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I fell in love with the 3rd-gen VFR in the summer of '91. I was working a summer job assembling lawnmowers and power equipment at a small shop in town that was also a Suzuki and Honda dealer. That's when I first saw the RC36 in the flesh. Maybe it was the little fairing on the sidestand, I don't know, but I lusted after that bike. I think we sold two that summer. Maybe it was just the one. I'm not sure. It was a rare sight and watching the red machine being uncrated drew the attention of everyone in the shop. At the time I was riding my first bike, an '84 Honda XL185S. I was a senior in high school, so the VFR was way beyond my means, but I could dream. Flash forward to the summer of 2010. My wife made the mistake of leaving me alone for a weekend. I happened across the ad for a 19-year old Interceptor in that beautiful red, and after 19 years of depreciation, the price of entry was finally within my means. I bought it, despite some signs that it had had some rough treatment during its first two decades. When the previous owner handed me the key, for the first time I saw the tell-tale key chain fob -- this beauty was sold from the dealership where I worked. This was the same machine that had sparked my passion for VFRs in the beginning. I was reunited with a long lost love.
My wife was none too pleased.
But it must have been obvious what the bike meant to me, so she graciously went along with the deal. I rode that machine, this machine, happily for the rest of the summer. Toward the end of September it started running rough. One cylinder misfiring. It ran well on throttle, but more and more it was clear that only three cylinders were firing at idle. With the best of intentions, I drained the gas from tank and carbs and parked the bike for the winter months.
Life intervened. The bike has been sitting untouched for eight years. Each year I've thought about making repairs, but it has taken until now to have the time, space, and determination to get this thing running again. So, I expect this story will unfold slowly, maybe taking me the whole summer to achieve, but I am determined to hear that V4 sound in my garage this year. Wish me luck, or courage, or both. It's going to be a steep learning curve. I'll post my progress as often as I can. I'll start with a post outlining what I know so far and what I think needs to be done.
The basics: I did a compression test in the fall of 2010 when it was still "running". It had good and even compression on cyl 1, 2, 4 but zero -- ZERO -- compression on cylinder 3 (front right). I don't know why there was no reading at all, but it can't be good news.
I tried to make a compression reading today to confirm those readings I remember from way back then, but after sitting for eight years, the cylinders must be very dry. I read only 30psi in each cylinder and again a zero reading in cylinder 3. I'm a little spooked as to why it's not even tickling the needle on the compression gauge. I had time last winter to go through the carburetors on my workbench. They are in good, clean condition so I don't think there's a fuel problem. I checked spark visually on all four plugs and I see nice blue sparks so we've got air, fuel, and spark. That means (and I'm open to all advice) that I have a compression problem -- probably rings, but possibly something wrong with a valve. Any thoughts? The only way to get at the rings is to remove the engine and split the crankcase, right? So that's what I'm planning to do. Along the way I'll have the heads off and I'll have a look at the valves, but I expect I'm going to have to go all the way and split the engine.
So question #1: Has anyone removed the engine? Any advice for me? I don't have the special peg wrench that's needed to remove the engine mount lock nuts. I'm planning on attacking a 22mm socket with a grinder, to make a tool of some kind. How have others done this in the past?