Bol d'Or back on the road!

Yay - happy to report that my VF1000F-II Bol d’Or sailed through MOT this morning - really pleased!

Slightly embarrassed though:

This MOT: 04/07/15 - 43700 miles

Last MOT: 04/08/07 - 43653 miles…

47 miles in 8 years - and 20 of that to and from MOT!

Must try harder! :slight_smile:

Gratuitous snap:

Iain

hi lain
welcome back, there must be something in the air, just mot’ed my fe this morning too.
the bold’or looks great.

Cheers Pete - it’s great to be back!

After a few miles today everything seems to be working as it should - apart from the starter motor. Will need to sort/replace before I take her out again…

Iain

Good choice of motorcycles Iain.

Ohhhhh,Gamma 500 on the bike list,very nice.

hi lain,

those vf starter motors >:(, you may just get away with cleaning it, but if you don’t these have become very popular among vf’ers, [ebay]301585416271[/ebay] i have one on each of my vf’s and they work a treat… and at about £56 delivered to your door including all import duties, they are as cheap as chips…

Cheers Pete - I’ve been studying the other threads on this - looks like I’ll get one even if the one I have perks up with cleaning/brushes. No problems with these on the 1000s then? I read somewhere the splined shaft was a little shorter?

Took the starter off the Bol today - but couldn’t get the length-wise bolts undone - seized at the ends - so have taken into the bike shop in Witney where they’re hoping to take apart tomorrow and check over for me. I like old-fashioned bike shops :slight_smile:

Anyhow - was really great to be back on the VF on Saturday:

[ul][li]Young lad working the till in the garage ‘That looks a nice bike - is it new? Not seen one of those before’[/li]

[li]Guy on a Honda VFR came up alongside on the main road @ 50 ish - looked the bike up and down and gave me thumbs up![/li][/ul]

Getting the impression that VFs may becoming ‘exotic’ all of a sudden! :wink:

Have fun!

Iain

hi lain,

as you say, the vf750 starter motor has a slightly shorter shaft, i haven’t had any problems with it, the french vf’ers have been using them a few years now with no issues, I slotted the 2 mounting holes on the starter which allowed it so slide in a couple of mills further so it runs on about three quarters of the ring gear, they certainly turn the motor over quickly.

Thanks Pete - I’ll get one ordered in next month, or two.

Got mine back from the bike shop today - they hadn’t had time to disassemble/check/test - but had been able to free the screws with the application of some heat. So decided I’d take a look myself and exchanged a fiver for their time freeing her off.

Stripped it and found front and rear sections with a fair amount of dust which was cleaned out. Brushes fine - lots of meat - but cleaned off the surfaces.

Commutator cleaned with fine sanding sticks (I’m a model maker - so have lots of useful stuff kicking about) and everything carefully re-assembled - with a little grease on the back end of the shaft - and fresh oil on the needle roller bearing/oil seal at the front.

Tested on battery - and she ran - so all assembled back on bike - along with fresh oil and coolant change.

Happy to report she now starts better than she’s ever done - and didn’t bat an eyelid at starting from hot.

Will leave fairing lowers off until the weekend so I can monitor things - and take her for a check-ride on Thursday.

Actually good fun this spannering lark - and great sense of achievement. :slight_smile:

Iain

Well done Iain, that’s exactly what I did with mine with the same results. Ditto the fun bit…

Marmite

Well - nearly a month back on the road - not been able to ride much - but she’s definately bringing a smile to my face!

Having been off the road for 7 years I’m still building confidence in her reliability - so taking her out further and further each time I ride. A few minor leaks - but nothing major - and all sorted now I think. Starter is working superbly - hot as well as cold!

Friday weather was looking good - so I was even brave enough to take her to work - almost 50 miles each way - and she ran beautifully.

Little concerned re. fuel useage - just filled her again and just over 16 litres for last 140 odd miles - which equates to around 39 MPG - which is probably around where she should be.

Was going to strip and clean carbs as she was running a little rough at tickover and not completely smooth through rev range - but a couple of fills of Shell premium (whatever it’s called this week) and some redex seems to have worked wonders.

Now encouraged to get back on some of the other projects!

Iain

shame you didn’t frame the bol completely in that last pic, it would have been a super cool photo, don’t you like the back end of the bike LOL :o

Here’s better version :slight_smile:

Iain

how do you fasten the fairing halves to the Front piece? I cant get it back on the bike if I put it all together first and cant see how to fasten the front on if you put the sides on first . Please help someone ???