well, where to start, after reading a post in the for sale section of the forum by vfntv, in which he was selling off his last few vf spares i decided i would buy a set of forks and a petrol pump from him, anyway as usual things didn’t go to plan and i ended up coming away with a car full of vf stuff including this ff frame and engine.
At that point i had no plans of what i was going to do with it, but i couldn’t refuse it at the price, when i got the engine home and had a look round it i was pretty pleased, the cams are in excellent condition, the compression is reading a little low but even across all cylinders, i would say the sump hasn’t been off since manufacture, the oil strainer was clean, and no debris in the sump other than a thin layer of sludge.
So the basic plan is to rebuild it, but with FE bodywork, front wheel and swingarm, the rest will be mainly FF stuff.
hi martiin,
yes being a builder i always have a ready supply of bricks available, i find them quite a universal product, i have been known to use them as a hammer at times :o…
anyway, im looking for a bit of advice on main jet sizes for the FF, ive just started cleaning the carbs out and have noticed that all the main jets are 110 size, its a 87/88 UK bike, the carbs that come with it have the serial number 86AWYD, the workshop manual i have says they should be 115 and 118, but that’s assuming these are the correct carbs for the bike, any help would be greatly appreciated
managed to get a few things done, the frame came back from “Triple S powder coating” as usual a top class job. Gave the engine a clean up and touched up some flaking paint at the front, still some to do, the water pump looks like its been leaking at some point so will prob have to look around on ebay for a replacement, the old steel oil lines have had a solder repair on them, so its the dust bin for them, i have a few spare one’s until i save up some wonga for a top end kit. Yokes, forks and center stand next.
a few more bits on, decided to go with cbr600 wheels, the swingarm and rear wheel are only on temporary untill i can decide how much the sprocket carrier needs machining, looks like about 5mm off the clamping plate and maybe 1mm off the left hand spacer, but need to double check…
Haven’t decided on the rear brake set up yet, i would have liked a 276mm disc with the 4 hole pattern to fit the 600f wheel, done a few searches but cant seem to find anything, (one of the honda African twins has 276mm x 4 hole, but i think the spacings are different, sods law) so it may have to be the cbr600 set up…
hi fred,
thanks, that sounds like an interesting project, i fancied having a “R” engined bike, or maybe a full vf1000r for a project, but they only seem to come up for sale when i have no money.
I already have the R, a SC20 engined one, the VF1000F II frame, the VFR 800 S/A and rear wheel. I need a CBR1000RR front fork and wheel and the body work but a friend of mine who’s a true artist agreed to make me an alloy petrol tank and another friend, a carbon spécialist, will make the front fairing and rear tail. I expect I’ll have some time left to work on it in september as I have decided to retire… 8)
But,right now, I’ve some problems with my other R, a SC16E, which keeps overheating. I’ll investigate next week end!
your bike is getting there Pete my frame as just gone off to be coated took the sump pan off my engine today and strainer was 50% blocked with orange hylomar and silicone sealer from over enthusiastic gasket sealing idiot and also found a small metal pin about 4mm in length and 1.5 mm in diameter so engine now being pulled down to nothing and rebuild. Fred,s project sounds interesting and very envious over the 1000r would love one some time but fast becoming very collectable and when I have finished this one just want to ride it for a while before getting another project will try to get mine together for the meet but will depend on picking the other bike up and using some parts off that including the engine for now
hi fred,
i think that’s the best way to do it, start collecting the pieces before you start any work, i started another vf project a while ago, fitted a R6 braced swingarm, late model cbr1000f wheels, and redesigned the suspension mount’s … ive shelved that project for now as i lost direction… every time i went on ebay i saw something that would fit better…
paul,
one day someone will find a set of false teeth in there sump ;D,… I’ve often wondered where all that gasket seal comes from, i use it very, very, very sparingly and yet after rebuilding both my original and spare engines last year, when i removed the sump after about 500miles running in time, there was plenty in the oil strainer.
I had wondered when fastening both crank case halves together whether it was necessary to put gasket sealer on the internal compartments and not just seal around the perimeter… food for thought if i ever delve inside one of these motors again
Hi Pete when I join the crankcases back together I will use weld seal which is the good old fashioned liquid gasket that rolls Royce once used it seals incrediblywell and is like a syrup any excess liquid will not fall off the crank cases and will stick to them once it as dried never to clog the oil strainer again it is only suitable for metal to metal surfaces but works bloody well guarantee no leaks
Nice one paul. i was just wondering about that. have stripped engine and when I got to the strainer couldnt believe the amout of lovely blue gasket cement sitting laughing at me. Kept scooping and scooping til it was clear. If I’d know how badly treated my engine had been I’d never have started it til I stripped it. Lesson - job number 1 is remove the oil pan and hold your breath till you see whats in it. VFs - a labour of love.
Hi Gerry yep only takes a couple of idiots over thirty years to bodge a engine and then it gets expensive the more I look at mine the worse it gets but I do like a challenge tomorrow evening will strip engine down to its component parts and see what I have go,t will let you know what I find or don’t find
Cheers Paul, look forward to hearing how you got on. bought an engine on ebay for bits a while back and the more the original acts up, the more I think about swapping it out. but first I’m stripping the replacement to bits to check it all thoroughly. Hope i dont need much more than calipers and feeler gauges to check the tolerances. let you know how i get on.
cheers martin, dijon in may, sounds good to me… i should have at least one vf running ;D
hi bif, yes the forks are ff tubes and early model cbr1000f sliders, i haven’t as yet made a decision on the mudguard, my thoughts were either the cbr1000f one and trim it up to look a little more modern/sporty or, i think the vfr750 front mudguards may have the same upper mounting points, to be honest i could do with getting my hands on a few mudguards to see what will fit, or can be made to fit.
P.S, if anyone knows what else will fit, i’m all ears
just replaced the old rotten rear pipe inlets on the collector box with new stainless ones, and yes before anyone says anything, my stainless to mild steel welding looks like rat poo…
