Restoring a (second) BLUE '87 VFR700F2H

Thanks - will remember for next time, for sure.

I've been going at this a little on the erratic side, I know. Some of that is my personality and some because it's my first time doing it and some of it is because I don't have a nice dedicated work area...something I hope to resolve by end of this coming Winter.

Getting the lift table was a real game changer and when I get my work space better organized it will be another.

But I digress....

I did get the o-rings out by the exact method you described. I don't think I could have slept tonight without getting that done...lol....

Also found some replacement o-rings for the air tubes in an All Balls carb kit - yah! The fuel tube o-rings came from Joe. So the tubes are all clean and have new rings.

I should be ready to re-assemble tomorrow. Still need to go through a few things and re-acquaint myself with the sequence. I took some notes during disassembly.

Looked at all 3 of my books and none of them did a very good job explaining how to do this job, IMHO. If someone wanted to, they could really put together a nice little tutorial.

One reference which would help would be exactly what things to blow/clear out with your carb cleaner and in what sequence....and have photos showing where to stick the spray tube and where the spray should come out of. For someone who does these on a regular basis it wouldn't be hard at all to put something like that together.

Think of all the people around the world who need to do this job......and don't even attempt it because they don't have the confidence to do it right.

Like so many other tasks, eh?

Appreciate all the help, Capt....will post more updates soon!

 

BTW.....my cat, who has VERY good hearing......HATES that Ultrasonic Cleaner. Every time I turn it on she bolts!

 

I have. So many times. In so many threads.

 

I will look. Thanks!

 

You can get this little handy book from Mike Nixon ( The motorcycle project )




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Do you own this book....and if so how is it different than what we see in the FSM, Haynes, and Clymer?

I've also used the very comprehensive tutorials on Joe Nelson's V4 Dreams website, which have been more helpful than the above 3 reference books.

Joe told me he has plans to put together a much more comprehensive guide, when he gets the time. I look forward to that!

Thanks Six!

 

I do t own that book.. I have the CBX book by Mike. Very comprehensive, great pics and easy to follow.
I will be ordering the V4 book today.


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OK thanks - having better photos ALONE, would be a huge factor for me!

I'm on a very tight budget right now, so even $50 I have to give some thought to. Plus I'm so disgusted by the books I already have that I paid good money for - left a bad taste in my mouth, I guess.....

Please post again after this one arrives and share your thoughts for me/us...thanks, Six!

 

Been working on the fuel tank along with the carb work. Hit some spots on the bottom with Evaporust today.....that stuff is amazing! Afterwards I will spray some rusty metal primer on these areas. Then the Blue factory where it shows and something close to the factory Blue where it doesn't.

 

Good afternoon all.....

OK got the carbs back together with the new tube o-rings. Things all fit together without any issues. Had to work on the routing of the tubes and hoses a bit but finally got it figured out. Also accidentally left the choke rod out of it's bracket so had to take #1 off and then back on. That was a dumb mistake to make....lol.

No matter how much you make a sketch or take photos....it still boils down to working the Rubiks Cube!

Next one will be easier, for sure.

Now it's up to getting all the other stuff back together.....hopefully it will be all downhill from here.....

 

Oops...just realized I forgot to put the washer and spring on that rod....drat.......

Edit - also forgot the ENTIRE choke rod on the other side....so took #4 back off to get that one in!

All went OK though - I'm stoked!!!

This job wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Can't wait to do the next one - which will be the Red-wheeled Carolina '86 bike!

Those little cotter pins....also learned I need to get some of those next time beforehand - in fact maybe just some hitch pins would suffice.

 

Happy Friday!

Ended up finishing the carbs last night. Will share some thoughts later.

Somehow, I'm missing the little spring 16052-KG4-003 that goes under the throttle rod plate for #4, but I can "borrow" one off the carbs for the Yellow bike until I can replace with a new one.

I have not done a leak test yet but will today.

Speaking of the Yellow bike, now that I know how to do this job, I will tackle the Yellow bike's carbs next. I already applied a degreaser on them this morning.

When I was putting the pilot screws in, I had another one that stopped turning due to the head coming loose. This was last night, so I gave it the JB Weld treatment, but this morning as I was putting it in, the weld didn't take, so for now I have the head off and just used the small slotted end to adjust. I have them all adjusted 2 3/8 turns out.

Oh - funny thing is when looking at the Yellow bike's carbs....every one of the pilot screws is without that "limiter cap".

Here are the rebuilt carbs next to a set (on the left) I had purchased outright from Joe at V4 Dreams earlier this year. It really helped to have a complete set handy as a reference. Especially since the reference books' photos are so crappy!

 

Nice.

Before I discovered you can just swap float bowl locations to defeat the tabs, I used to grind/file the tabs off of the screw caps. Well, I got one hot enough that the factory epoxy released and that's when I learned they had tiny flat blade slots under the caps.

 

Copy that. Get the right long handled flat blade screwdriver to use on them - and Bob's your uncle!

And I did swap two of my float bowls this morning so I could get it screwed in. Then the top came loose so I said whatever.

I have more to learn but it sure feels good at the moment after getting these done! Stoked!

 

I also think with the little tiny slots and the location down inside the carb bodies......these are better removed AFTER the carbs are separated and removed, which is what I will do.

Note - I'm working on a set that have sat for a while and the screws have gunk in the threads making them harder to turn. On a newer better conditioned set it would be different.

 

Started on the Yellow bike carbs. All going good except....can't get the throttles to work. Looks like the throttle plates are stuck to the inlet.

I treated them with a penetrate. I wonder if an ultrasonic treatment would help free them up?

 

OK - I'm about to soak these carbs in my Ultra Sonic machine. 60 deg. C for 30 minutes with a 50% Simple Green solution. If that doesn't work I'll move on to Lacquer thinner.

I did some more work on the fuel tank yesterday addressing some small rust areas - mostly on the underside. Evaporust, wire brush, wipe down with acetone, then rust reformer spray. I also used a small paint brush on smaller areas I didn't want to spray.

Disregard the brighter blue area - wrong shade of blue. Will pick something closer in color up this week. This is only for the underside so no need to have exact match, but will get as close as I can. This rust reformer spray paint is wonderful!

 

Good news.....after doing the first 2 carbs, I can now move the throttle/plates. One moves easy enough by hand - the other i still need pliers to move. I've applied some lube on the shafts the best I can so will let them sit for a while. Guess it's possible the carbs will not be re-useable due to this issue but will continue to try and free them up more.

This is for the carbs from the Yellow bike - not the ones I just did for the Blue bike, in case there's some confusion....

 

Second pair of carbs out - throttles working MUCH better and even snapping back on their own!

So I'm going to give the first pair another 30 minutes and see if that helps.

Amazing.......

 

Happy Sunday!

Still working on getting the throttles working better. Even after another round in the U/S Cleaner, #2 is still very hard to turn and the others not snapping back as well as I'd like.

Was thinking they needed to soak in something that would work at the gummed up residue inside the throttle shafts and remembered I had a container of the Berryman Chem-dip, so this morning am dipping them in that 1 carb at a time.

After doing the first one, about a 2 hour soak, and working the throttle back and forth repeatedly - maybe about 30 times - it FINALLY freed up and is working perfectly!

So I have #2 in there right now and will pull it out later today and see if it helps on that one. Stay tuned.....