While preparing an OEM muffler set for installation on Project 18 I devised a way to make my life just a little easier. These old systems can be a real bear to remove, and even harder to reinstall. Something that would really help is to expand the female joint before sliding onto the header pipes.

Here's one of the pipes in question, and what happened to the old exhaust gasket when removing it.

This is my homemade tool, which is the same black gas pipe I use to drive steering head bearings into place. The cut threads on these pipes are slightly tapered, so tapping the pipe into the muffler opening gently expands the opening.

Here's a fresh gasket in place in the expanded opening. When installing the mufflers, I slip the new gaskets onto the exhaust pipes and slide the mufflers in place. Even with the expanded openings this can be a pushing and shoving match. It's never an easy chore.

The clamps are right & left specific, so be sure to get them oriented correctly before installing the mufflers.

With everything test fitted, the black muffler pipes can be sanded and painted. Job done.

As part of Project 18's restoration I've fitted a new chain & sprocket set from EK.

These high-performance bikes don't, or shouldn't, use a clip-type master link, but instead require a riveted master. Assembling a master link requires the right touch when pressing (riveting) the master pins — not too much, not too little.

Here's a different approach.

They call this a screw-type connecting link, and the objective is to take the guess work out of your master link installation. After assembling the plates, these two nuts are alternately screwed down till they bottom, which gives the correct "squish." They're then backed off to the narrowed portion of the shaft and......

.....snapped off with a pliers. I grind down the nubs a bit for aesthetics and job done!


Next up; refinish the original exhaust system.

What: 2000 VFR800
Where: Knoxville, Tennessee
Why: Electric yellow, nicely sorted
Price: $2900

Available only in 2000, and only in Pearl Shining Yellow, this bright beauty sports 25,000 miles and looks to be very well-kept.

Extras include a few desirable extras like a Yoshimura slip-on, Sargent seat and bar risers. The rear seat cowl is in place and that appears to be an aftermarket windscreen. Our seller claims it's never been down. This looks like a nice one and is offered at a refreshingly friendly price. You can find it at VFRdiscussion.com (may require registration).

What: 1996 RVF400
Where: San Jacinto, California
Why: Unobtanium V4
Price: No reserve auction

While super-popular in other world markets (often due to licensing restrictions), 400cc machines never sparked much interest in the U.S., at least in the modern era. The smallest V4 Interceptor to reach our shores was the 500cc version available from 1984-86.

This bike was derived from the VFR400, first seen in 1986, with later versions being the NC24 and NC30. This model, the NC35, is the final development of these little screamers with notable updates being inverted forks along with frame and wheel changes. This one looks great in its very 90's livery and is showing 9800 miles with a few cosmetic blemishes noted. The seller indicates that he/she is familiar with these bikes and notes some recent maintenance.

A unique and interesting V4. Bidding is active and auction ends Tuesday.

Also featured on RSBFS.

(click on an image to enlarge)

Project 18, an '86 VFR750, is in the reassembly stage, and that's when all the little details hit.

This bike spent several years in a pole barn on a working farm in West Virginia and accumulated a coating of brown dirt. Fortunately, it hadn't progressed to the corrosion stage and all these parts will clean up nicely with a combination of modern cleaners and a few tools, but mostly old fashioned elbow grease.

Shown above is the left side rider's peg assembly and the right side was no better.

After a good scrubbing, some light wet sanding and hand polishing these parts are looking showroom fresh.

And here's the refinished shift and brake levers. These are cast aluminum and originally finished in a silver paint or anodizing, not really sure.

In some cases I've stripped, smoothed and polished these parts, but on this restoration project I've decided to leave the original casting marks and simply refinished them in silver wheel paint with clearcoat. A fresh OEM shift rubber and they're ready for mounting.

These chain adjuster end plates have a tough life being located at the rear of the swingarm. They tend to collect dirt and chain spooge, and are usually ignored when cleaning the bike.

Also cast aluminum, they will polish up nicely on the buffing wheel. They weren't a mirror finish when new, so I just buff them to a satin finish and clean up the adjusting bolts. In this case, a little TLC goes a long way.

The side axle plates were also in tough shape. These appear to be stainless steel and I was able to bring them back with a quick buff with a metal finishing pad mounted on the die grinder. To keep 'em looking good, I wipe them down with a corrosion inhibitor called Corrosion-X. It's a mil-spec product developed for the military to treat metal corrosion on aircraft.

In their effort to "add lightness," Honda began to use more plastic during the 1980s. One part that changed from heavy metal was the chain guard. Over time, however, the long and not very well supported piece tends to twist or warp and begins to look a little wonky. I've found that if the right amount of heat is applied judiciously these plastic parts can be massaged nearer to their original shape. This chain guard was deformed near the rear and actually rubbing on the rear sprocket. I use my trusty heat gun and gently warm the area that I think will help reshape the part and then hold it (with thick gloves — it gets hot!) as it cools. This takes several gentle attempts. Be careful, too much heat and the part can deform or even bubble till its no longer useable.

To bring back the original finish I lightly wet sand the chain guard and apply one or two coats of Griot's Bumper & Trim Reconditioner. This stuff works on all the black plastic parts, like the rear fender/license plate area.
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In the world of old bikes, two of the most difficult items to find or restore are exhaust systems and fuel tanks. Both live along a path of potential damage from accidents, garage rash, careless kids, careless owners and the ravages of time. And repairing either is nearly impossible — dents can’t be pounded out from the inside and rust is generally terminal. So when a nice example comes along I’m automatically interested.

Back in March I posted about a used 1986 R/W/B tank that went for $731 on eBay. Here we have an unused NOS example with an opening bid price of $550 plus $75 shipping and no reserve. Unfortunately, it does show some storage rash, including what appears to be a dent at the upper righthand corner. Our seller states that it’s “probably the last unused 1986 VFR750 gas tank on the planet.” Not exactly, I have a perfect example in my secret underground parts bunker.

Our seller may be a little optimistic with regard to value. In any case I hope someone can find a use for this rare piece.

Once the forks were removed from Project 22, it became apparent that the steering head bearings were toast. Not only were they notchy, but were adjusted much too loosely, which was most likely the cause of their demise.

These bikes were originally equipped with ball (roller) bearings, and there's nothing wrong with that approach in this application, but tapered bearings are a definite upgrade and should outlast the OEM bearings. 

But how to remove and install the pressed-on lower bearing without the nice factory tools? Well, the old bearing inner race won't drive off, so I use a Dremel with a cut-off blade and very carefully slice the race with a diagonal cut, stopping just shy of cutting into the shaft itself. Right at that magical point the bearing race gives a little bing as it loosens its grip on the shaft — it can then be pried off with a screwdriver blade. In the photo above are (left to right) the new lower seal, the new bearing, the old inner race and the old outer race. I will use the old parts as adaptors to drive the new bearing in place.

Here I have the parts stacked along with the driver tool — a length of black gas pipe or heavy conduit (with a cap installed to pound on). You can see the diagonal cut I made when removing the old inner bearing race; that cut is not quite all the way through the race. The old and new (inner) races are the same size so the old one makes a perfect driver adaptor to pound the new race onto the shaft.

To prepare for driving the bearing onto the shaft, I first put the lower triple tree/shaft assembly into Patti's freezer for a few hours to shrink the metal — frost is visible on the metal in this photo. I then quickly drive the freshly greased bearing into place. I drive the bearing till it just bottoms onto the seal but still turns freely. With the cooled shaft, the bearing slides on pretty smoothly but still requires several hard hits with a hefty hammer.

Job done. Reassemble onto the frame, install the forks, etc., and this project will be back on its own two feet — with a nice, smooth steering action.

Project 22, a '97 VFR750, is in the final phase of its mechanical checks. The last item before final reassembly is the leaking fork seals. Upon removal and disassembly the fork internals look great, the only modification being stiffer springs — in this case a set of straight-wound 1.1kg/mm from DMr back in 2009. I reassembled with 5w fork oil as recommended by Honda.

So what does spring rate mean? In simple terms, my 1.1kg/mm spring means that it will require 1.1 kilograms (2.4 pounds) of force to move the spring one millimeter. Straight-wound means that the spring has a constant resistance throughout its movement — each additional millimeter of movement requires an additional 1.1kg of force. A true progressive or dual-rate spring will have less resistance in its initial travel and greater resistance as it compresses. This would theoretically be ideal in a street application, so as to allow small bumps to move the fork (or swingarm) more easily (less jarring) but then resist large bumps to prevent bottoming. In practice, however, this isn't completely practical for the relatively short fork/shock travel common to street motorcycles, but is very useful in the off-road world with their long-travel suspensions. Soft initial travel also promotes undesirable fork dive under braking. In fact, road race bikes will almost always have straight-wound (constant rate) springs. This allows the rider to experience the same springing throughout his ride — no surprises. Of course, race bikes typically ride on relatively smooth surfaces.

The reality is that springs are mostly there to hold the bike up at a correct height — it's the damping system's job to provide suspension control, and so is much more important to handling. A high-end shock absorber like an Ohlins, for example, has a similar spring to anyone else, it's whats inside that counts.
••••••
For much more on suspension theory and real-life application I strongly recommend Lee Parks' book Total Control.

Americans may be tempted to think that the 1986 VFR750/700 Interceptor in red/white/blue was a U.S.-only color scheme, when in fact, it was available in many (possibly all) world markets...like Canada, for example. I recently met Deron Douglas through this forum, and he graciously agreed to share his experience bringing his '86 VFR750 back to life. Deron is from Ontario, Canada, and is the original owner of his VFR. His is a familiar tale of long-term ownership of a classic vehicle, from excited new owner, to languishing in the back of the garage as our lives change, to the realization of what an important part of our life the machine represented. Here's Deron's story in his own words:

      I originally purchased my red/white/blue 1986 VFR750F in 1988. It was dealer “old stock” and for some reason no one wanted her. It may have been the GSX-R craze that swept the area that year? Who knows the reason, but I was able to purchase number 2024 for “below the usual dealer price.” I still have the receipt, canceled check and brochure.
      This was my first brand new sport bike. I’d purchased used street and trail bikes before, but nothing new and certainly nothing this fancy! The bike cost me $5200 Canadian dollars. That was a lot of money back then!
      As time rolled on the VFR and myself became fast friends, exploring the roads and highways of Northern Ontario with nothing more than a sleeping bag and tent. Most of those trips were with like-minded friends, many of whom have since passed away. These people became more than my good friends, they became my brothers with the shared experiences of riding in all sorts of weather and road conditions. Nothing pulls people together like the survival of a fletching hurricane.
      I’ll mention one of them right now for posterity. Rick was a Harley enthusiast and had an old mid-70’s Sportster. I used to tease him, saying the riding position and sound reminded me of an old “John Deer Riding Lawn Mower.” It may have been true, he only smirked and shrugged, but in the end he was always able to keep up and we travelled many miles together for more than 30 years on various bikes.
      I enjoyed the VFR for what it gave me and for the people I happened to meet. Back then motorcycles were less a fashion accessory and more a community.
      Fast forward 25 or so years....

What: 1985 VF700
Where: Chappaqua, New York
Why: Low miles, original
Price: $1800 Buy-It-Now on eBay

The very first of the first generation VF750/700 models had their teething problems, and may have been a little overweight, and, okay, a bit underpowered...but three decades later those things don't diminish their usability or collectibility. And here we have an example that could check both those boxes.

This final-year VF700 should be saved from a slow death due to non-use and now is the time for its next caretaker to step in. Showing only 5279 miles and mostly original condition, this would be a perfect example for someone to use as a bike-night and Sunday morning ride. The period Corbin (I think) seat and aftermarket engine guards are a nice touch. With some cosmetic TLC and refinishing or replacing the fuel tank this would be an inexpensive and fun-to-own vintage bike. And at only $1800 it's a bargain. Someone please save this Interceptor!

UPDATE: Sold!