VF1000R 1985 not starting

Hi my VF1000r 1985 was bought brand new and now has something over 11.000 km, so its almost brand new. It was working perfectly until 2 years ago. The bike was not revving higher than 5000 rpm and the problem was that the gaskets had melted and so i changed them and everything was fine. About a month later the bike would not start or it would start after almost depleting the battery. After some time i thought it was the battery so i got an odyssey for 250 euros. The bike started easier than last time and as i ride in the street it just shut off and would not turn on again. So its not the battery. Also i think that some cylinders are not working right. Do you have any idea what could the problem be? Also its not running on race fuel or 100 cause thats what melted the gaskets so now its 95 unleaded. I really need help with this. thanks for reading Feel free to ask any questions about the bike.

Hi Fedon,
I am sure that there will be other forum members who will add their comments but my advice comes from years of owning classic motos and a recent complete overhaul of my '85 Vf1000.

As your mileage is low, that means thast by definition your VF must have spent alot of its time standing idle!? The reality is that the components of your VF are at least 33 years old and although Honda products are made of excellent quality materials, they cannot be expected to last forever!

My advice would be to carryout a full review of all potentcially perishable parts on your VF and pay close attention to common VF problems;

Full Carburetter strip down, check all gaskets, fuel intake needles, seats and micro filters, rubber diaphrams and carry out a sonic clean, once reassembled with new parts as needed then carry out a carb balance, (synchronisation)

Check fuel pipes, filter, pump and pump relay. Clean the fuel tank interior and check fuel filters in the fuel tap. Unless poor quality seals and gaskets are used, there is no reason why any petrol itself will cause gaskets to melt!! 95 ron fuel is NOT good for old motorcles as it is 10% ethanol and ethanol definately does kill gaskets and also overtime can cause blokages in the fuel system!! So please use 98 Octane fuel! (it has no nasty ethanol in it!)

Check coils, HT leads and spark plugs, CDi box (or boxes on some older models) and lastly CDI pickup sensors.

All of the items I have listed can be done by most enthusiatsts, barring the sonic clean! There is a library of information on this Forum alone, which will really help if you are unsure about some things!!

Best of luck, and trust me, the VF is not as difficult to work on as some people would have you believe!!

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Yes Chris . Well put across ! as i have just completed all the steps you have mentioned . Lots of work . I found it a challenge but very rewarding . Regards Malcolm