Just bought a 1st gen - Sydney Australia

Been lurking on this list for a while. Have owned a4th gen since 1999. Wanted something to tinker with in the shed and have been looking for a 1st or 2nd gen for about 6 months. Last Sunday I picked up this 1st gen


Looking for advice on what to check out. First up is obviously the oil mod to cams. I think this may have been done as there is an external line running from the crank case here:

to a t-piece between the cylinders:


which then runs to a point in the head shown here:


Any advice appreciated!

 

Looks great!!

You got it. Check the top End for wear, and make sure everything is in spec.

 

hey FD, you need to edit your profile; you're in Sydney but your ID is in the U.S. :lol:

 

:welcome:

Hope you get many miles of enjoyment out of your 1st. gen.

Unfortuniatly you do "NOT" have an oiling mod on your bike, the upper end was fed oil externally from the factory. Here are Pics of my stock oil lines.

Cheers,
Paul

View attachment 17695 View attachment 17696

 

Thanks Paul

So where should I look for the oil mod off take? Of course the next step is to take a look at the cams!

 

Definiatly check the cam clearances. Maintianance is the key to longevity!

The Oil Mod from what I have been reading is probably more of a " I feel better doing it " thing then " Must do ".
That said, I am planning on doing the twin line Oil filter adapter mod. Should I, or someone else, decide to go back to stock oiling it's easy to do, and no harm done.
The other Mod is a bit intrusive By means of drilling / tapping into the main oil gallery, & re-route the oil-feed line to that point. ( To much risk, & leaves scares! )
Well that's my 2-Cents on it. :biggrin:

Have a great day, Down Unda!

 

Congrats on a great find, looks like a very tidy Gen 1. I did the "drill and tap" oil mod to mine and its not as scary as it sounds as long as you take your time to go carefully. That said, I think next time I will just keep on top of oil changes and check valve clearances regularly. If there are signs of wear then I would do it, but not all Gen 1s have the Cam wear problems and also if you are like me the Gen 1 is for tinkering and Sunday rides so I wont be clocking the miles up wearing Cams etc..

Cheers

 

Pulled the rear rocker cover off. Here are some pics of the cams. Any comments on how they look?

 

Hi FD, :wave:

The Cam-Lobes look good to me, But I am sure that someone with way more exsperiance will chime in.
Oh, BTW you still need to edit your profile as your still waving an American Flag.

 

Those cams look pretty healthy! What you don't want to see are deep pits and scars where you've actually lost large "chunks" of the cam face. As the others have noted, keeping quality oil (changed frequently)...and proper valve lash (checked frequently) is key to long cam life.

 

Attempted to strip forks today. LH completed. Top cap was a bugger to shift. First had to procure a 24mm socket. Needed a half meter bar to shift it. Wonder if it has ever been undone before. Circlip heavily corroded. Spec from Haynes manual says spring should bee 531 mm min. It is 476 mm. That seems like way too much difference to be age based sag Spacer is 100 mm.

Any advice or experience out there?

RH leg the allen bolt is damaged so can't remove it. I'll take it int Lloyd Penn next week for him to sort and advise in wear on bushes. Got top cap off (30mm socket!) and spring is 477 mm again with 100 mm spacer.

 

On the springs.....I would wager that a PO has cut the springs and added a spacer for a stiffer front suspension. On the cam lobes, the high point of the lobes is where wear/pitting most often occurs.

 

Not just the cam lobes, look at the bearing surfaces adjacent to them. Lines, discolouration, surface irregularities may show damage from dirty oil.

How many miles on that beauty ??

 

Odo shows 56,000 km. but it could be 156,000 since only 5 digits on the dial.

 

Just finished rebuilding the forks.

In reassembling the front end I couldn't remember where the wire routing clips for the speedo cable and LH brake line get mounted. Anyone got a 1st gen that can advise / post a pic?



Thanks!

 

Just bought a parts donor. Pick up on Monday. Pics shortly.



Comes with a runner and more bits than guy could list

 

Parts donor came with Clymer manual.

Shows cable retainer bolted to TRAC link bolt thus:

 

Throw that Clymers away. Down loadable FSM here: http://vfrworld.com/forums/1st-2nd-...st-2nd-gen-service-manual-download-links.html

 

Picked up VF 'parts donor' yesterday. 600 km round trip took 14 hours. 10x5 box trailer just big enough. 3 rollers across front, 2 engines and a set of wheels behind that. Bare frame hung on the tail ramp. Crates of parts and exhausts crammed into any gaps.

That left the best one to go in the back of the cx-9. Swing arm/frame/engine/radiators assembled so a tight fit.

Then all the bodywork seats tanks more wheels and crates of parts crammed in to every available space. Just as well wife decided to stay home as even passenger seat full!