1984 VF750F-Should I buy it?

Hi,

First time post. I am looking at buying a very clean, low mile (3k) 1984 VF750F. The bike has been babied and it looks like it just came off the showroom floor. The current owner bought it from a collector that bought it new in 1984. It has been driven a few miles every month for the past 34 years. Stored in a temp. controlled garage, fuel drained after each ride, etc.

Basically, it is as close to brand new as you can get. Time capsule type stuff.

When I was in college, I bought a 1985 VF500 off the showroom floor and I loved that bike. It was stolen not long after I bought it and I have always told myself that I would buy another Interceptor as soon as I got the chance.

33 years later and I found one that is as close to perfect as I am ever going to find. I want to buy it and ride it and keep it forever. I know it is 34 years old and will take a lot of time/money to keep it looking new, but I don't care. It is a completely irrational, emotional purchase and I am not someone that typically operates that way.

That said, I also don't want to roll the dice and buy a bike that is an exploding top end waiting to happen.

I know there are things that can be done to mitigate potential problems with the V4, but I haven't heard of anything that can eliminate the problem. And I know that for every person that posts a bad experience or problem on the internet there are many more that have had a good experience with no problems that don't bother to post it on the internet.

I guess I am trying to get a sense of how bad the V4 engine problems really were. Are we talking a 30% failure rate or a 3% failure rate. If someone does everything they can to mitigate the potential problems (oil mod, frequent valve adjustments, quality oil, careful warm up's, etc.) are they just delaying the inevitable?

I pretty well understand how design flaws in the early V4 engines caused the problems, so I probably already know the answer to my question.

But, I would really appreciate any guidance/wisdom/insight that anyone is willing to provide. I don't know if it will sway me either way, but it might.

Thanks,

 

I have had my '83 since new and I have heard all the stories about the engine, mine has about 36K miles on it. I have had the cams replaced under warranty years ago, but have learned that the primary reason for the cam failures was due to the way the cam journals were machined rather than oiling problem, so failures are a crap shoot, no way of knowing. Honda decided to machine journals and caps that held the cams in by precision machining in bulk rather than boring them as an assembly. (If you look at the heads you will see that the cams sit lower than the edges and could not be line bored). Failures were due inconsistent tolerances and cams that were too loose in the mounts). Honda tried many remedies trying to figure out why some failed and others didn't. My information comes from a book called "Honda V4 The Complete Four-Stroke Story" by Greg Pullen, from the oval piston NR500 to the current VFR800. I don't ride mine much since I have '14, to be honest mine engine is a bit noisy and when I get the money I will have it looked at by a competent mechanic. Bike is easy to work on and fun to ride. I am always surprised how well it handles for it's size an weight. Metzler is one of the few manufactures that still makes a good 16" front tire, they were the tire of choice back int the old days and still a decent tire. The only thing I can think of that you should look at are the mufflers. Water from condensation, even for low milage, causes rust on the bottom near the entrance. Hoping that the price is not not outrageous, it would make a great bike to add to a collection, I would hate to turn it into an everyday bike. Any more questions let us know.

I have seen several others around my area, if the failures were high, they wouldn't be still running after 34 years!


(My '83 has the repaint job of an '84, so it should look familiar)

 

Thanks for you detailed reply. Very nice bike that you have and it does look familiar.

I will definitely look carefully at the exhaust. I noticed your exhaust is not stock. Can you give me some information on what you have?

I know what you are saying about turning it into an everyday bike. Honestly, I will probably wash it more often that I will ride it, at least for the next few years. But, I do plan of taking it out for long rides once in a while. It won’t be a daily driver and I will keep it stored out of the elements. I want to keep it looking like it does now, but I also want to enjoy it. Who knows-I might just keep it as a collector and buy something else that I can ride without worry.

I think I am going to pull the trigger on it. It just so happens that I am traveling for business in a few weeks and will be staying in a hotel a few blocks away from the seller, so I will be able to check out the bike (the trip was planned well before I knew about the bike). And, the seller is going to be traveling through my home town the following week (with his bike on a trailer) for an extended road trip out west, which was also planned before he even put the bike up for sale (the seller and the bike are ~2,000 miles away from me). And, he would be able to deliver the bike to my house when he travels through. Seems like a strange set of coincidences.

Thanks again. I am sure I will be back with a lot more questions in the near future.

 

I don't think you can go wrong on this deal. Back in 84 I was project manager for the a design/build firm in Toronto (where I bought the bike in '83) for the 84 Olympics. My deal was if they air freighted my bike to LA, I wouldn't charge them mileage. At that time there were some performance add-ons that I got while in the LA area, including the Vance & Hines exhaust system. I also added a Fox shock, Lockhart oil cooler and Corbin seat. I learned about these extras from magazine reviews and other riders. No internet at the time! Ended up moving permanently to CA and the bike never went back to Canada. I ended up buying an identical '83 from a friend after I crashed my original bike. Damage wasn't that bad, but I had found out the dealer in Pasadena screwed up the replacement of the cams when I took off the sump to clean it and found bit of metal on the bottom. I had ground off the ends of the cam chain tensioner arms. I transfer all the extra to the second bike, which I still have. On thing I learned was not to use the power washers at the DYI car wash, as they force detergent water into the rear axle, and almost seized the bolt. If you get it, post some pictures.

 

In my experiences with these bikes, both personally and working at a Honda dealer, if the engine was going to have issues it would have them fairly early. Sometimes the tolerances all added up to be great and the engine will have a long life. At 3K a problem could surface regarding cam / follower wear. Unfortunately getting a look at the cams is not really feasible in a driveway inspection. Proper / often maintenance really helps these machines if the engine wasn't doomed from the start (just like every other machine).

The suspension that worked OK on the lightweight 500 is junk on these bikes. Plan on spending money front and rear to maximize your enjoyment if purchased, but it will be some of the best money spent on the bike.

 

Good information. Thank you. The first thing I am going to do is the oil-mod and then a suspension upgrade.

Any suggestions on where to look for suspension components? How about aftermarket/replacement parts in general?

Maybe I should just do a search on the forum. I bet I can find answers to lol my questions.....

 

DMR Suspension. You can have a CBR shock modified, sprung and valved. Cartridge emulators and some correct springs for the front.

And there's lots of info, good and bad, regarding the cams. But the root cause was really not oil supply. If it was, they would have all failed. Not saying that it might not have contributed, but clean oil and maintenance would have prevented some of the problems reported.

And get a eBay and Paypal account. You're gonna need them.