Not a Teaser! 1983 VF750F resto project

[supertex]

Have you seen anodized titanium? You can do it cheaply at home. Wiki did an article on it similar to heat colors amazing effect the voltage determines the color. Look at Titanium in Technicolor | Popular Science or How to Color Titanium: 5 steps - wikiHow.

What is heat colors about?

[volks6000]

do the calipers in blue or red would look cool against the white rims. really can't wait to see this thing finished.

[vthoky]

Wow! I'm learning a lot just from reading this thread. What fun!

[Sebspeed]

do the calipers in blue or red would look cool against the white rims. really can't wait to see this thing finished.

Only problem with doing color on the calipers, is that it's so hard to keep them clean. I think I'm gonna have my hands full just keeping the wheels nice!

[VT Viffer]

I love every update, Seb.

Calipers should be gold.

[Sebspeed]

Well, calipers are cleaned. Seals for them and the clutch slave are ordered... gotta pick a color, and get some brake pads. That reminds me, I gotta disassemble and clean the F4i rear caliper too... doh!

Reservoir bracket was sandblasted and painted gloss black today, I'll try the coloring thing another time. Plenty more titanium where that piece came from!

[Sebspeed]

Reservoir bracket done:



Doesn't interfere with the tire at all:

[supertex]

Hey Seb why does it look like the tail is slightly listed to the left side?

[Sebspeed]

Hey Seb why does it look like the tail is slightly listed to the left side?

Because it's only quickly bolted in for the pics, on the right side.

I just knew someone was going to mention that...

[Captain 80s]

That looks very cool. Nice placement. Could also be angled with the tail section.

Good job! After I finish my Sister's VTR, and gotta get crackin' on my stuff. I think you have inspired more than a couple people.

Cheers!
Mike.

[ScottB]

I love this thread. I am green with envy every time I see the next thing done on your bike... keep it up!

[Sebspeed]

Had some some parts for another bike in my hand the other day and had a super idea. Just have to do a bit of lathe work, and the VF will have preload adjustment!

Stay tuned, here's a sneak peek at the mod while I modelled it:

[Sebspeed]

Ok, here's the deal on the preload adjusters.

I got my hands on a set of pre-1994 CBR600F2 fork caps. These forks were the last of the CBR damping rod forks, the last model year of the F2(1994) and all newer CBRs went to cartridge forks with preload and rebound in the cap.

Pre-94 had these nifty adjusters for preload only:




Pretty self-explanatory, the adjuster threads into the cap and moves the washer up and down, increasing or decreasing tension on the spring, and it's sealed with an o-ring.

So, my plan is to make two of these inserts, which will fit the CBR adjuster on the inside. I'm going to take my VF1000R caps off my forks, remove the Schrader valve(left side) and TRAC adjuster knob(right side), and drill the caps to accept the custom insert. Then the new parts will be welded in place.





I'm excited!

In other news, I bead blasted the front calipers/pin retainers & pad clips, and painted the calipers.



Who says VF parts don't grow on trees??





Also got the clutch slave cylinder rebuilt with new Honda seals, had to clean some old crusty fluid out of the bore first. Need to sell off some miscellaneous parts to build the "new VF parts budget". Next up is 3 sets of brake pads, brake and clutch banjo hose ends, oil, coolant, AGM battery, and a restock of my bodywork supplies. I'm gettin' there, slowly but surely!

[risoto]

I really like the preload adjuster project. Do you think it could be made to fit the 39mm vf750f fork caps?

Nice view from the paint area!

[Sebspeed]

I really like the preload adjuster project. Do you think it could be made to fit the 39mm vf750f fork caps?

Nice view from the paint area!

Absolutely. the only difference would be the size of the washer & cotter pin, to fit inside the spring(cotter pin) and inside the tube(washer).

If I get the lathe I've had my eye on, I could make a few of these. If not, I'll have to see about outsourcing depending on demand.

[JamieDaugherty]

I've been modifying the stock fork caps to add preload adjustment for several years now. It's not something that I push (it's not even listed on my site anymore) because for most people simply adjusting the spacer tube once is good enough. Folks who are playing around with different setups will benefit from an external adjustment but for the average street rider it's more of a 'bling' kind of thing.

[Sebspeed]

Yep, part of it is the "bling" of the mod, you could almost say that about the whole build. I like to be able to adjust for road condition, passengers, luggage, and just because. That's just me though. You gotta admit though, this is surely more aesthetically pleasing than the setup you were doing.

[JamieDaugherty]

You gotta admit though, this is surely more aesthetically pleasing than the setup you were doing.

..but that's not offensive or anything.....

[Sebspeed]

..but that's not offensive or anything.....

Last time I checked you had a sense of humor Jamie! Besides, instead of saying whoop de doo, it's just bling, you could have said, "hey, that's gonna look nice and should work well." And if you wanted to make me laugh, you could have added "if you ever actually finish building this thing!"

[SLOVFR]

I just hope you make a display case for this and park it in the living room. I do not want to think about anything ever happening to it!

[Sebspeed]

I just hope you make a display case for this and park it in the living room. I do not want to think about anything ever happening to it!

Funny you say that. My wife and I are buying a new house right now and I've been mentioning how I'd like to park this(sans fluids) in the living or dining room for a month or two.

[risoto]

Yep, part of it is the "bling" of the mod, you could almost say that about the whole build. I like to be able to adjust for road condition, passengers, luggage, and just because. That's just me though. You gotta admit though, this is surely more aesthetically pleasing than the setup you were doing.

I like the idea of tightening the forks for sport riding and loosening them for long rides with extra gear.

As far as bling goes I would be very grateful if someone would machine some blank fork caps to replace the schrader valves and billet adjustment knobs for all of us with dampener rod forks.

[dlman]

You are doing a great job. Keep up the good work.

[JamieDaugherty]

Funny you say that. My wife and I are buying a new house right now and I've been mentioning how I'd like to park this(sans fluids) in the living or dining room for a month or two.

Man, you got way further that I would. If I ever start a statement like that my wife would put the kibosh on that so fast it would make your head spin. She's doesn't understand motorcycles as art.

[supertex]

My wife agrees that they are art but unfortunately isn't an art lover.

[Captain 80s]

At our last house, we had a few bikes inside. We had a back room that had some of our small vintage Hondas in it. It was mostly due to lack of storage (didn't let that stop me from acquiring bikes), but the key was to have her CB-1 in the dining room.
It was kinda cool. People thought we were nuts!

I've always wanted to have a big entry way with a bike on each side up on a small pedestal. A couple spots lights and maybe a little framed blurb about the bike. Well, not this house, but maybe some day. We did get this house for the garage and the kitchen though, so, no complaints.

Sorry, small thread-jack.
Cheers everyone!
Mike.

[Sebspeed]

My wife's not against it at all, she loves bikes and riding on them, and she knows what they mean to me - if I told her I wanted to put it in the bedroom she'd probably want to go for a ride there too!! LOL

Mike, the pedestal & museum-style display sounds really cool, but seems a bit too permanent for my taste. I do want to ride this thing from time to time! If it doesn't go up for sale, that is...

[JamieDaugherty]

... if I told her I wanted to put it in the bedroom she'd probably want to go for a ride there too!! LOL

That's TMI for sure!

[Sebspeed]

My V&H pipes are at Meccom Corp in Michigan, the stainless tube is supposed to arrive today. The guy that I've been dealing with told me to check in later today for a progress report!

[start you bastard]

thanks for all the pics
ive just got a vf 750 f 83 mod for $300.hasnt run for 4 years and spent its time sitting out in the sun in this guys yard but it still could be a sound machine.keep the pics of your bike going ill be watching your progress.
thanks mate.