Advice on purchasing 1984 Honda Interceptor VF700F

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mickey_fin · Sun Oct 02, 2005 2:59 am

I am strongly considering purchasing a 1984 Honda Interceptor VF700F. I saw the bike and cosmetically the bike is great. A few scuffs here and there, but nothing major. All orriginal. Mechanically, I'm not sure. The owner removed the carbs, cleaned / fixed them, reinstalled them. The bike starts and runs great, shifts great, etc. Has 10,200 miles. (prety low) My question is, since this guy took off the carbs, can I expect to make a trip to the Honda dealer for a tune up? If so, how much can I expect to pay? What things (mechanically) should I look for before buying this bike. Anyone have any suggestions or comments, good or bad, about these bikes.

Thanks a bunch
Mickey

High_Side · #2 Unread post by **High_Side** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 3:04 am

Stop by to see it start up cold. If it idles fine then get him to take you for a ride (if he won't let you ride it). Get a feel for it that way. It's the only way you can.
With a bike with that low of mileage, check for oil leaks and fork seal leaks (almost gaurenteed). The seals would likely have dried out from all of the sitting.

upho366 · #3 Unread post by **upho366** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 3:29 pm

im planning on getting an '85 vf700s sabre
i think they have basically the same engine.. and i have been looking everywhere for info on the bike, to make sure it would be good for me to get.
the big thing i hear a lot about is cam "pitting" which one of the guys in these forums mentioned to me before. if you use good oil, and let the bike warm up before you ride then you should be fine i guess.. and when you ride keep it above 3000 rpm for oil-flow.. but if you ride it too hard or dont change the oil enuff then the cams get all whacked and eventually start messing up... whatever it is that happens when cams mess up.
im just telling you what i read.

BuzZz · #4 Unread post by **BuzZz** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 7:42 pm

I have heard(no actual experiance, but sounds right) that extended idleing is very bad for the early Honda V-4's.

The problem as I researched it when considering buying one is......

early V-4's (mostly 82 and early 83 Sabres) had problems with cams that didn't get proper heat treating at the factory......this was fixed for later engines, but Honda would change cams under warranty at any hint of wear for 5-6 years after..... but not anymore....

all the first generation V-4's had poor oil supply to the top-end, making the problem worse for soft cams.... also, idle is exactly when oil pressure and flow is at it's lowest, so.....

idleing for long periods results in the cams spinning and dragging in an oil-depleted enviroment......

the best fix is to build your own (there used to be kits available, but hard to find now) oil feed lines up to the cam. There are plans and descriptions floating around the net telling how to do it any of several ways....

But if the bike had bad cams, it most likely would have been fixed years ago, and you should have no more than normal wear to deal with.

And it's still no garrantee that the bike you are looking at won't have bad cams.......

High_Side · Mon Oct 03, 2005 12:58 am

I remember Honda saying that they had fixed the problem by '85.....and then my buddy's dad put three sets through his '85 VF1000R. Nice bike for the era, but they definately didn't have the fix sorted at that time....

upho366 · #6 Unread post by **upho366** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 5:23 am

yea, i read that about extensive idling, but when i was reading the article, the honda testers recommended letting the bike warm up as much as possible before riding it, saying that would extend the life of the cams..
does that make sence?

also.. when i first heard about this i was like "this engine is going to give me nothing but trouble" but the more i read the less horrendous the problem seemed. it seems that as long as you change the oil often and use high-quality motorcycle oil then you should be fine, a new oil feed up to the cams helps too.
and the cams can get pretty bad before they start affecting... whatever it is they would affect

BuzZz · #7 Unread post by **BuzZz** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:24 am

The VF-R's used gear-driven cams that were different from the VR-F's chain-driven ones. I wonder if that didn't make a difference somehow...... that's just a wild guess though..... I know that they made many times more F's than the more race-oriented R's....

upho366 · #8 Unread post by **upho366** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 9:10 am

i think only the later versions used the gear-driven cams, in 82 i think they used chain-driven

BuzZz · #9 Unread post by **BuzZz** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:11 am

Yep, they never had gear-driven 'R's in '82. And Sabre's never had them as far as I know.... but that's not all that far, Sabre's never really floated my boat.....

Most Interceptors were 'F' versions, with only a relative few being 'R's with thier geardrives and other minor differences to increase thier racetrack profile. Mostly to increase top-end power, I believe.... there may have been a few suspension upgrades too, but I'm not sure. I do know 'R' engine parts are harder to find and cost more these days.