Not a Teaser! 1983 VF750F resto project

[Bubba Zanetti]

Awesome...just awesome.

Wish there where more people like you and Jamie D!

BZ

[MrJoelieC]

Please hold while I mop up the drool from the PC'ed frame....

[Sebspeed]

Seems like we're in dire need of an update here!

So, I finally got a little more done on the bike! I assembled the second fork and it went together well, and it works a lot better than it did before... the only thing I did differently during assembly was to hold the fork upright when I tightened the bottom bolt with my impact gun, where last time I held it horizontally. Huh. Any way, it works now, so... on the bike it goes!

Used the old steering bearing races to tap in the new ones, I had planned to borrow the special tool from the local Honda dealer, but they didn't have the one I needed.

Got the lower triple in:


Checked my clearances to the frame on either side; the triple was hitting the frame before I modified the stop with a pair of screws, looks like they worked out pretty well! I retained a lot of the steering travel, and the triple doesn't hit the frame.

Right side:


Left side:


Upper triple is in, with the right leg:


Used a VTEC top bridge nut & steering plug, and you can see the Yoshimura F3 billet clip on there:


My son helped me tap out the holes for the rotor bolts(dirty in the first place, plus glass bead leftovers):


Then I bolted the rotors on that I painted a while back, and threw the wheel up on the lift as well as installed the other fork leg:


I'm digging the black on white!

If you didn't notice in those pics, there is a custom fork brace in there that Jamie Daugherty designed and had another guy machine for me, it's made to bolt on the 1000R forks and hold a 750F fender! Yay!! I'm not liking the rough machine finish, so I will be sanding and polishing that piece at some point, it's too nice to paint black, but looks rough as-is.


I spent an evening with my regulator-rectifier/fuel pump bracket, and this turned out real nice. I am going to try out the gravity feed fuel setup, so I got rid of the pump for now, removed the R/R, and degreased the whole plastic bracket. It cleaned up really well, and looks like new now! Here it is with the R/R back on(the bolts were wire wheeled before reassembly):




Another little success story here is the shock linkage. Man, was that thing dirty! It had a layer of grime like you wouldn't believe... and the linkage arms(I like to call them drumsticks) were pretty rusty. Another can of degreaser, a little glass bead blasting, and a spritz of paint later - much better!



Installed:


Other side:


In that pic you can see the foam I filled the swingarm with, it's just the stuff that comes in the can "Great Stuff" it's called.

I put the cush rubbers back in the F2 wheel, slipped on the specially machined hub, and then, finally, after much ado, I have a rolling chassis!!


Seeing that got me motivated to install the brand new upper fairing stay that I bought 2 years ago, it was damaged during shipping & so I had to spend about 45 minutes with various tools to get it just right again, but it's about perfect now.


Then I just had to throw the new headlight in to see how it would look, I think it's going to be pretty badass!!




Any thoughts, opinions, comments/questions/concerns are welcome!

[ottrod]

...just found this thread - AMAZING job you are doing! I love really detailed build threads with quality pictures and documentation - Keep it coming!!!!

Kinda like the resto - mods in the muscle car world!

Keith

[drewl]

DANG, Seb. That thing looks super-dee-duper. Can't wait to see it on the road. Thanks for sharing with us over here, too.

[Sebspeed]

Thanks for the comments guys, appreciate it!

[VFR-Guy2000]

That thing is starting to look soo sweet! I can't wait to see the finished outcome. that pic of the rolling chassis just looks so awesome especially with those rims & tires.

[Sebspeed]

I'm not too happy with the looks of the large-sidewall rear tire. Would like to go to something smaller in the future, but that means adding ride height and changing gearing to make up for the (overall height) smaller rear tire...

I also just won a 900RR 5.5" rear wheel, so I might try to jam a 180 in there!

[Bernieswanson]

That's what I'd tell my son. My first brand new motorcycle was one of these in 1983. It was my 3rd or 4th bike. I loved it till gen two came along and bought a new 1986 VFR750F.

Keep up the work and postings as we watch her incubate in your shop. I'll raise a wee bit of my finest single malt to you on her (re)maiden ride.

Cheers

[masonv45]

I'm not too happy with the looks of the large-sidewall rear tire. Would like to go to something smaller in the future, but that means adding ride height and changing gearing to make up for the (overall height) smaller rear tire...

I also just won a 900RR 5.5" rear wheel, so I might try to jam a 180 in there!

The PO mounted a 160/60 Avon Azaro on the rear of my bike and so far, no problems...

[Sebspeed]

The PO mounted a 160/60 Avon Azaro on the rear of my bike and so far, no problems...

What size is your rear wheel?

[masonv45]

I haven't really looked, but as far as I know, it's the stock size...

Here's are two pics:
100_0722 pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots
100_0721 pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

[slowbird]

Bike looks great.

Love the Stain Black on white.

[Outlawz24]

Bike is looking great man! Hopefully soon i will have a project thread of my own again once i start working on my VF..Already removed the decals off of it in preperation of an upcoming rattle can paint job for now...

[Richard Thompson]

im subscribing to this thread so i can follow the progress.

geat work! i love to see these older bikes come back to life.

[DANIMAL]

Great looking project Seb.
You are gonna hate yourself for using white rims.
they are next to impossible to keep clean. voice of experience
owned a 1986 vfr700f2 in pearl white with white rims
white rims were payback for hiroshima
Beautiful work. keep it up.

[VsVFR]

white rims were payback for hiroshima

That is too funny!!!!

And awesome job on the project Seb!! Thanks! Keeps making me long for a project. Maybe I can run across something in the next couple of months just in time for winter.

Great job!!

[Sebspeed]

I will hopefully have an update on this soon, got a few more little things accomplished, and I just realized I haven't posted any pics of the exhaust yet...

[Outlawz24]

I haven't really looked, but as far as I know, it's the stock size...

Here's are two pics:
100_0722 pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots
100_0721 pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

How the heck is that even possable...is that a 1000F rear wheel on a 750?

[benjammer]

Great Work/Documentation. Man I wish I had your skill and patience. I'm subscribing to the thread to follow your progress. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[GenLightening]

I'm not too happy with the looks of the large-sidewall rear tire. Would like to go to something smaller in the future, but that means adding ride height and changing gearing to make up for the (overall height) smaller rear tire...

I also just won a 900RR 5.5" rear wheel, so I might try to jam a 180 in there!

I know my 170-60/18" required some grinding to just clear the swingarm. And the chain will rub unless you offset the sprockets a bit. The 17" tire/wheel may not need as much, I'll find out when I fit my CBR wheel.

[Sebspeed]

I know my 170-60/18" required some grinding to just clear the swingarm. And the chain will rub unless you offset the sprockets a bit. The 17" tire/wheel may not need as much, I'll find out when I fit my CBR wheel.

A couple guys on VFRD have installed the same wheel with a 180 on their 1000R's, with offset countershaft sprockets and extra machining of the hub.

Apparently the brand of tire comes into play as well, to be more specific, the tire profile. Michelins seem to be the hot ticket.

Looks like on Mason's bike, someone just jammed the bigger tire on there... you can see he can't get over on the edge of the tire because of the botched profile...

[GenLightening]

I know the 18" is probably the issue. The swingarm tapers more the farther forward the tire sits. Back when I installed the 18", that was the size to have. The 17 should fit a little easier, but I may have to check different brands to see what fits best.

[Sebspeed]

You'll need the 900RR wheel, a machined hub, and an offset sprocket to start. Stack washers under your stock countershaft sprocket t oget an idea of how many mm's you need to move out. Be aware that they are expensive!

[GenLightening]

I've already got the CBR F3 wheel, a mill and lathe, I can make things work! Shouldn't be too hard. I've swapped wheels on most bikes I've owned, just can't leave anything stock.

[Sebspeed]

I've already got the CBR F3 wheel, a mill and lathe, I can make things work! Shouldn't be too hard. I've swapped wheels on most bikes I've owned, just can't leave anything stock.

Is the F3 a 5.5" wheel?

Congrats on the big equipment, I'm still saving for mine. I have a drill press, a MIG, and a crap load of hand and power tools. As I save for a TIG and mill/lathe, I'm trying to decide which I can get more use out of first, and whether I should buy big & used(Bridgeport & lathe) or finance a new Smithy 3-in-1... got any input to offer on that? Looking at the Thermal Arc 185 for TIG purposes, I am aerospace certified for aluminum & SS, and have some experience welding titanium, so there is money to be made there, but on the other hand I have so many projects in mind for the mill & lathe, it's ridiculous.

[GenLightening]

It's a girly 4.5". It will do fine for the street. If I was going to race again I'd probably go with a new swingarm and run a 6".

I'd save for a real mill and lathe (used can be had cheap), the 3 in 1 usually doesn't do either one very well. And you may have size limits with it. If you go bigger than you think you need, you'll be ok. And you know more about the welding than me! I can gas and stick weld, I leave the aluminum to my Dad.

[Sebspeed]

Go to VFRDiscussion.com and check out a post called "VF1000R rebuild". It's in the "VFR Models - Earlier VFRs" forum. You'll go nuts, I promise!

[Outlawz24]

Any updates on this thing?

[S14Daver]

Seriously....ISO an update!!! Badass project dude!