be looking at as areas of concern on these bikes. I'll be getting a PPI and history check done on any bikes that pass the initial screening but aside from general shape of the bike being a big factor in moving onto the PPI stage, what red flags should I be on the look out for?

Also, are the VF750 and VF1000 the same bike aside from the engine size? Just curious if a 750 would work as a parts bike as there is a non-running 750 really close to me for next to nothing!


Looking forward to posting more!

Cheers
Mitch

 

Howdy from Ottawa, Mitch.

Having only owned my VF1000R for a couple hundred kilometers, I'm doing as much reading as I can on the subject (in between work, my wife saying, "you spend too much time reading about that damned bike!" and 4 kids).

This site has proven to be my best overall resource so far and it's amazing to Google VF1000R to find out haw many defunct messages and sites were dealing with the topic even 4-5 years ago!

Number one concern to me was in reference to the issue of some of the 1st gens ability to cook their cams due to excessive heat and/or poor oil distribution...thus came the top oiling mod retrofitted to better prevent the problem. Looking for the two little steel braided lines on mine was one of the first things I did. It also has a switchable fan-mod that allows things to stay a little cooler in hot, bumper-to-bumper traffic as a secondary precaution.

Thankfully, my bike now also has a Deka sealed battery and I don't to have to fiddle with a traditional battery service or carry a trickle charger if I go out of town.

 

Thanks for the welcome Joe!

How does this "cam cooking" issue manifest itself as something to look for? Would it be excessive (groweling/clacking) noise from the top end?

With one of the bikes I'm looking at, the current owner mentioned there being a switch for the fan. Being an Autotech, I assumed this is cheap fix for a dead NLA temp sensor...

Any links to check out?

 

Posted this elsewhere but figured this would the better place for it....

me on the hood at the 2009 24HR @ Daytona:

one of my cars:

my Daily:
Untitled by ZX3Tuning, on Flickr

the bikes i'm currently looking at:

35979kn_20 by ZX3Tuning, on Flickr
more: Possible New bike - a set on Flickr

 

Geeze, I wish I could provide further insight for you regarding the top-oiling remedy but have been scouring around to no avail (and remaining grateful to whomever did it prior to my ownership.

Discovered yesterday in registering the bike that it was first bought in Texas and seems to have lived with the same owner for over twenty years before finding its way to Ajax, Ontario, Canada and then to Coburg, Ontario where it was registered to some auto dealer then sold to the guy before me in Coburg and then to me in Ottawa. Seems like lots of owners for only 24K on the odo! I glad it's home

That Porsche of yours in fan-friggin-tastic! So nicely done...
Way to make a classic an even better driver than it was by updating drive-train, brakes/suspension/rubber, interior and aesthetic mods while keeping the original aura of the ride!

Can I have it?

 

Haha, no worries.

And no, you can't have it! I'm going to be cremated with that car! :lol:

 

Craigslist or ebay will be your friend post in the WTB section here. The V-4 1000's are monsters I am partial to the 85-86 due to the gear driven cams love the sound!

Giuseppi, I can't concentrate with that avatar of yours.

 

Oh I'm all over eBay, Craigslist and kijiji.

Found a few 85-86 but all have like 40+k miles on them or in rough rough shape.
That 84 has 26k KM's on it and really just needs a new set of decals or if I want to be super anal, a respray to the correct color on the tank as well!

It's my first bike and while I probably should start with something smaller, all the 750s ive been finding are rough or high miles or no history. This bike is none of that and fits perfectly into my price ranges of <$2000!

 

I can't help you with the information you seek on the bike, Shmee, but seeing as how you posted a few car pics, I need to ask...

Give us a few more details on that Porsche. 1989? Stock or worked? Size? HP? C'mon now, don't be shy. This is motorcycle forum, so you can share all your secrets.

And with the ZX? Your plate say V6 Mistake, so is that a finger poke towards some V6 drivers so you can show them up with your I-4?

 

What I can't understand is, they can make those really nifty fibreglass retro bodies that make VW bugs look like Porsches and the aftermarket fairings for VFRs are so cheesy.

 

haha, both cars are heavily modified and normally i'd smile and say "a lot" but....

the Porker was essentially a full rebuild:
fresh, split-case rebuild on the stock 3.3L turbo with the following: Asco springs and Ti retainers, Colt Cams 964b grind cams, large port heads, B&B header, K27HFS turbo, modified PowerHaus exhaust, custom full bay intercooler, IA intake, ported fuel head, euro fuel lines = 398.8rwhp and 367lb/ft.
935 RSR Coilover conversion with rebel racing spring plates, Bilstein RSR coilovers and raised spindles up front, 5 way adjustable Bilstein inverted clevis mount coilovers in the rear, 450&600lbs springs F&R, 993TT Big red brakes all around, personally spec'ed Kinesis K18R in 18x8.5 and 18x11.5 with 225/40 and 315/30 RT615 tires.
complete disassembly on the body, GettyDesign Yellowbird replica bumpers, front foglight boxes shaved and replaced with Hella Xenon Micro-DE fogs, 965 smile seal, all new body seals, full respray in 8 coats of black and 4 coats of clear with a wetsand between each clear, rag top window replaced. interior stripped to bare, seats replaced with Status Ring GT in Kevlar and Napa Leather and Status 4pt harnesses, pedals and floorboards replaced with aluminum Redline units, DAS roll bar, custom Alpine stereo with dual Boston G2 12s (multiple SQ awards) with a Kenwood 996 deck


the Zx3 actually has a V6 in it. :crazy: it's the only one n the planet to have a fully functioning 100% true SVT contour drivetrain swap. there are a couple that are cobbled together out of parts but none really run let alone properly where as i daily mine!
the plate is a reference to an inside joke about the swap being a mistake! it sounds amazing though! :lol:


P1012678 by ZX3Tuning, on Flickr


P1012683 by ZX3Tuning, on Flickr

it's list of work includes:
98-01 front European bumper with shaved bumper signals, 98-01 front European rubber lip, Trend upper and lower grills, European Glass fogs with 3000k HIDs, 98-01 rear European bumper with smoothed bottom valance and shaved exhaust notch., Smoked European Tails, Smoked euro rear bumper lights, Modified exhaust turn-down on a vibrant exhaust, European fenders with smoked markers, ST170 headlights with 4300K HIDs, European Chrome hatchstrip, R/S collection hatch wing, 00 NA textured sideskirts, European Folding mirrors, NA 00 side skirts.
SVT contour V6, tranny and ECU with a heavily modified wiring harness and lots of custom work to make the engine fit like factory, custom CAI, down pipe and vibrant exhaust it makes a nothing special 220bhp and ~180lb/ft at the crank (slightly better than stock SVT Contour).
interior completely gutted and dyna-matted, headliner and all pillars wrapped in black suede at the same time.
custom built stereo setup with false floor in hatch, alpine deck subs and amps with Polk speakers(won a couple SQ awards), covered in hardwood(forget which kind, just got it cause it was cheap :lol: ), SVT EAP recaro heated seats/interior, 01 Ford Cougar cluster, SVT pedals, B&M short shifter.
Suspension is SVT focus knuckles and brakes, hawk ceramic pads & SS lines, KW V1 coilovers, Dominant engineering front LCA's rear camber arms and toe arms, SPC camber bolts, LCR front camber plates, custom build BBS RS's 17x8.5&9.5s with 195/40&215/40 Conti# tires.

i have another Focus that is even wilder but is being setup for the track/time attack and hill climbs and is no where near done.
it'll make 330+fwhp and ~240lb/ft and will have almost a full carbon fiber and lexan body once i'm done with it!

 

have you ever actually seen on of those bug to porsche kits side by side with a real porsche?
that are extremely cheesy too! :lol:

good glass work comes down to a good mold and original.
there are a ton of really poor fiberglass bumpers available for Porsches too. one company i dealt with was so pad i would have had to section about 6" out of the rear bumper and broke then re-formed the front just for it to be close let alone look nice... and i'm talking about $700 per bumper here and they were still that out to lunch. :dunno:

 

Welcome Mitch! I am on Bowen Island and on such a sunny day can practically see you from here. I am really surprised that nobody has ventured an answer to the 750/1000 question that you posed, so I will go out on a limb: no, they are totally different.

I've been corrected plenty of times before, so please stand by!

David

 

Thanks for the info Schmee. Interesting on the ZX, but I've always been a big fan of the "older" turbo's. Maybe its the whale tail... My neighbor just picked up a 2010 Turbo Cabriolet (with a whopping 2,500 miles on it), and while its a drop dead sexy car, I'm still diggin the classics!

By the way, in the unlikely and unfortunate event that you were to be cremated by an act of nature and therefore could NOT be cremated in your Porsche, can I have it then since Guiseppi didn't ask about those circumstances?

Enjoy. And good luck with your search for a bike.

 

haha, i wont say yes but i wont say no either!
i'm a pretty hard core aircooled fan, and still think the 993 was the peak of porsche styling. the 996 was a styling and reliability mistake (aside from the turbo and GT3 Variants) but the 997 and the up coming 991 are growing on me.... the new stuff is just all about the performance now. 997 turboS with PDK can and will 0-60 in 3.1 seconds all day long thanks to technology and launch control!? i've worked on a couple of the 997 rockets and it's night and day on how fast they are compared to the old stuff. my 930 is quick but even a 997 GT3, puts it in it's place until triple digits!

 

Hey David, Bowen isn't that far, any good driving/riding roads up that way?

and good to know about the 750/1000! Thanks!

 

On-island? Nope. Max speed on the island is 40 km/h with the 30 regions getting larger and larger. There is the Sea to Sky, but only if you are VERY careful. I just love riding, period, so am happy almost anywhere, so it's all good.

 

that's sort what i figured but wasn't sure.

yeah, the S2S isn't exactly the safest road to ride but it's better than it was 10 years ago!
i remember doing many stupid things in cars on the old road that probably would have been fatal on a bike! :lol:
i'll probably be white knuckling it up there at the speed limit the first few times just because of other drivers!

if you're down, lets go for a ride in the spring!

 

OK, I just (Youtube'd) V6 ZX3 and came up with diddly squat...got a quick vid on Photobucket?

 

older videos:
V6 mistake - YouTube
V6 mistake - YouTube

a couple more recent video's with no car sounds from a VW scenester show earlier in the spring with both cars:
Dubberz Spring UnSprung Vol. 3.0 - YouTube
Webisode | Spring unSprung on Vimeo

Third Annual Spring UnSprung Cruise on Vimeo <== lots of coverage in this one