should have known the bike would have had issues

[madasbadgers]

Just got back on two wheels and bought an '83 interceptor with 40.000 km on it, ran fine for the first few weeks but now there is a worrying noise coming from the upper regions of the rear cylinder(was'nt there one second,there the next). checked the valves no apparent problems(all gaps good) cam chain doesnt feel loose and looks fine along it's length(no bad spots) noise is metal tap,tap sound coming(i think from the rear right cylinder. Any chance this is something small or could it be the cam chain tensioner assembly?
Will be doing the work myself, as no stranger to getting hands greasy.

Any help from people who have similar noises(from their bike) would be great

[squirrelman]

maybe a rod knock, or pitted cam lobes.

were you aware of the well-known upper-end oiling problems on these early bikes??

why did you buy such an old bike when newer and better ones are available, one wonders?

[madasbadgers]

Well they do say hindsight is 20-20.

reason i bought this bike, was the first bike poster i had on my wall when i was a kid , kind of started it all.

and no i didnt do any research so i didnt know about the upper oiling problem

am going to fix up this one and sell on. Had a GS850 that never let me down, may have to look for another one of those, unless i can find a newer VF for a good price.

Kind of have a thing for the old tanks as you can tell.

[crustyrider]

good for you,
[i] as well like the old stuff. I have a 1986 vfr700 interceptor, and a 1985 gs700E.

hope you find the ride that suits you.

[Richard Thompson]

Yeah, Gen ones are 'old school cool' and certainly worth fixin up.

as they say 'many a fine tune was played on an old fiddle'.

[madasbadgers]

kind of want to stay with the vf line, love the sound(not the tapping one) will have to see what else is out there, any suggestions on a good model that won't break the bank?
want something that is still fairly quick, not ready to get leather chaps and buy a harley quite yet.

[eddievalleytrailer]

Don't worry about the tapping. Just ride it. I have two 1st gens, and both of them make this noise and have for years. I am taking my '83 on a 500 mile ride Aug 15-17. So, I ain't skeered of no stinkin "tick-tick-tick". I know it's annoying, but most 1st gen Honda V-4s do it. My dealer said just to ride it. And, so far it has worked. I have put over 15k miles on my Sabre since it started ticking with no problems.

[madasbadgers]

Finally fixed the bike, used the old screwdriver on the ear trick to pin point the noise(top end rear right rocker) found one rocker ground to a flat spot and one scored(both on exhaust valves) replaced all four on the rear and now it sounds great!

Thanks for all suggestions(the helpfull ones)

Look forward to getting another season out of the old girl.

[eddievalleytrailer]

Originally Posted by madasbadgers

Finally fixed the bike, used the old screwdriver on the ear trick to pin point the noise(top end rear right rocker) found one rocker ground to a flat spot and one scored(both on exhaust valves) replaced all four on the rear and now it sounds great!

Thanks for all suggestions(the helpfull ones)

Look forward to getting another season out of the old girl.

Another Season???? You can look forward to many, many seasons to come. Keep the oil changed, and don't let it get too hot. She'll last for years and years. Glad you got her back on the road.

[VFGusto3]

Well I'm glad I read this thread. I have a 84' VF700 and it just started making that tapping noise with 28.5k on the clock. I researched and knew they had probs with the oiling but the previous owner told me he slipped some Slick 50 in with the full synthetic oil changes and no probs. Funny, my tap-tap is coming from almost the same place. I haven't taken the cover off to check what's up. almost scared too. I too was told to ride on and she runs fine. I think if I get bored this cold season I might dive in. I'm wondering if a little Seafoam in the oil might work, it works well in the tank and the bottle says you can use it in oil...