Hey all, I am new to the site but have always loved the look of the interceptors. I have never owned one but did have a v4 years ago…1983 v45 magna. I am looking at a 1985 vf1000f interceptor and had a few questions. I have been told that the v4’s had issues with soft cams, with not enough oil reaching the top of the motor where the cams are located…needing an oil mod. Also, some issue with second gear going on them. Is there any truth to these issues? Are there any other common issues with these bikes that may need to be addressed? I am thinking about the potential costs of fixing any issues with what I may offer on the bike.
Thanks,
Tim
Welcome to the forum Tim.
The “chocolate cams” were renowned for being worse in the earlier engine, 750’s being the worst and 1000 with the narrow cylinder heads, the later wide cylinder heads (1985 on) were not only line bored cam journals, but also different to the early models in cam design with journals drilled in the lobes, larger oil supply lines, a restricted oil line bolt to direct more oil to the heads etc.
That is not to say for a moment that it could not have worn cams, just that they were less likely to fail than the early models.
Could it benefit from an oil mod? Absolutely!!
How many kms/miles does it have? If the mileage is sensible, and it has been serviced reasonably well, you may be ok but there is really only one way to tell, crack it open and have a look. The seller may not want to do this however, so listen for any knocking/tapping, there should be none as these motors when in good condition are very quiet mechanically, ignore the exhaust, I mean the engine itself.
Gearbox issues will present as a jumping sensation under heavy load, a bit like a chain jumping teeth. Check all gears.
I have a 1985 VF1000FF that has 73,000 kms and it appears to have had the cams changed from what I can tell, since the hollow through the centre of the cams is blocked by welsh plugs which I believe to be a factory update that my model should not have had from new.
If this info is incorrect, I am sure other more informed members will chime in to correct me.
There is some great info here, and the activity can be a little slow here at times, but it’s full of great people who are happy to help and share information.
Hope this helps, Tony
Thanks for the info. The one I am looking at has around 47k kms. It looks to be in good shape, but as you said, I will not know until I have a chance to listen to it run. It sounds like the oil mod is not an insane mechanical upgrade…can a person with little to a little more than a little mechanical knowledge do the mod?
Tim
My VF1000F/g has 140 000 km on the clock, never been opened,always tenderly pampered but I take full revs when needed and she burns some oil at 100mph on the motorway (I must confess, I’m a geriatric hooligan)…
The cam lobes are nearly free of pitting as are those of my other VF1000 and none of them has any gearbox failure :
You can ask Crooky for an oil mod anyway!
I think you will find nearly anyone can fit the oil mod, unless of course you are unaware of metric shifting spanners and left handed screw drivers? 8)
