Look what followed me home.....

Well not exactly a VFR, but it sort of has a VFR engine, right? 1997 VF750 C

I could not turn it down, got a really good deal on it. Need some love and it was something I kind of always wanted to try.

Not sure about the whitewall tires but they must have been expensive as they are Continentals and almost brand new.

This is a Cali model so it has all sorts of crazy emissions gear the 49 state models does not have.

 

Nice find! Loved my Magna.

Did you get the rest of the exhaust?

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Yes sir I did, but it had the exhaust outlet plates removed, Probably going to be loud, but I guess some people like that. Not me.

 

V4musclebike.com

Plenty of info over there. Maybe find some stock exhaust as well

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Thanks, I am a member there also!

 

A thermostat location that VFR800 owners can only dream about...

Should be a fun project. Is that gear drive cams and a 180 degree crank? Sure looks like the same cases as my 86 VFR750.

 

Looks cool and in decent shape. Loved my '83 V65, but I woulda loved a V45....... or a Sabre

 

No gear drive, they had to cut costs somewhere , not sure about the 180 crank. you are probably right about the engine cases. Looks very similar.

 

Yeah the V65's were just too big for me, V45's were much better for my small frame. I briefly had a 1984 700 Sabre but it had bad cams and I never got to ride it.

 

Dude....I worked at a Honda Dealer from 83-88 or so and you would not believe how many cam warranties we did on especially the 82-83 V-4's.

We would get them in and then wait and wait for Honda send updated cams and followers. I think there were several updates. That is how I ended up with a 84 700 Sabre, the owner basically gave it to me for nothing and I never got around to fixing it. And it was only 5 years old when I got it but I knew the cams would likely fail again so I shelved it. And yet, some of the V-4's never had ANY issues. It was really crazy.

 

*pretty damn sure on this, but not 100%*

That era Magna engine is based on the 1990 VFR (which is VERY good thing), and converted to chain cam drive. And screw tappets? It's been A LONG TIME since I've been in one.

They did it for noise, not costs, if I remember correctly. Engine is exposed and the overall db rating would suffer with gears. They could spend the noise points elsewhere. That's why Honda would put foam on the inside of lowers and rubber-damped inserts inside crankcase covers on some bikes. Same reason for down-pointing intake "snorkels".

One of the few "cruisers" I enjoyed riding. The engine is awesome (of course) and the smaller front wheel lets it actually kinda handle for the wheelbase.

Cobra slip-ons sound SICK on that bike. I installed a fucking bazillion of them. And the National Cycle fly screen. Dope.

 

Glad you chimed in Cap'n, I have been reading the Honda manual and it has shim adjusters under the tappet buckets. Totally agree it is a 1990 VFR engine platform. And Yes, the cam chains are for sure quieter than the gear drives.

Should be fun, I am over at https://v4musclebike.com/ trying to find a few parts.

Anyone need any Cali spec emission control parts LOL????

 

Have you seen this site? https://www.motorcycleproject.com/text/v4_cams_what.html

 

I have not, diving into that right now.

 

I heard about the chocolate cams, and porosity..... the problem seemed more of a lack of lubrication. A gent named Dave Dodge sold a kit that consisted of an oil filter adapter with two fittings for stainless steel lines that bolted up to the top end. You could then use a standard spin-on oil filter (Bosch 3300 if memory serves). My cams were ok at 35k miles, some porosity yes, but ok. I installed the kit and never gave it another thought.

 

As a young and impoverished student I owned a VF750F for about a year in 1985; I had no cam issues (tha I know of) but did have to have the camchains and tensioners replaced which sucked, and I traded in on a JDM VF400F which I had more mechanical confidence in. It was so long ago, the photos are black and white...maybe the stern expression relates to the mechanic's bill.

 

It's because the old-timey cameras in your day had such long exposure times you couldn't hold a natural looking smile that long.