vf1000f red/white

[trabbart]

just picked up today, bought for only 650 :o ;D ,wich is a steal anyway. 8)
idles verry quit with no rattle at all, starts up easy , all original locks, just needs to install original blinkers and front reflectors witch are included ;D ;D, spare tank and cowls included to make it completely mat black , but i keep it as stock as possible with a slight personal touch.
i replaced the 750 seat with a 1100 seat with new red cover.
tomorrow i will try a testrun on the street when i have done some first tlc.
maby it will needs more than an oil change to get it reliable, but its a runner that is for sure.
i definitly need an other aftermarket exhaust dampner , this one is completely empty and sounds awfull loud and hollow. i am not going back to a 4 in 2 , that might be to expencive for now.
need to know what can will fit?? any advise on that would be great.

like to see bigger pics? look at the link http://trabbart.imgur.com/all/

[trabbart]

today i have done some tlc,it was needed hard, unless, the bike runs great, i first put the oil @ level t be sure it is getting oil,it needed 1liter oil to get it top level !!!
it runs great, cooling works but a little high when stuck in traffic. shifs perfect, not one missing gear.

then, when running a few blocks like i am trying to win i used 300ml enginecleaner with the oil,
then i removed the coollingfluid (the old fluid was brown like varnish )
i used a hose untill clear water came out, it was clean!!!
i also put frech water and 300ml radiator cleaner in the radiator,

i have been riding for 20 min kept it @ high rpm’s decelerating a lot and accelerating a lot.
then i removed the cleaner mix out of the cooling system, ,

look wat came out, remember the hose water + radiator cleaner was cristal clear !

i rinced again with fresh water until it came out clean, , used A LOT of water.
filled up the system with a 50% mix for the future
give it a quick run around the block to get it hot again and everything was nice, didnt go that far as the first time,

then i removed the oil, never seen oil as black as this ,remember the cleaner i used . its hard to see but it was black like hell.

i also removed the oil filter ,look how rusty, it must be 10 years old i guess.

i didnd find any metal flakes or anything strange, and the bike was runnnig really great. but as you can see the previous owner didnt take good care of it.
my guess is that he bought it in 2012 and runned it with a new tire and fresh oil and never did anything else. the good thing is he only used it for maby 3 to 5000 miles as i can see at his tire. he also didnt take any corners. tire is flat in the middle.

next is forks, and brakes, brakes are a little to spongy . i am going to order steel brakelines,
engine sounds like new, not one ticking valve or rattling clutch, the odo seems to be telling the truth,

[imezei07]

Hi,

great to hear what you did and that your bike got some care finally

I am a few months behind you but having the same steps behind / in front of me…

My bike needs also some nice words…and some repairs 8)

It was not running for 10 years and a few days ago with new spark plugs, new carb sealings, etc… I could turn it on! That was a great moment but still a way to go.

I have two questions:

1. Motor cleaning
   You wrote that you added some kind of engine cleaning liquid to the oil? Did I understand well? I never did something like that. Could you give me a tip please? I would do the same to make sure the before I change the filter and the oil, the engine will be cleaned a bit with the old oil.

2. Cooling liquid change:
   I do not see any liquid in the plastic tank behind…just some brown stuff. Only a little. I guess I need to clean the system. How would you proceed? Any tipps?
   I saw on the picture that you removed the pipe under to let the liquid out. I also know that there are 2 bolts at the front cylinders and at the water pump to let the cooling liquid out. Should I just let it out? …after how can I “wash it” with water? Where and how should I put the water in to let it throught the system and clean it?

I appreciate your tipps and ideas!

…after I will have to check the front forks and sealings. If you made already a check or service on it, I am interested

Thx a lot and greetings!

Istvan

[VF1000Fe]

Always good to hear there is another VF1000 Fanatic out there.

Remove the plastic overflow bottle and wash out, with solvent, then with Muriatic Acid (CLR or equivalent).
Use a paint brush to “paint” the plastic bottle with Armorall, or similar protectant.
Actually, clean ALL bike unpainted plastic and paint with Armorall.
This motor will Rust internally badly, and has probably happened.
Disconnect 2 Thermostat Intake hoses, remove Chrome rad pipe (from water pump up to motor), remove 2 lower cylinder drain bolts, and run the garden hose into Intake,… wash the rust out (and not into thermostat).
Remove upper aluminum rad and check for Rust Flakes jam’d on Intake (left) side;

Or you’ll wonder why its overheating.

Rad Fluid is drained from 5 places, get All those bolts out.
Reassemble hoses and run garden hose into top rad filler, let it spill out everywhere (messy).
Start bike up, while still running garden hose water, let it run all over.
Put all 5 bolts back in and add Rad Flush Chemical (follow bottle instructions) and water.
Run it hot, even take it for a short ride.
Dump it and do it again (1 bottle good for 2 motorcycle flushes).
After 2nd dump, put garden hose back in (Full ON) and flush all out.
Run motor while still filling water while dumping, long time.
NO Flush Chemical allowed left.
Fill with quality rad fluid (5year/250,000km) at 50%.
Replace Rad Cap with new (just do it).
Trim 5mm off of all small black rubber overflow hoses (to plastic overflow bottle).
Old hoses will leak air in during cool down suck. air will build up under rad cap.

This radiator system is overly complicated and prone to problems.
I recommend taking everything OFF and clean/check/refurb ALL rad parts.
The rad pump is no longer available, be nice to it.

[imezei07]

Hi!

Thx a lot for your detailed description and your help!

Tomorrow I will have a look at my bike and visually check all parts to make sure that I understood everything well, before starting the process. Actually we got 0 degrees and some snow outside so I will have to proceed all steps in the garage. Should be fine I guess.
Anyway, in the Xmas holiday I may have more time

I come back with the news how it worked / or my questions in case of

Thx a lot!

[VF1000Fe]

You might want to remove the Thermostat during flushing, or you won’t get much water thru the rads.
Replace the squashed O-Ring there;
https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/honda/motorcycle/1984/vf1000f-a-1000-interceptor/water-pipe-thermostat
Get it from a Seal Shop rather than Honda.
You can leave it out if you got for a short Flush Ride.

The O-Ring on the Water Pump is NOT available and unique.
If its not leaking, leave it alone.

[imezei07]

Thx again!

I am looking for a new rad cap, but do not find any new on the net for the VF 1000 f…
Do you know which size should it be (42 or 45 mm?, 0,9 bar or more?)? …than I may find one which fits but not a VF 1000 spec…

[trabbart]

as i read all the above info , i have to redo this procedure,
i didnt take out the bolts or the thermostate, i just kept the hose running and also did the engine running when flushing. after winter i will check fluid color and redo the flushing.
water pump sounds a little wistling at lower rpm
can this pump be serviced??
the engine cleaning is something i never did before. all i can say is that it took out some nasty stuff . the oil with the engine flush that came out was the blackest i have ever seen on any vehicle . did it some good ? i dont know, did it some bad? i dont know. i did it to prevent sticking rings and oil consuming. maby this helped, maby not?
the bike does not use oil like i have with my fzr1000 .

i have 5 different bikes and the vf1000f is the one i love the most for city riding. it has enough power to pull a wheelie and torque is everywhere.
the best upgrade i did for handling where new tires, at first with the old tires i was disapointed, it felt like the rear was bending in corners and lost feeling and grip. ,it was just ,old tires

another little problem is a sticking starter button, starter didnt disengage once and smoke came out the starter when i noticed it. i think that did some damaging to the starter who does not have a lot of power . but the bike starts very easy so i keep my spare starter until the old one fails completely. i will put a new starter button in the cockpit and overrun the old one to prevent the starter from sticking/running with the engine @ high rpm. nothing wrong wit the starter system, its just the button who is sticking , have to push and pull it back. checking /lube it didnt help.
otherwise a great great bike. i will keep it in good shape and use it . unfortunately parts are almost imposible to find.

[jeremyr62]

Don’t think it is really necessary to take the bolts out of the block, if you have flushed it out. Make sure the rads are clear though. These bikes all seem to run ferociously hot (although I am limited to experience to the 500 so maybe the multiple rads on the bigger bikes helps).

[VF1000Fe]

I took the old Rad Cap to a Auto Supply Shop and got a Subaru rad cap, same size, that is set for 0.9bar, was cheap.
If you have 2 bikes you have another pump to compare.

Trim these hoses back .5cm

Some thermostats open better than others;

I got a themostat from somewhere (not Honda),… was cheaper, but I can’t rember what it was.
Its a unique small size, hard to find.
I’ll look, maybe I kept the number somewhere.

The old rubber gets hard, cracks, and leaks;

Yes, I find this bike heats up fast, so I pull all the drain bolts out, and gush water thru everywhere.
After you’ve done a 7000km trip to California with a plug’d (overheating) rad, you’ll not leave anything to chance again.
I may wire a relay in that makes the 2 lower rad fans run in series ALL the time, then switches to Parallel (normal ON) when hot.
I’ve wired in a Manual Rad Fan Switch on the dash.

I’ve also installed a Fan on the upper rad;

Its power’d from the Low Beam circuit.

[imezei07]

All is clear for the moment! Thx a lot for the detailed description and the photos!
They gonna help me a lot.

The meteo will be a bit more favorable (at least 7 degrees) on Wednesday or Thursday so I will start to work on in a few days…

I bought a rad cleaning liquid which should arrive in two days also, so I might be prepared if I find a cap. If not, I will change that later on the WE.

Keep U guys informed how it happened.

Thx a lot!!! 8)

[Marmite]

Looking at what you’ve found there Trabbart I would definitely drop the sump and check the oil strainer situated in the pan.

Marmite