Hello again… as most of you know my vf1000r has been garaged bound for 30 years… after a full service and a carb refurbishment, new batt etc… I have noticed its not a great starter in the cold weather… its not been started for about 6 weeks and it 0 degrees… I just managed to start it today just before batt went flat… choke only… after that it starts lovely… oh there’s quite a lot of idel fluctuation when it ticks over… again any idea’s anyone. Thankyou Sean.
Idle fluctuation sounds like you may have an air leak…poor ignition coils/plugs or valve clearances. Has a cabie balance been done…?? The VF’s are very susceptible to poor ignition, carbie setup/tuning and incorrect valve clearances. Mine was hard to start when I first got it and I found the coils were all split, plug leads were not well and plugs needed replacement…she now starts on the button hot or cold. I have refurbished the carbs and fitted a “Factory-Pro” jet kit and new “high output” coils, new leads and plugs and redone the valve clearances to 0.005"…this helps a lot and she now runs as good or better than I remember when the old VF bikes were new. Well worth the time & effort to get them right, they run smoother and are less prone to overheating if everything is “just so”…riding my old RE is now a enjoyable pleasure rather than worrying about if she’s going to make it home without playing up.
Smithy.
Hello… It’s had new plugs and a carb balance., its had a new set of insulators on the carbs as well. they seem to be okay and the clips are nice and tight… It seemed to rev up to about 2500 Then I had to adjust the idle screw down to level it off… I’ll check the coils and leads tonight… The bikes only done 12,000 miles do you think the clearance will need adjusting? Thanks for the smithy 
top man. Sean.
The bike is 40+ years old…a valve clearance check won’t hurt. Mine only has 27k km or 16,777 miles. I’m not the first owner though and during my initial inspection/checks/servicing, my valve clearances were all over the place…some too tight, some too loose etc, surprisingly, my cams and rockers were in decent condition… My coils were both split and looked like a fireworks display when I started the engine in the dark…had sparks jumping all over the place, leads were all stiff, cracked and crazed and were leaking sparks from everywhere. New high output 3ohm coils, silicone leads, plug caps and fresh plugs sorted that. She now idles smoothly and throttle is crisp. Check the carb diaphragms for splits or small holes, they’re quite thin and 40 years can take their toll, also check the tiny vent holes in the carb bodies which go through to the top diaphragm chamber…any blockages in those will cause grief.
Smithy.
Thanks for the advice smithy.
Can you let me know were you got those coils and leads from they look great 
Sean
I did another thread for my “restore” job…
The coils are from “Tri Spark” here in Australia.
I made my own leads and plug caps and leads are from fleabay…took me ages to find exactly what I was after.
Smithy.
The bike looks awesome smithy thanks