I’m off to look at what, on the face of it, looks to be a superb condition (cosmetically) F2 tomorrow. It’s a late '86 and done 33K miles and only 2 owners. It’s not been running for 3 years.
The existing owner says he left the fuel tap on and believes fuel may have ended up in the oil. He didn’t realize and rode it for about 3 miles or so. On returning home he managed to drop it (while stationary) and after that it smoked heavily from the exhausts. He stripped the engine and checked everything and found nothing wrong. On re-assembly he believed there may be an issue with the cam-chain tensioner?
It’s currently a non runner, so the question is, assuming it’s cosmetically spot on, is it worth taking a punt and hoping for a simple fix or should I walk away. It’s a good price but a bit of an unknown quantity. I’m no stranger to stripping and rebuilding vintage japanese bike engines but haven’t tackled a Honda V4 before.
Sounds like any engine work would be well within your capabilities,the V4 is not a particularly complicated engine.Parts are still available and help is always on hand here on the forum.
Cosmetics are the hard part as I see it,and if the price is right I wouldn’t hesitate
If you empty the carbs and leave the tap on and wait a year or ten. There will be no fuel there. That’s why it has got a fuel pump. Starting with empty carbs and don’t have an extra switch for the fuel pump is a long term procedure. Nice story but I won’t follow it.
So you will have to do a complete engine check. There are parts available. You should calculate that risk, but if the price is ok and you have the time and knowledge (basic mechanical and little electrical) go for it.
If you get the engine running ok it also worth to rework the brakes and suspension. If you have pics we can have a look at them.
Thanks for the reply bif. I’ve been to look at it and unfortunately the bodywork is a bit of a mess, and certainly not as per the sellers “superb” description. I was willing to take a punt on the engine but as you say, very difficult to sort out the broken fairings etc. So unfortunately I’ve had to walk away The search continues!
The search continues!