Getting ahead of the issues

Hey guys. Getting ready to start working on my 84 VF1000F (US model) and I want to know what issues to get ahead of when putting it back together. I know very little about the bike as far as what’s been done to it or what kind of life it’s lived, other than its got ~50,000 miles (~80,000km) on it. This bike will be my daily rider.

I live in the US in an area where temperatures are regularly 100°F-115°F (37°C-46°C) for about half the year and I’ll be around 1500 feet above sea level. Are these bikes prone to overheating? What parts will be due for replacement or adjustment around its current mileage?

The plan as of now is to replace the cracked ignition coils, deep clean the carbs, and rebuild fork seals, all brake components, as well as the clutch master and slave cylinders.

Also would like to know what upgrades are a must-have for this bike to be a fun reliable daily.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of VF1000s.
First off these bikes do get hot,most of us have swapped the thermo switch on the top rad for a 96 degree one(std is 108)
Plenty available on eBay or the like,two terminal with an M16 thread.
Worth checking out the fans do cut in when the two terminals are connected.
Carbs are a pain and the e10 fuel we are getting causes no end of problems,I try to use e5 when available.
Be meticulous with the carbs,strip and clean individually so as not to interchange parts.
Best mod for your money is a replacement rear shock.YSS are at the budget end but I would rate it over a Hagon and is a massive improvement on the 40year old original.
Hope this is of some use,keep us posted on your progress
Regards Bif

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Awesome, thanks for the tips. One of the mods I’m looking into is COP’s. I found a guy on the V4MB forum that makes plug and play kits, but it looks like the fans will not clear the coils, I’ve seen on this forum that you can go down to a single or two slim fans, any recommendations on the route to go with that?

Cop coils are fine on the rear cylinders but as you say not on the front due to the fan cowls.
I am working on fitting two spal fans which would leave room for cop coils.I will post some pics up once I’m done

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Those temperatures sound rough, might want to check coolant condition too.

Yup, all fluids will be replaced on this bike :slight_smile:

From Aus with temp similar for some of the year, cooling a VF will be a potential issue. In stop go conditions they heat up no matter how good you’re coolant and when fans kick in.
Consider fitting a manual fan switch so you can pre emptively deploy fans when you get into slow traffic conditions. Turning fans on earlier really helps keep bike cooler.
If you wait for the fans to kick in, and have limited airflow the the rads you’re likely to overheat. Once they get hot it takes airflow, or time to cool down.