New to me '86 700

Hey all-

Found a deal on something I've wanted since I was a kid. I drove up to Raleigh tonight, and in the worst lightening & rain I've seen in YEARS I loaded it onto the truck (where it still sits...) & drove 10 under the whole way home!

I did test ride it before the bottom fell out on the weather, and other than a couple of small issues it rode great.

Things I need to fix:

1) The forks bottom out super easy. The seals & boots were new last year, but there is very little resistance when you push down on the bars or hit a bump. What's the deal with these?

2) The throttle tube and bar ends need replaced- They're all bust up. Anybody know a source for originals?

Here's the C/L pics I stole of the listing for now. I'll post my own later.







Overall I think I did ok. He came down from his asking price once I pointed out these issues, but overall it's a pretty clean bike. everything works, and it even has the seat cowl!

 

nice find... and of course

how much did you shell out for it?

stock 86 front forks are shit ... check for oil, but mostly they are crappola...Upgrade with newer VFR forks...

 

I embedded photobucket IMG's. You can't see the pics?? I see them fine. Mabey a glitch or something...

Don't really feel compelled to admit what I payed, but I'll concede it was much less than the $1500 asking price. We'll see how I did once I deal with the throttle tube, grips, and bar ends... And than there are these forks... Is there a spring upgrade, or a different oil weight or something? I'd hate to have to shell out a bunch of cash on forks for a bike I picked up as a novelty. I do need to get them straightened out though. When I rode it the front end was so soft that in a corner the back end started feeling loose due to mid-turn fork compression

 

very cool indeed. now give me one of those RWbs...:tongue:

i think perhaps you are finding out what Honda has been able to do with sport bike suspension improvements over ...oh I dunno...about 20 years? Not that I have the same thoughts about my two bikes...


Good luck man!

 

You got a good deal lad. As far as the forks go, I have stock forks on mine, albeit with Sonic springs and Race Tech valves plus a SuperBrace, and I don't have any complaints. Perhaps on a track they would lack something; but not at public road speeds.

You should be able to find everything you need on eBay.

 

Took it off the truck this morning (SOooo easy w/ the tri-fold ramp I just bought!!) and started going over it a little closer. Despite a few deficiencies I took it out for a couple of hours & just got back a few minutes ago. I must say I was a bit sketchy at first, but after getting used to the dino-tech V.S. my '07 it was fun! I opened it up a bit on the freeway, but with only having half of the normal grip width there wasn't a whole lot to hold on to!

The 1 bar end that fell out of the busted throttle tube wasn't threaded into the end of the handle bar. It was a rubber expansion type, which probably explains the busted throttle tube... So, I need to know where to get the right bar ends and throttle tube. I already checked Cycle Gear & ebay with no luck. Anybody got spares or a bike they're parting out? Also- do any of you who commented (or anyone else) have part numbers or compatibility info for upgrading the fork springs and fork oil? What weight of oil is optimum?

And lastly- what is there to re-valving the suspension? I've heard the terminology before, and I understand the general idea, but I have no experience or knowledge in the specifics. I'm sure I could do the work if I had the right parts and specs...

I snapped a quick pic before we rode out. Better pics after I fix everything & clean it up!

PARTS NEEDED:
*Throttle tube
*Bar ends
*Fork & suspension upgrade components
*Mirrors. Mine are intact, but the stantion arms have stress cracks
*A factory key blank. As usual, I only got 1 key with the bike....

 

key blank is available on eBay (I bought one there recently). Check Bike Bandit for the throttle bits. Lots of info already here about your suspension questions. Do a search!

Check this thread: http://vfrworld.com/forums/1st-2nd-generation-1983-1989/36161-parting-out-vfr700-86-87-a.html

 

Already sent PM's on that one! Figured I'd let folks know I'm lookin- ya never know what someone has collecting dust... Looking around for the susp. mods as I have time. It's old enough that I'm sure there are folks here who have developed the perfect fix.

*Update* Checked Bikebandit. They have the throttletube and grips, but the bar weights are unavailable. Need help with these please.