Hello experts, I have a 1984 VF1000RE (Uk bike)
Does anybody know if this bike requires the oil feed modification to the room of engine to prevent cam issues as per the VF750F? I have read a couple of US articles: one says this bike is affected and the other says it is not as it has the later VFR oil ways.
My bike two owner, 37 years old, the previous (original) owner said there was a warranty claim in 1986 for new cams and followers, no other changes made to oil ways or oil feeds.
If you know my bike is impacted please could you provide some details??
Thanks for any help in this
N
I’d have thought that if there was going to be an issue with the cams, it would have manifested itself before now.
Top end oiling kits are like marmite sandwiches, you either love them or hate them, and to be honest the issues that affected the vf range, some models more than others, wernt all about oil feed,
Plus points are.
Less chance of sludge/swarf being pushed up yo your top end.
Negative points.
Potentially less oil fed through smaller bore hoses that come with the kit.(although some will disagree)
Potentially less oil being pushed to crank as the oiling kit draws from this feed…
I personally have one fitted to one of my vf’s, I haven’t noticed any difference, I wouldn’t fit one to any of my other vf’s.
From my view, Regular oil changes and correct valve clearances are the only and best thing you can do.
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Ditto Pete’s comments,there are plenty higher mileage bikes we know of that have never had the mod,no top end troubles either
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I had a 1983 vf750 back in 1990, it went brill 2 up all the way to Switzerland and back at a steady 85mph, got my wife and I back to east yorkshire without missing a beat, it then lost a cam within 20 mins of my next ride, I fixed it and part ex for a vfr 750.
A couple of years later after other bikes I bought a vf1000fe, loved it but worn out a cam on the way back from donnington races, fixed it and bought a kawa rx1000. many years and many bikes later I now have a very loved 1984 vf1000fe with 28000 miles on it, is very nice , very quiet and no sign (touch wood) of any cam problems . Soooo like the other guys have said , if it hasn’t happened yet it might never happen. I change the oil once a year but very low mileage is put on it per year, and don’t wring its neck!, I just let the v4 howl come in then change up, I leave the revs to my zzr1200.
Treat it like an old classic you want to keep and it should be fine.
The final word on the problem was that Honda in their infinite wisdom did not bore the cam bearing journals before installing the cams. If you were lucky enough to get one where the cap and the head mated well, no problems manifested. However, the rest of us ran into problems due to the cam moving beyond tolerance and resulting in damage to the cam lobes. The reason Honda went ahead with production in this way as it worked during testing and in their racing program. Difference is, they ALWAYS let the engine come up to operating temperature before riding off. Most of us don’t do that, myself included. I have any oil by pass kit on mine simply to hedge my bet. And a back up motor with almost no km on it and perfect cams! This is from Vforce by Julian Ryder. Great book. Highly recommend it!
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Unfortunately there is a lot more to the cam wear problem than what Ozzy says is the final word. Mike Nixon in USA has been a top Honda technician for years and has worked very closely with the V4’s and most of the other Honda models. He has also worked for most of the other “big 4” Japanese manufacturers. He knows his stuff. Go to his website www.motorcycleproject.com then go to the tech articles at the bottom of the page. You will find lots of articles about the V4’s but the two that are relevant to this discussion are, “Early V4 cam issues” and “Julien Ryders” book in the Media Madness section. We all strive to find out the truth about our bikes and their pros/cons. These articles will fill you in on a lot of info that was not released to the public. Mike Nixon was in a position at the time to know what was going on in the background and is considered to be an expert on the Honda V4s’. Too much info to go into in this discussion but much more info about Honda’s, Mike Nixon’s Resume, and other things motorcycle is available. And they are a very good and interesting read read.
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