Hi fellas,
This will be my first post on this forum but I have a similar post on another VFR forum. I like to get different opinions and suggestions when trying to restore a motorcycle. I recently acquired 2 complete 1985 VF1000R bikes in a trade for a 1974 CB750K that I had bought for $150 two months earlier. The nice guy who traded these bikes was more into the older SOHC Hondas. The two VF1000R bikes are in fair condition with about 39,000 and 45,000 miles. My plan for these bikes is to restore one and do a restomod on the other. One has a bent subframe so I'll use this for the restomod.
Here's a picture of the bikes on my truck. Luckily these heavy bikes fit on the truck bed.
The first step for me is to get one of the VF1000R's running. Any suggestions would be appreciated
[image: post-34603-0-12390300-1450993005.jpg]
[image: post-34603-0-11623500-1450993082.jpg]
Man you don't play around , great find.
Lots of 1000R activity going on right now. Good to see those machines fall in to the hands of appreciative owners.
I've been working on the bike with the bent subframe for about 2 weeks to try to get it working. I have already gotten the carbs out and cleaned them I think 4 different times. I've soaked them in my ultrasonic cleaner in simple green and flushed the circuits several times with carburetor spray cleaner. I think I've installed them back in a half dozen times. I bought 4 new OEM Honda carb boots and that makes it much easier to remove and install the carbs. I bought a new battery from Cycle Gear and they had to order one because they did not have it in stock. When I got the battery, it seemed pretty small but they assured me that this was the recommended battery. Long story short, I tried the battery for about a week. It died quickly. The bike would run for about 10 seconds then die. I thought it was the carbs and that's why I had cleaned it 4 different times. Finally I decided to look at the battery and found out that it was not for the VF1000R.
It did not fit well in the battery holder. I had to prop the battery up to reach the wires. Long story short I ordered a new battery online and i'm hoping that this will solve the short runs of the engine. [image: post-34603-0-74933400-1451014746.jpg]
The carbs cleaned up nicely in the ultrasonic cleaner. [image: post-34603-0-13379200-1451014837.jpg][image: post-34603-0-99621400-1451014879.jpg]
New plugs, oil, and oil filter.
My first question was regarding the float height and how to measure them. The manual say that the float height should be 7.5 mm. Is there a process to measure these heights and what position do I have the carbs when I measure these heights? Do I position the carbs upside down and measure these heights?
Dang that ultrasonic worked well, nice job. I've got the smallest one harbor freight sells, wish i had a bigger one though.
I found a couple of guides for keihin float adjustment that seem to say the same thing the shop manual says for my 86 vfr700.
https://jetsrus.com/FAQs/FAQ_float_height_adjustment.html
http://www.factorypro.com/tech_tuning_procedures/tuning_float_height_adj_procedure.html
[image: zcV9HZk.png]
Carbs look good and float level very important .
Yeah, i bit the bullet and bought a larger ultrasonic cleaner so you can put pretty much the whole carb set up into it. IMO its a good investment. Now all I need is a vapor blaster, bead blaster, and my own powder coating set up. Anyways I'm gonna take out these carbs again and remeasure the float heights. I'm almost positive that all the circuits are cleared, but I'll squirt some carb cleaner through them again. My plans for this 1000R was to do a restomod since the frame was bent at the subframe. I'll take all the good parts and put them on the other 1000R for a stock restoration. The restomod is going to take some fabrication work which I'll have to send out. In the meantime, i'll concentrate on the other 1000R with the good frame and start the restoration.
I'm in the process of tearing down the 1000R. Here are a few pictures: [image: post-34603-0-63662200-1451805832.jpg][image: post-34603-0-28814100-1451805485.jpg]
Swing arm and rear wheel are out for cleaning and fixing if necessary.
[image: post-34603-0-70413400-1451805587.jpg]
I'd like to suggest you get the Honda Service manual. Lots of good info, carb adjustments, valve adjustment, etc, etc. looks like you have a couple very good projects well in hand. Might help to prevent a problem or two.