1985 VF1000R Restoration #2

Hi guys, you may recall my first VF1000R restoration last year ended with a missing second gear.
Ill get back to that in the winter once the M2/3 gear shows up form Japan (if it ever does). you can see that build here :
https://vfrworld.com/threads/new-to-me-vf1000rs.55458/

In the mean time, this VF1000R has been waiting patiently for 2 years for its turn on the table. Its a running bike, although it wont run without the choke all the time so the carbs need cleaning, however I have a shiny new rebuilt set to go in. Its also got a rebuilt title. The bike was repaired many years ago, the paint work is very very nice, but I really dont like the "Rebuilt" being on the ownership, so it will all be restored on a different Frame from one of the donor bikes you can see in the above thread.

Aside from that, ill go through everything as it comes apart or goes back together. it will get the usual bearings, grips and what not. Ill post pics as I go.

Ill also run it through all the gears before I get too far into it.

The one major PITA im expecting is getting the exhaust collars off the 2 front cylinders, that seems to be a very common problem, they get corroded to the studs and are next to impossible to remove. Love to hear from anyone who has a chemical formula for dissolving aluminum/steel contact (galvanic) corrosion to free stuff up, I've tried a lot of stuff but to no avail. we will see how this one goes.

Here's where we start, dont expect this to go too fast, im in Farming mode, but I need my garage tinker time

 

Cool. Yeah that paint work looks really good. Have the mufflers been re-skinned?

 

I like Liquid Wrench, recently tried Free.... whatever you use, soak, let sit for a day, soak again, let sit... repeat for a week until you're tired of it... it will eventually soak in. Aluminum/steel corrosion can be stubborn.... tap the ends of the bolts/studs/nuts whatever they are, before removal, it will help loosen that bond a bit too. Work them back and forth, not just in the OFF direction... be patient. IF you get a little room, more penetrant. Upon reassembly, anti-seize, but I'll be you already knew that, this ain't your first rodeo.

 

yeah, I usually try to tighten a bit first, then more penetrant

After some impacts with a hard wood dowel and hammer

 

I tried for several weeks with different penetrants (Liquid Wrench, PBblaster, Seafoam, WD40, etc etc) on the last one, plus heat, plus tapping , whacking with a hammer etc ...no luck. Hopefully this time it works better. Thanks for the ideas. I started hitting this one wth penetrating oils a while back so hopefully it helps

 

Yes the mufflers were re skinned and they have really shitty home made end caps and tips . I have another set that will go on to replace these ones

 

So....im second guessing if I should bother with the frame swap and just keep it to a light refresh and deep cleaning. (New Bearings, New Carbs, New Pipes, Brakes etc included)

As I pull bodywork off this bike, the Frame is beautiful, far nicer than the repainted frame I prepped to use as the rebuild base.

Thoughts from the floor on having a factory correct finish/straight frame that happens to carry a rebuilt title, vs a donor frame thats been re-painted, has a clean title who's history is also unknown????

 

Title is a title. If / when you sell, anyone will see that it has been properly rebuilt. You can always offer a clean titled frame with it.

Now if you were happy with the finish, then I might have a different answer. That's a lot of work for a frame you don't even like that much. Maybe sometime down the road get the frame finished again and re-visit.

 

Yea, the refinished frame just isnt as nice as I'd like. I had 3 frames re done, 2 powder coated and 1 I sprayed. None of them are as nice as I'd like them o be.

I may take one frame back to the Powder-coater and complain (thought its been a while, should have said something sooner), see if they can re-do it at a discount, seems to me like the oven wasn't hot enough and the powder didnt flow. The sprayed Fram I did, just isnt as good as Id like, I should have taken it to be media blasted first. Maybe I'll do the quick refresh, and get the 2 other frames re-done and pull the whole bike apart at a later date.

Im really torn on this. I do worry the value will suffer if it has a rebuilt title and it may scare off buyers down the road.

Ill keep stripping it back and ill decide once I hear back from the PC place. maybe ill get the frame blasted and spray painted by my paint guy.

 

Heres the shit PowderCoat job, lots of orange peel, not enough heat or too much powder ?

I contacted the Powdercoater and asked for a discounted "re-Do". we will see what they say

 

Oh man... yeah, not acceptable. Looks like a Hammerite job gone bad. At least it was expensive. ;-)

 

waiting for the PC guy to get back to me, I sent them pics and asked for a Re-do on the PC frame and a free blast on the one I need to re paint again....will see what happens.

 

Yep, it sure is.

I should have sent it back right away really, but I was a bit ignorant as to what to expect to be honest.

 

It bugs me that somebody thought that was acceptable to release to a customer. No quality assurance or accountability.
If it was on the inside down near the swingarm pivot... ok I guess. But on the outside of an upper frame rail, THE MOST visible area when assembled. Piss poor.
And it's not like the whole thing is like that and that's just how that shop does it, there was obviously a problem.

 

Actually id say 80% or more of it is like that, from the photos the inside of the frame looks ok but its not.

its a pretty bad job indeed.

 

I'd be pretty upset with that powder finish. My initial guess was that they laid it on way too thick and sent it to the cure oven at either too low of a temperature or too short of a time to flow out. I'd be asking what the exact coating was and how long they baked it.

I sent a screencap to a coworker (industrial liquid and powder coating systems) and asked what could have caused that. He said it almost looked like a "River finish" which is a formulation with silicon mixed in to cause those raised surfaces. You wouldn't do that on accident, so there's definitely another explanation... but I'd be asking about specifics on how it was finished.

 

Thanks Matt, I can only say it looks like a "River of shit finish". Still waiting on them to get back to me.

here is a pic of the other Frame they did, I ended up using it. it wasn't as bad but didnt have as much shine as I expected. The finish is more gray than the photo suggests, its not a bad colour but needs more shine.

 

That looks to be about the same color as this powder job, except mine is smooth and pretty glossy. Frame, swingarm, forks and lower triple. Wasn't totally happy with the color, but I knew when everything was bolted on it would look good. Would rather have it a little muted than too bright, might look "cheap". Likely, my last powder coat ever though. And they totally fucked up the calipers the first time, they came back like a olive/army green. WHAT THE FUCK?!

 

I just got back from the powder coater. said via Email he'd work with me to remedy...but turns out, not so much.

I took my 2nd frame to get the PC fixed and a 3rd frame to be just blasted as it will get spray painted instead.

once he learned he wasnt getting to PC the 3rd frame he didnt want to PC the 2nd one because it had been so long since they did it.

I said it didnt matter how long, it still wasn't a good job.

in the end, theyre the only game in town, so I bit my tongue (if i'd had other options I would have lit him up, im not normally one to take the high road on shit like this). I told him to blast both of them and id get them both sprayed. He grumbled about how long it would take the blast the PC frame. too bad so sad, git her done.

We will see what happens and what he charges at the end of it all.

He knew it was a shit job, as soon as he saw it he said "hmm it is textured" so clearly not normal, but he still tried to suggest the frame may have been pitted before hand (it wasn't). He also suggested just sanding it a bit and they'd re PC it or clear it...Ummmmm NO ! I do not need a frame with the finish as thick as the steel its made of.

Seems there is a good business opportunity in my area for a decent PC company.