As the topic says, today i bought a new 1987 VFR700F. It's turned 1500 miles on the way home, in my book, that's as close to new as you can get.
it's the blue/grey model, and came with everything but the owners manual: toolkit, rear seat cowl, and honda service manual were included. where's the best place to get a factory owners manual?
I plan on changing the oil, oil filter, coolant, air filter, and spark plugs. it runs so well, i can't see my way to do anything else! where's the best place to get an air filter, and what oil does everyone use for the vfr700?
oh, also, i will wash it, detail it, and take lots of pretty pictures to show everyone!
here's the craigslist ad pics to hold you over until then. hi res to follow...
[image: Posted Image] craigslist ad 1
the main thing on oil>> DO NOT START ANOTHER OIL TREAD>.
i think most people on the board use mobile 1 10-40.. follow your manual..
now,, go buy some vasoline.. and rub biog globsd of all oll over your faded plastic parts such as the control switch housing and dash cover. :fing02: :fing02:
looks great!
Unless the original airfilter is rotting away it's still good with those low miles but stick with an OEM replacement as most aftermarket units work better with re-jetting and you should keep that bike stock. That's an order! :pissed: Plus, you'll find that there is no real aftermarket parts market for that old of a bike. Hopefully the original tires and brake lines have been replace by the previous owner(s) but if not that should be you next priority.
Great "barn find". :fing02: Those blue models are much prettier in the flesh than in pics.
Sweet! Like mine, but less miles and more pretty :cheerleader:
It seems to be in GREAT shape. Mine had about 42k on it and it has 47k miles now. (these bikes will out last all of us!)
tires are tuff though. Bridgestone makes a Battleax BT45... i think that fits these 18 and 16 inch wheels. They are....decent tires but I'm of going with a Pirelli Sport Demon myself. Really tires are the most difficult thing about these bikes!
These are "700"s and not "750"s because of a tariff backed by Harley to bikes with engines over 700. If you ask me, it's just as well as a 750!
the tires, while they aren't new, aren't old either. they are very pliable with no dry rot. they are metzelers, definitely quality tires! i plan on keeping an eagle-eye on them to make sure i don't have any issues.
nothing on the bike is sun damaged, this baby was stored in the garage it's whole life, and only 1500 miles doesn't call for a whole lot of time outdoors! the brake and clutch hoses look great, as does the fluid. i will be changing the fluids anyway, and possibly get some stainless lines. though they look good, i'm not up to trusting 23 year old brake lines.
the bike will DEFINITELY be staying stock. i'm not one to mess with something this pretty!
unfortunately i will have to wait a couple more days to work on the bike. that'll give me a little time to get some oil (10w40 synthetic amsoil), oil filter, spark plugs, source an air filter, brake fluid, etc.
Congratiulations on the fine aquisition!
Check everyting rubber on the bike. they may look OK at first glance but could be rotting internally. so a close look and some squeezing/feeling out is definitely something you should do. I'd replace the parts if you even just notice any shrinkage (as that is a definite sign of some sort of dry rot already happening). if you are to put the bike to regular use on the streets.
P.S. think twice about using Armorall on the rubber and plastic parts. My experience has been that unless you regularly use Armorall on rubber and vinyl parts, they will actually rot out quicker. on you, so once you start, you cannot stop using the product.
oops, forgot to mention... got the bike for $3650, not exactly a steal, but i think it's a fair price for what amounts to a new bike.
i'll definitely be sourcing some braided stainless clutch and brake lines, and replacing the coolant hoses during the fluid flush.
i'm not an armorall user. i've been using vinylex on everything else i have, so far with good results. i haven't heard of the petroleum jelly thing, but i will try that on my girl's '84 cb700sc.
no time to work on it tonight... but i'll have good pics by the end of the week for SURE.
[image: View Post]ERAU944, on 18 August 2010 - 04:39 PM, said:
oops, forgot to mention... got the bike for $3650, not exactly a steal, but i think it's a fair price for what amounts to a new bike.
i'll definitely be sourcing some braided stainless clutch and brake lines, and replacing the coolant hoses during the fluid flush.
i'm not an armorall user. i've been using vinylex on everything else i have, so far with good results. i haven't heard of the petroleum jelly thing, but i will try that on my girl's '84 cb700sc.
no time to work on it tonight... but i'll have good pics by the end of the week for SURE.
That is a hell of a lot less than what I have sunk into my 86 with all KINDS of abuse in her history. Shit, when I'm done I'll have a 24 year old bike with some "upgraded" parts that are only 12 years old - modern technology I tell you - pushed around by a motor with 72,000 km on it.
Shiiit... I was over $3000 just fixing and doing maintenance before and modifying started...
THAT is a beautiful bike at a very fair price. Please and kindly ENJOY.
[image: View Post]ERAU944, on 18 August 2010 - 04:39 PM, said:
oops, forgot to mention... got the bike for $3650, not exactly a steal, but i think it's a fair price for what amounts to a new bike.
Good fair price.
Seeing that you have some modern iron in the garage and this probably won't be a daily driver/main ride/etc., are you planning on keeping the miles low? If so, I'd recommend cleaning and preserving every part you remove, store in a zip lock bag, and include with the bike when you decide to sell.
Love that bike. 700 makes plenty of usable power and torque. You could jet it and pipe it for a little more. There are not cheap bikes. Pay a little more for one in pristine condition and you save all the time and restorations on a beat up model. Hope you enjoy it for a long time to come. My 86 is still scratching in the canyons after over 100k miles and uses no oil. Some one else rides her now. Bike accelerates as hard as my 800 from a stop.
[image: View Post]Dutchy, on 18 August 2010 - 02:56 PM, said:
great find :fing02: but red is the faster color :laughing6-hehe:
i can't stand red! i know it's honda's color and all, but it is the quickest to look like complete garbage from sun damage. my NHS is the black and red model, and i'm looking at changing it to the black and blue.
quick update: i've begun to remove and polish up the fairings. i have the side fairings and the tail fairing and taillight done. the paint is in fantasticshape, and REALLY feels great after a good coat of protectant. the tank will come off soon, so i can inspect the air filter and clean out all the dust from underneath, as well as remove the crapola left behind from a tank pad that the PO was too lazy to remove. also, the frame and wiring and whatnot are all dusty from having been ridden up and down a dirt road for (from what i can tell) a decent portion of it's past 700 miles. it won't take much to get her insides shining well again (after all, inner beauty is very important, am i right?). i'm taking plenty of pictures to post for posterity... just can't seem to get around to the posting part... i know, i know...
i've also picked up some 10w30 synthetic, a new oil filter, brake fluid, and some coolant so i can change all the fluids out.
the empty spot under the seat where the owner's manual belongs is starting to bug me... there is a good looking owner's manual on ebay but it's kinda pricey at 50 bucks. i posted in the classifieds that i'm looking for one. i'm ordering the manual bag from one of the online parts emporiums, now i just gotta find the manual, and this bike will be 100%! i do have the honda repair manual, but the PO didn't seem to have the owner's manual... wth is up with EVERYONE losing theirs???
alrighty, finally getting some time to work on the ol' girl. i've got all the fairings off. the only thing left on the frame with color on it is the fuel tank, and that'll come off soon enough. i am getting pics of the whole process, and as soon as i get around to uploading them i'll post them. so far, the only other problem besides the lack of an owner's manual and manual bag, is a missing screw and a missing plastic mount for the little air bracket that mounts to the fairing. another of the mounts is cracked. i will probably make a new mount out of JBweld - i've had to make some mounting tabs for one of the side panels on the Nighthawk S, so this will be nearly as easy.
i'm including a couple of pictures of the bike in higher res, before i did anything to it - so it's dirty and all. the next pics will come in the next few days, and will be of the dismantling. after that, i'll get some of the oil, coolant, and brake/clutch fluid change.
A friend took his Norton out to the track my last trip. He bought some tires that were really sticky. I'll find the name and send it over to you. I always hated looking for decent tires to fit the stock wheels on my 700 so I changed it to CBR f2 wheels and forks. After seeing my friend rail that old Norton through the turns at streets of Willow I think good tires and decent suspension are all you really need though. His engine was air and oil cooled. The oil leaks all over the head and the air cools it. LOL.
well, the work is going quite slowly, but i'm going as quickly as i can without making the missus unhappy with how much time i'm spending on my new toy...
i changed the oil tonight, it was pretty clean, but i'm taking no chances here. the previous owner said it hadn't been changed when he had it, and 8 years is WAY too long to let oil sit around. the bike had a honda oil filter on it - i hope to God it wasn't the factory original.
I put in 3.2 qts of Amsoil 10w40 100% synth, and a purolator pureone pl14459 went on as well - the same treatment my 600RR and 700SC get. i still have to fix a duct mount, change the coolant, spark plugs, and fuel filter, and she'll be mechanically ready to roll.
then, i'll give the tank a nice waxing, polish the exhaust cans, clean the frame/subframe/wiring (very dusty), put protectant on the tires plastic bits, and put it all back together.
here's a couple pics of the progress...
all stripped down nekkid
the little lady out for the night = i get to wax inside the house!
all cleaned up and waiting to be reinstalled
broken duct mount
[image: View Post]ERAU944, on 16 August 2010 - 09:16 PM, said:
As the topic says, today i bought a new 1987 VFR700F. It's turned 1500 miles on the way home, in my book, that's as close to new as you can get.
it's the blue/grey model, and came with everything but the owners manual: toolkit, rear seat cowl, and honda service manual were included. where's the best place to get a factory owners manual?
I plan on changing the oil, oil filter, coolant, air filter, and spark plugs. it runs so well, i can't see my way to do anything else! where's the best place to get an air filter, and what oil does everyone use for the vfr700?
oh, also, i will wash it, detail it, and take lots of pretty pictures to show everyone!
here's the craigslist ad pics to hold you over until then. hi res to follow...
[image: Posted Image] craigslist ad 1
[image: Posted Image] craigslist ad 2
[image: Posted Image] craigslist ad 3
[image: Posted Image] craigslist ad 4
I saw that in CL, it was in Palm Beach Gardens, I was there for 2 weeks... if my mothers condo had a garage I would have bought it...so I'd have a VFR to ride when I go to visit family there. Nice bike and not that bad of price for a near new cool old bike. I have collector bike Insurance on my VFR700, full coverage for agreed value of $4500, only cost $125 a year.
[image: View Post]captb, on 01 September 2010 - 10:31 PM, said:
I saw that in CL, it was in Palm Beach Gardens, I was there for 2 weeks... if my mothers condo had a garage I would have bought it...so I'd have a VFR to ride when I go to visit family there. Nice bike and not that bad of price for a near new cool old bike. I have collector bike Insurance on my VFR700, full coverage for agreed value of $4500, only cost $125 a year.
i've got to look into the collector insurance for my NHS and the VFR. they won't get ridden too much, especially in the fantastic shape they're in. I hope i can get some antique plates before too long... 30 years old is too much! i wish i could do the same for my cars too, but nothing i have is old enough!
the only downside to buying the bike was that it's lived on a dirt road for a long time, and even though he didn't put many miles on it, the washings never got the dust out from behind the fairings, so there's a lot of nit-picky cleanup to do on the frame and engine and everything.
i'm actually heading up to georgia to go riding in the hills with the CBR this weekend. the VFR will have to wait until next week and beyond. i still have to fab the holder for that air duct as well... gah.
[image: View Post]ERAU944, on 01 September 2010 - 11:02 PM, said:
[image: View Post]captb, on 01 September 2010 - 10:31 PM, said:
I saw that in CL, it was in Palm Beach Gardens, I was there for 2 weeks... if my mothers condo had a garage I would have bought it...so I'd have a VFR to ride when I go to visit family there. Nice bike and not that bad of price for a near new cool old bike. I have collector bike Insurance on my VFR700, full coverage for agreed value of $4500, only cost $125 a year.
i've got to look into the collector insurance for my NHS and the VFR. they won't get ridden too much, especially in the fantastic shape they're in. I hope i can get some antique plates before too long... 30 years old is too much! i wish i could do the same for my cars too, but nothing i have is old enough!
the only downside to buying the bike was that it's lived on a dirt road for a long time, and even though he didn't put many miles on it, the washings never got the dust out from behind the fairings, so there's a lot of nit-picky cleanup to do on the frame and engine and everything.
i'm actually heading up to georgia to go riding in the hills with the CBR this weekend. the VFR will have to wait until next week and beyond. i still have to fab the holder for that air duct as well... gah.
[image: View Post]captb, on 02 September 2010 - 03:59 AM, said:
[image: View Post]ERAU944, on 01 September 2010 - 11:02 PM, said:
[image: View Post]captb, on 01 September 2010 - 10:31 PM, said:
I saw that in CL, it was in Palm Beach Gardens, I was there for 2 weeks... if my mothers condo had a garage I would have bought it...so I'd have a VFR to ride when I go to visit family there. Nice bike and not that bad of price for a near new cool old bike. I have collector bike Insurance on my VFR700, full coverage for agreed value of $4500, only cost $125 a year.
i've got to look into the collector insurance for my NHS and the VFR. they won't get ridden too much, especially in the fantastic shape they're in. I hope i can get some antique plates before too long... 30 years old is too much! i wish i could do the same for my cars too, but nothing i have is old enough!
the only downside to buying the bike was that it's lived on a dirt road for a long time, and even though he didn't put many miles on it, the washings never got the dust out from behind the fairings, so there's a lot of nit-picky cleanup to do on the frame and engine and everything.
i'm actually heading up to georgia to go riding in the hills with the CBR this weekend. the VFR will have to wait until next week and beyond. i still have to fab the holder for that air duct as well... gah.
Lots of cleaning, mine was stored about 23 years in AZ and had plenty of dust. I have American Bankers Collector Insurance of Florida (800-360-2277) , I have the 2500 mile a year tier, here in AZ I can get a antique tag in another year and 5 months. Here's some info on my website I'm putting together, I'll have parts sources once I get time to finish it, have fun. captb VFR700.COM
End of thread · 36 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 4 Jun 2011