My new to me 1986 VFR750F adventure

Hi there people,

After being without a motorcycle for 5 years because of kids etc etc, I suddenly felt an instant urge to get one here the other day. So, short story even shorter, I got to browsing the local classifieds. My requirements was a low price, reliable, over 30 years old (because of low insurance), comfortable, and nice looks. My goal was to find a bike with low purchase cost, and low insurance, so that I wouldn't have any bad conscience for not having time to use it that much. Worst case it can just sit and not loose any value or cost me anything for years. I hope this will be a real keeper for a long time.

So, when I found this nice pearl white 1986 VFR750F, at a very reasonable price, I didn't waste any time, and last Friday I picked it up from about an hour from where I live. So this will be my thread where I post photos, and keep a log of maintenance etc etc. Hopefully someone else will enjoy it other than me too

I have already started taking it apart, I never can resist doing that, mostly just to clean and fix broken parts. Changed the oil and filter. Need to find a new plastic glass for the instruments because of a crack (anyone have a spare??). Other that that everything seems to work very well, so it was just mostly regular cleaning of parts and components. All very good, until....

I removed the exhaust silencer, and in the process I had to hammer a bit on the joints to get it loose from old rust. I don't know if it happened then, or if it was already done, but anyway, I ended up with (at least) one of the exhaust manifold bolts without its head. And the space around that m"#%&....I see no chance to get the remaining part of the bolt out, and a new one in, without doing some serious wrenching. What is my best option here? My guess is that I will have to lower the whole engine to get to that space...So - if anyone has some ideas here, please chime in, I would be grateful for any advice.

Some photos, first from pickup friday January 4th in Vestfossen, Norway:


Safely back in my storage garage:


Partly stripped down for cleaning and stuff:




The broken header bolt, the rear one far to the right:




Broken instrument glass. Anyone with a spare without cracks?

 

welcome paalw! looks like a very nice bike (and some nice toys in the garage as well!)

best of luck with everything, looking forward to seeing your progress

 

Thanks AJB. Bike is nice considering its age and 112000km's. The other toys aren't mine (unfortunately), we are a group of friends renting the garage

 

Tere is a NEW one on E-Bay but it also has a crack. Maybe repairable compared to yours?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-OEM-Ho...f:g:PaQAAOSwlt9cM-BH:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true

 

Thanks. I have bought used cluster from eBay now so that should be ok.

Regarding the header bolt, I realize there is probably not possible to escape having to lower the whole engine to get to the bolts. Is it a lot of trouble?

 

You might have to do that if it is snapped off. Have heard that removing swing arm might give you access????
Best of luck. Heading there myself soon for install of 4-1 Stainless Hindle pipe.
Regards

Ricardo

 

Not sure what would be most work. I wish there was a guide how to remove the engine without breaking anything else. That's usually what happens when I try to do stuff like this, without any guidance. I break more than I was supposed to fix to begin with..

 

You will have to remove the carbs, but with exhaust off you can rest the engine (oil pan) on something sturdy that gets the front and rear wheels off the ground. The chassis can then be lifted off the engine (in theory with a couple people) mostly intact after disconnecting where the harness and cooling interacts with the engine. I would remove the wheels for weight and handling.

When I am reassembling VF/VFR restorations I build the bike around the engine on a crate and lower the frame down on the engine and assemble the chassis from there.

 

^^ kinda like this ?