1984 VF1000FE Rebuild

[Fabnorman]

Hi All,

I never had a VF1000F back when they were current but got close a couple of times & something always got in the way, finally in 2012 I found one local to me which was in a bit of a sorry state so I bought it and put it away in a corner until I had time to restore it

After 10 years!! In 2022 I finally got around to getting it out & stripping it, almost immediately work got busy again & so I packed it away in box’s & there she’s sat until a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for something to tinker with over the winter & decided to get stuck back into it

The plan is a full rebuild to pretty much standard spec, no wheels or fork/swingarm swaps, a YSS damper, Red/white/blue repaint

I’m hoping to get it back to being useable & reliable so I can use it occasionally & maybe even use it for my annual Europe trip with my friends

Whilst it looks a bit sorry for itself & its done 30,000 miles its actually in fairly good condition & obviously not done loads of British winters, luckily compared to a lot of other bikes, used parts are seemingly pretty plentiful both here & on the continent and are relatively cheap so anything that is a bit past its best is available

Currently :

The frame is away at the sand blasters

I’ve plastic welded some repairs on the panels

I’ve had the inside of the petrol tank nickel plated to remove the rust & prevent any further rust problems

The website reckons they’re closed for the summer & not taking orders but luckily I’ve managed to contact AFEGraphics /CBdecals & organise a decal kit

Once the frame is back from the blasters I’ll get the downtube with the water pipe in it nickel plated to sort the rust & then get it painted

I’ve made a stand for engine & figure whilst it’s easy to get at everything I’ll do a top end refresh/rebuild & tidy up the black paint

I’ll remove the big casings & repaint them in gloss black including the rocker covers as they’re corroded & the brushed/lacquered finish is really difficult to replicate

I’ll also re-chrome the 2 water pipes off the engine & re-zinc plate the 2 smaller pipes & oil feed pipe along with any other zinc plated parts if needed

I think that’s all I’ve got for now, i can’t post any more pictures but I’ll post updates as it goes

[Fabnorman]

A quick update

I’ve got everything I’m going to paint blasted finally, just got to mask everything up & then i can drop it all off at the painters. Also got all the bodywork nearly ready for paint but I’ll do another post for that

[Fabnorman]

The decal kit arrived from AFE but as i want to spray paint all the graphics, I’ve scanned it, used some edge recognition software to convert it to CAD info so i can tidy it up & produce the files for the CNC vinyl cutter to cut the painting masks, hopefully i can get everything sorted & to the painters next week

[Smithy1]

Nice work…..Looking forward to seeing this finished….I quite like a nice FE..!

Smithy.

[Fabnorman]

Latest update :

Bodywork is all painted just needs lacquering :

[Fabnorman]

Unfortunately all 4 cams were pretty badly pitted so I’ve had to bite the very expensive bullet & buy a new set :

[Smithy1]

This is going to be one very nice VF1000FE, be sure to follow up with progress pics.

Are the rockers ok..?? If the cams are pitted, the rockers usually suffer too.

Smithy.

[Fabnorman]

Rockers have just about survived i think, there’s some slight visual marks on the faces but nothing you can feel so I’ll just give them a light rub with some 1200 paper

[Smithy1]

May I ask where you procured the new cams from..??

Smithy.

[Fabnorman]

I got the cams from CMSNL.com, seemingly they have quite a few in stock, big bucks unfortunately If you need the longer ones for an F2 then DDMoto in France have some and they’re a more reasonable price

[Smithy1]

Actually, I’d like a set for my “RE”….rare as rocking horse shite everywhere except CMSNL…$773AUD each plus shipping though..! The “FE” cams are only $440-$464AUD each.

Smithy.

[Fabnorman]

CMSNL are mint to be fair, the website is really good, prices are high enough but not a complete rip-off & they’ve got loads of stock. My neighbour at work builds racing car engines & he was saying that i could probably get the pitted cams hard surfaced, heat treated & re-ground for less than i paid for the new ones but as i explained to him, i ordered the genuine Honda cams on the Monday & they arrived on Thursday, no running around, no waiting until January, no uncertainty about the quality of the work etc, etc

[Smithy1]

I sourced a lot of my "RE restoration” parts from CMSNL, they’re a great resource for our old Hondas.

Smithy.

[Jovimill]

If you put the old hard chrome rockers back in with new soft cams they will destroy the new cams in quick time. The hard chroming on the rockers is one of the reasons that the soft cams are badly pitted in the first place. If you do have genuine Honda cams then they are the other reason why the cams get worn and pitted. Much better to wait for refurbished and hardened? cams and rockers than to have to replace them all again in a short period of time. This is not only my opinion, but you should also do some research on the net and this forum before putting genuine cams and old rockers together. Most good cam re-grinders will not guarantee their cams unless rockers are reground as well. Check out some of my older comments and site viewing suggestions on this issue. There are other theories on why VF cams get destroyed and pitted (like oil pressure, oil contaminants, oil filters etc. and they also may do damage but Hard Crome on soft cams makes more sense to me and others who have much more experience than me (just an old m/cycle mechanic). I currently have eight VF’s in various stages of build and condition (slowed down by a serious accident nine and a half years ago), and any motors that need cams will get refurbished cams and rockers when rebuilt. Worth a thought.

John

[Jovimill]

MMMmmm Don’t know why you would delete your reply to me but I can guess why. This forum is for like minded people with an interest in VF Honda’s. I was only trying to give you some information which is very important to owners of Vf1000’s. You are obviously not aware of the history of the VF1000’s and the problems they had. If you ask questions you will get many answers from other owners who have had previous experience in a number of problems. When you answer rudely, or give the impression that you know everything, then you probably will not get too many answers. Certainly not from myself anymore. Nobody knows everything about the VF’s so we tend to share as much information as we can. I certainly hope that your cams and rockers last as long as you think they will? I also hope that they are new improved cams and not old stock that could not be sold because they were faulty?? Do yourself a favour and look up an old motorcycle cycle Mechanic and Honda trainer who trained and advised most of the Honda dealers in the USA and also over the world you will find it interesting and certainly should learn something. His name is Mike Nixon and he has written lots of articles on Honda’s VF’s. I have worked on Honda M/cycles (and others) for over 50 years, but what would I know. Not as much as Mike Nixon that’s for sure. I hope that my reply does not come across as rude because I do not mean it to. You will not hear from me again.

Regards

[Fabnorman]

Blimey, forums

[speedygp]

Smithy, try Tighe Cams from Wacol Qld. Ive used them for years, they can do standard, race, or grind to your spec. Just checked, last set of R cams i had ground in late 2023 cost $564 plus freight.

[DonR]

Tighe Cams are no more. They’ve closed the business.

Waggott cams might be able to help.

[Fabnorman]

Latest progress update :

[speedygp]

Geez, thats a real shame that Tighe’s have closed down. I had got them to regrind standard and race cams over the years, always excellent work.

Never used Waggott’s , at least since they moved to the North Coast years ago?