1983 VF750f dusting, the story

Discussion in '1st & 2nd Generation 1983-1989' started by TOM4TE, Oct 17, 2016.

  1. TOM4TE

    TOM4TE New Member

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    Greetings

    I'm pretty new around here, I used to spend my time on KTM forums (my first big bike was a 2000 duke II), but as of last week it seems I'll be spending my time here instead! I had been eyeing 1st gen interceptors on Craigslist for a few months after seeing one on the road, so when one popped up close to home I decided (more like couldn't help myself) to take the jump. I know they have their issues, but sadly none of the newer (more reliable, higher performing, better in almost every aspect) bikes get me quite as excited as these bad-ass looking oldies (I'm allowed to call it that because it's about 8 years older than I am). Bottom line, this thing is eye-candy to me.

    Without further delay, here's a couple pics from when I picked her up and first parked her home.

    Side note; I'll probably refer to the bike a lot as ''her/she''. I know it comes out a little weird in English, but in my native language motorbikes happen to be feminine ''une moto'' and it takes active thinking to refer to ''it''.

    IMG_3205.jpg

    hmm... hope that worked. That's on the curb in front of PO's house.

    IMG_3214.jpg

    After a 30 mile ride bike home.

    FullSizeRender.jpg

    And this one is here for me to look at when I'm banging my head on the wall and need a little reminder of why I brought this on myself (don't know when, don't know why, but I assume you always get there at some point)
     
  2. James Bond

    James Bond Member

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    Wow! That's a nice specimen there. How many miles on it?

    And, you provided pics. That's a good thing for new members here. Have fun with that prize.
     
  3. TOM4TE

    TOM4TE New Member

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    So let's start with what I know:

    - There's 20800 miles on the odometer, PO bought her in 2003 with 19200 miles, and basically didn't drive it other than to keep her alive every other week. She slept in his basement.

    - I was a little worried about the cams but the engine sounded great and smooth when I test drove it, so I hoped for the best.

    - There's a little pitting on the front fork tubes (not much, but it's there), and the fork leaks oil like it's meant to lubricate the rotors.

    - Since we're speaking of the brakes, they work, but definitely feel a little weak, and the front left caliper tends to stay stuck some.

    - It's kinda slow to return to idle. Like 6 to 10 seconds. Not sure what that means. Bleed and change fluids on the clutch? Could it be carb related?

    - It's also got the acceleration of a pachyderm until it hits around 8000 rpm. I mean I know these older engines don't like to rev slow, but at 5000 rpm in 4th it reminded me of my 4 stroke 125cc.

    - No visible leaks.

    - The gas tank looks great outside and even better inside.

    - The seat cover has a little tear in the front corner.

    Now let's move on to what I'm trying to accomplish- I want my heart to miss a beat every time I see the damn thing. And I want to brag about it to everyone I know. At least once a week.
    In order to achieve this I have determined that I want to:

    - Change all the fluids/filters/spark-plugs. I'm pretty sure PO did it when he first got her, some 13 years ago
    - New fork seals
    - Change everything rubber that warrants it
    - Repaint or powder coat the frame and a few miscellaneous parts
    - Rebuild the brakes and switch to braided lines (carb also if possible)
    - New seat cover. Or maybe new seat, I've seen some pictures of nice Corbin seats on the bike, and I wouldn't mind trying something bicolor (white and black, so it merges with the tail maybe)
    - Polish everything that's supposed to shine.
    - Check valves
    - sand/glass/nutshell blast (which is best?) the aluminum parts (rear peg mounts, water-pump, etc.) if I can get my hands on a big enough compressor.
    - check and replace bearings (stem and wheels) if needed.

    That's it for the short-term.

    Longer term I'd be interested in the F2 wheel conversion, upgrading the shocks, a little body work (there's a few scratches and paint chips here and there), and maybe changing the mufflers if I can find something and feel really fancy.

    Total budget should be around 1.5k. I know it's a little tight, even though I'll hopefully be doing everything myself. I guess part of what I'm looking for here other than advise and knowledge along the process is to get an idea of what can realistically be achieved within that budget and what won't.

    I've been browsing through the forum for the last couple days, and I see we have a few gen 1 experts on board, looking forward for your advice Gentleman :smile-new:
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2016
  4. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    Congrats and welcome, lots of good info, advice, and good hearted ribbing at VFRWorld! I have had the pleasure of owning mine since 1983!
     
  5. TOM4TE

    TOM4TE New Member

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    And why not get dirty right away?

    IMG_3236.jpg

    Popped the valve covers to take a peak. I think the cams look pretty good? I didn't see any pitting or excessive wear (as far as I can tell) on any of them, so i guess that's a first step in the right direction. Although there is some decolorization which can be seen on the bottom right of the picture (can't remember what cylinder that is). Not sure what to make of that. The rear cams look at least as good as the front ones, maybe better.

    Quick note for context : I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and graduated from legos to motorcycles when building airplanes and spacecrafts on my bed stopped being something that could score me points with girls (I'll admit, the switch was made a little later than it should have). This means I am really comfortable with taking things apart and putting them back together correctly (most of the time!), but also that I'm not always sure why it's put together the way it is or how it works (yes this piece thingy belongs with that piece thingy there to make the magic happen''. I do my own maintenance and I've taken the KTM apart a few times, but never really got into the engine beyond a valve adjustment. So I'll do my best to stay humble (as I should) and will whole-heatedly welcome any help that comes, whatever the form it takes :)

    IMG_3265.jpg

    Aaaaand she's naked!
    Mild sex jokes are a big thing in France, but I'll try not to abuse it.
    That's a lie, they get pretty bad. But I'll be good- Promised!
     
  6. TOM4TE

    TOM4TE New Member

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    Thanks #Allyance! Could it be your bike I saw the Corbin seat on? Your profile picture seems familiar. Wow since 1983? How many miles do you have on her?
     
  7. TOM4TE

    TOM4TE New Member

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    Here are the first few concrete questions:

    - I've seen the braided brake line conversion mentioned here and there on the forum, but does anyone has a source they would recommend? What can I reasonably expect it to cost?
    - I can't get the mufflers off. I unscrewed the clamp, but they won't move at all. What's the best way to go about that? Guessing it's fairly common.
    - Considering the fork tubes have a little pitting, am I better off changing the fork entirely, having the tubes resurfaced, or can it stay like this? If I changed the fork, is there anything better than the stock that can be fitted without to much work?

    IMG_3276.jpg

    IMG_3277.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2016
  8. jeremyr62

    jeremyr62 New Member

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    That bit of the fork stanchion is just cosmetic (Oops didn't see your second picture). They don't look bad. If you get them out and use a good quality metal polish you will know more. You have a few black spots remaining which will be pits but I suspect they will be more than serviceable. If not, get them refurbished by getting them hard chromed and re ground.
     
  9. captainmook

    captainmook New Member

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    First off, great bike -- looks gorgeous !! Like you, I refer to my bike as a her/she as well. Lots of great followers and references on this forum, and I'm going to send a shout out to Allyance as he is a star for helping people with these beautiful bikes.
    There's another guy on here who did a complete rebuild on his 750 (Look for bswiles on VFRD (VFR Discussion), sick rebuild this guy did!) he went braided as well, recommending Core Moto braided brake & clutch lines (http://www.coremoto.com/) ; also, a consideration is to check out Spiegler (http://www.sportbiketrackgear.com/s...83-87-front-brake-line-kit-orig/#&gid=1&pid=1) - pick your colours and place the order, done. Bear in mind, these are customized, coloured lines; really you can go a little less expensive I'm sure with other lines, but as it was explained to me, with the braided lines you don't worry about potential bulging like from rubber lines, and this gives you better braking performance. These bikes are 30+ years old, and if it's original equipment, it's inevitable it will fail. Hope this helps !!
    Also -- replacement brake pads for this bike - I bought EBC FA 69 for the front (2 sets, obviously), and one set EBC FA 69/3 for the rear. Smoking deal from powersports.net , I live in Canada and even with the exchange they were about $30 better than anywhere else. Don't know what others will say about these pads but I've heard they are really good. I'm changing out my lines and pads now, hope to finish them this week, and will give a full report w pics once they are finished.
    Looking very much forward to your progress, it looks like a promising winter of rebuilds and restorations !!


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  10. kennybobby

    kennybobby New Member

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    She's a beauty--great catch.

    i think your slow idle return is a carb issue. Might as well clean them and check the enrichment port air circuit (aka choke) while you have them off, my guess is that one of them is stuck slightly open. There is a great picture tutorial on how to do this, search for 'cleaning carbs' , a thread by the toecutter.
     
  11. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    I restored my 83 last summer as best I could. A simple tool that helped a lot was a 6" bench buffer/wire brush. You can try and buff you forks (which I did) to get rid of any high, sharp points and new seals. I replaced just about all the rubber seals, o-rings and carb boots. I used same EBC pads and they work well. Metzeler makes a good 16" front tire, not to many still make them. Only regret is I bought pristine tank, but it was in the 85 color scheme, so I bought the rest of the guys body parts.
     
  12. TOM4TE

    TOM4TE New Member

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    Thanks, I will definitely look into those 2 options for my brakes. I think I read through your own post, congrats on getting her back in shape! Actually I have a question, I see you swapped your mufflers back to the originals not long ago, and I'm trying to do the opposite. Do you still have the ones you took off by any chance? I might be interested. Looking forward to your report on the brakes!
     
  13. Riding a 2000

    Riding a 2000 Member

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    Might I suggest investing in a spray can of Aerokroil from Kano Labs?

    http://www.kanolabs.com/google/?gclid=CjwKEAjwkJfABRDnhbPlx6WI4ncSJADMQqxdPhHll2eO14fKgqwXFzKvFwhNQqB0sIA8cGn_oUvnKhoCR0zw_wcB

    It is the #1 penetrating oil by a wide margin, as far as I am concerned.
    Let it soak in for a couple of days, with some plastic mallet tapping to break up corrosion.
     
  14. captainmook

    captainmook New Member

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    Actually I don't have them anymore -- they were in terrible shape, and I didn't like the way they looked on the bike. The pipes will be part of the resto as well, I'll powder coat them in the same color eventually.


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  15. captainmook

    captainmook New Member

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    Yeah my dad has this stuff, works like a charm - if you can't get it loose with this stuff, the next step is a blowtorch ....


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  16. TOM4TE

    TOM4TE New Member

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    It's too expensive for me, but if anyone's interested I think I've found a brand new interceptor Corbin seat on Ebay. Guy has it listed as a CBX seat, but I'm 95% sure it's actually a gen 1 interceptor seat.
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/honda-cbx-c...ash=item568e2c01c3:g:chYAAOSwLnBX8m9M&vxp=mtr

    I think I'm going to go with Coremoto for the brake lines, it comes out about $50 cheaper for the whole set compared to Spiegler. I'll let you know how it goes
     
  17. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

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    Looks like my Corbin, but that's a lot of money! Mine has about 40K miles on it. Sat for a long time.
     
  18. captainmook

    captainmook New Member

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    Yep, good call -- I contacted Core Moto today, spoke to Luke, and hope to have the full set of brake/ clutch lines within the week... older (but better condition) stainless lines are on the front of the bike now, will stay there until I start the full tear down, which should be happening within the month. I'll post pics of both front and rear lines once they are all installed.


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  19. DeeBee

    DeeBee New Member

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    Just found this thread , sweet vf , I picked up one that was in decent shape, but in need of about ten years of tlc.
    It's amazing the attention the old girl gets scuffed and scratched up as she is. I bought her to ride to work as well as to have a first bike I wouldn't feel guilty dropping a half a dozen times before trimming the main seat pad and a few more now since.
    What I ended up with is a bike model with a rich history which is slowly becoming collectible. Now all I want to do is get another bike for daily rider either a gen2 or maybe one of the last carbureted 750's and restore the old girl with period correct mods and fairly modern suspension.

    Sounds like you got the right idea restoring her now while most rubber and maintenance parts are available and others such as plastic aren't completely impossible to find.
    There is just something about these bikes which makes them special.
    Anyhow best of luck finding parts/ and bits. When it comes to finding a good source of info for everything vfr and/or interceptor you cover that when you signed up here. Their a good bunch of guys and gals who truly love their Honda V4's and can steer you in the right direction.

    A bit late but Welcome ,
    db
     
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