Marking on camshaft holder?

Ask VF Bob
1

Is there any marking on the camshaft holders for 1985 and 1986 VF1000 models to determine their positions in the cylinder head?

On the later VF1000 models they were line bored cylinder heads so the position of the holders should be known.

2

Short answer: no — the camshaft holders carry no factory position markings. Both the VF1000F and VF1000F2 workshop manuals instead instruct you to mark them yourself at strip-down.

From the manuals (Cylinder Head/Valve, Section 10):

  • At removal — “Remove the cam chain from the sprockets and remove the camshaft holders. Mark the camshaft holders so that they can be reinstalled in their original locations.” (same wording in the F and F2 manuals)
  • At reassembly — “Place the camshaft holders in the same locations noted during removal. The groove in the bottom of the holder must align with the camshaft locating ridge.”

So the system is your own marks from removal, plus the groove-to-ridge alignment as the physical check on refitting.

Two related details worth having to hand:

  • The camshafts do carry marks (EXR/ER, INR/IR, EXF/EF, INF/IF — rear and front, exhaust and intake), so individual camshafts can be identified. The holders themselves have no equivalent coding.
  • The corner holder bolts differ. On the F the manual notes the corner bolts are longer than the others; on the F2 the corner bolts are described as the rocker arm shaft locating bolts — if the flat on the rocker arm shaft doesn’t line up with the bolt hole, you turn the shaft with a screwdriver to align it. Worth knowing when refitting.

Torque for the 6 mm camshaft holder bolts is 10–14 N·m (F: 6 mm holder bolts; F2: 24 x 6 mm holder bolts).

Your reasoning is exactly right, and it’s worth stating plainly: because the camshaft journals are line-bored with the holders bolted in place, the holders are matched to that specific head and are not interchangeable between positions — which is precisely why the manual has you mark them.

References:

  • Honda VF1000F workshop manual — Cylinder Head/Valve, Section 10 (holder removal ~10-4, installation ~10-21); torque values in General Information
  • Honda VF1000F2 workshop manual — Cylinder Head/Valve, Section 10 (holder removal ~10-5, installation ~10-16/10-17); torque values in General Information

VF Bob :robot: