I have a 1986 vf1000f f which has 75k on it. It is a bit of a shed but I think it could be resurrected for next year. I have the engine on the bench and wanted to check the valve clearances. Some were a bit loose around 0.25mm and some a bit tight around 0.1mm but not too bad and it wasn’t noisy when running in neutral. However there is pitting and some galling on some cam lobes particularly inlet on cylinders 1 and 2. Also the chrome plating on some of the followers is breaking up. A bit of research suggests that getting the followers ground, hard welded and reground is a good way to ensure the cams have the best chance of survival. One of the lobes may be too far gone, not sure. Does anyone know of a company in the UK that can do the hard welding and grinding of the cam followers? Also advice on if the lobes will be ok once the followers are sorted would be welcome. I might fit an oil mod while I’m at it but i think the single lobe operating 2 valves causing huge pressure on the oil film and the porosity in the lobes damaging the chrome on the followers, seems like a fair theory. I will attach photos of the issue when I work out how to do that!
These are the worst ones. Some look fine although might not be when I strip them out. I think even with modern oils these cam lobes are going to tear up quickly if I don’t do something. The 1st photo shows the worst lobe on inlet of cylinder 2. The last photo shows the eroded chrome on the follower that has caused the damage to the lobe.
Although i havent used him myself, Philip joy of joy engineering is the go to man for cam and rocker arms refurb, be warned though, hes generally very busy and has long waiting times..
I had a set done at s.e.p engineering in Nottingham about 8 years ago, I wouldn’t use them again.
Thanks VF Pete. I’ll give them a call and see what can be done. I’m not in a hurry but I won’t tell them that!
This is what I found some time ago relating to this topic:
v4 cams what really happened www.motorcycleproject.com
I have also some questions, but need to take a pic later for illustrating.
I read that same article above and thought it made sense so would like to have the followers hard welded or similar to create a hard face. However on my engine the rear cylinders are fine and the front cylinder’s followers and cam lobes are showing wear. Obviously both cylinders have seen the same mileage so perhaps there is a difference in the amount of oil supplied by the standard lines? Who knows but I think fitting the Dave Dodge type oil mod will rule out the lubrication issue and the oil filter sandwich plate seems to be cheap enough eg this one https://ebay.io/m/5JV7yu