Estonez, 1/12/2019 at 2:23 PM
Hello,
Its my first post here. I was looking for a winter project and found a 83 VF 750f. It had been sitting in a garage for 3 years.
Bought it and took it home. Now i have been looking at it for weeks and i cant figure out what to do with it. I dont want to do a full restoration. I was thinking about upgrading it. So i need a little advise what to do and what parts to use.
So id like to upgrade ( preferred direct bolt on solutions):
- Wheels- 17" f2 wheels or is there any other better options?
- front end- f3 forks
- rear shock- any idea or sugestions?
- front brakes- what calipers are the best?
- rear brake
Other problems needs to be solved:
Wiring loom is completely corroded. Need a new one.
Front fairing will be removed, its cracked and I want to make a naked bike.
Need a new gas tank because the old one started to leak yesterday.
Would like to instal 4to 1 exhaust but i havent found a proper set jet.
Im gonna take it as a learning process because Im not a mechanic so sorry if there will be a silly questions, but i can wrench and im with a technical backround so i hope i can do everything by my self.
So those are my first steps in the vf world 😀
Ps. English is not my main language so sorry for typos and mistakes.
Welcome to the Board. The guys above have offered some very good advice, check your valve train first. If satisfied, then proceed.
I bought my 83 VF750 as a non runner with many of the same problems you have identified. I'll try to answer those questions you have as I can.
I swapped my 18" inch rear rim for a 17" off a VF1000F. This was a direct swap. I did have to use the rotor off the 750 instead of the one on the 1000, but the fitment was perfect. You retain the 750 spacers as they work fine. The VF1000F rim is .5" wider which allows it to run a 150 which really opens up your tire choices. I also did the math and changed the rear sprocket from the 44 tooth to a 42 tooth. this kept the gearing almost the same as oem. I do a lot of highway driving at speed and did not want the engine running at a higher rpm for long periods. We did not get the VF1000FF (Bol D'Or) here in the US, but the specs indicate the rear rim from one of them should work also, check them out.
I left my 16" front on as I really like the turn in with them. I also kept them on my 2 VF1000R's. and 87 VFR. There are still a few choices in this size.
I rebuilt my front forks and kept them stock. The rear shock was still strong so I kept it also. A 5600 km ride to NC and a bunch of runs on the Dragon, 215, 151, etc. left me satisfied that I did not need anything suspension wise yet. I do have a CB929RR shock on the shelf though when it comes time to replace the rear. "Note" I weigh 66 kg, so stock suspensions almost always work for me.
I removed my entire brake system and sent the calipers and front MC through my ultrasonic cleaner, then replaced all the seals. I dumped the sintered pads that came with the bike and installed new Carbon/Kevlar pads instead. I also replaced my brake lines with Stainless Steel lines. This proved to be the right combination for me. I prefer the progressive bite of the Carbon/Kevlar over the feel of the sintered pads, although they do tend to work better. There is also ceramic pads out there, but I have no experience with them. So I would advise that you clean and use the oem setup with pads of you choice and some SS lines before binning the whole lot and starting from scratch. In a perfect world you would still be able to use your SS lines if you decided to install different calipers.
BTW, I think the rear oem caliper is fine as is with Carbon/Kevlar pads. I bought my 97 VFR out in Iowa and drove it to Colorado for a MC meet the back to Maine. About 8000km total. I had a pair of organic rear pads waiting for me when I got home as the bike came with sintered all round. I had the rear lock up on me a number of times as I just could not find the sweet spot on the rears. I'll be the first to put my hand up and say it was Operator Error as I know many guys who swear by them. I guess my point is try a few things with what you have now before moving on.
Does the bike have an aftermarket exhaust? Check the airbox, my bike came with a full Kerker exhaust system, and when I pulled the tank to get to the carbs I found the top of the airbox had about 50 10 mm holes drilled in it and a K&N filter. Pulling the carbs revealed the jets were 3 sizes to large and the needles stock. I brought the jets to stock, bought a stock airbox cover and the bike started right up.
As far as buying a parts bike, well...…….if you do all the mods you are talking about, F3 front end, F2 wheels, different swingarm and stripping the bike of fairings there isn't much left outside the engine as a spare. If you keep the bike oem and can afford and store a parts bike, then by all means.
Lastly, despite English not being your first language, you have done an excellent job describing your position and questions here. I think you will find the members here to be patient, knowledgeable, generous with their time, and proficient with their answers.
Post a picture of your project when you can.
![[image: VF+750+F+by+Quarter+01.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2GSnUjNO4Cg/TkDibvrg10I/AAAAAAAALZ0/27TTkaafQM8/s1600/VF+750+F+by+Quarter+01.jpg){kind=link}