rvf 400 in my lab ...

[simon rc51]

hi all this is my little 35 as i got her with full mot and some tax showing 24 thousand

owner had her up for £2700 .... and told me it failed the mot on fork seals and brake pads .

wich he replaced .

after a bit of bartering i left with my new to me 35 :) for £1700


now that all seems sweetness and light ? but i wonted a mint rvf and had looked at 4 of them ! before this one ...

i had set my limit at £3500 for the right bike that i did not find .... so there we go got my rvf just needs some love ...

the bike when i got her....

all plastics are honda .... but not good... as the side panels were scuffed and the seat unit was missing all its lugs ?

the front discs had more lip than mick jagger

the tyres were just legal ...

the radiators looked like they were 20years old ? ok they are lol

some one had destroyed both seats by chopping them and recovering them ..... grrrrrr

chain and sprockets are not the best ...

the nose cone has had a repair ... NOT THE BEST JOB

oh and she's got a small misfire that goes away when hot ? ..... i hope this to be down to a small leak at the exhaust manifold ?

sorry there is no order to the pics now ...


























she now benefits from a full service ....

stripped repainted subframe , top yoke , top rad ...

new michelin pilot race tyres...

new Chinese lower radiator ... with fan mounts and the right size boss for fan switch ...

all stickers removed and she will be booked in to image works for full decor kits ...

the side panels are getting paint as i type ...

gavin at jap4performance , was kind to me and sold me a OE honda tail unit with all its lugs still attached ... he said ..iv had it years.... and it looks like it to... but its solid and will look good when painted ... so when it arrived as described ,,, i fitted it to the bike to see if there were any problems ?.... fits like a glove.... as it was on the bike i removed the scuffed and tired stickers .... then just out of pure curiosity ? that and i had nothing to loos ! i attacked it with my mini mop and some G3 ... would you adam and eve it ? .... its like new now

got me some seats off a guy on here should be here Tuesday ... wish i could justify some of the other shiny things he was selling ...

new to me vfr 400 nc30 front discs just painted centers and now fitted ...

new clutch cable ...

and some tyga carbon parts in the post :)

just need to fix that tick over misfire !!!!

so my little rvf is taking shape thanks for looking :)

[simon rc51]

yesterday i sealed the exhaust manifold ..... that had no gasket fitted ... but unfortunately the misfire remains ...

its a annoying little fucker as it missis on tick over ... takes longer to heat up the back left cylinder so that would suggest to me ? that is were the problem is ...

so now i will swap out the coil pack for the rear cylinder ...

then look inside the carbs ..

then do the compression test ...

are there any other things i should be looking at ?

[royster81]

Make sure the plug cap doesn't have any cracks on it and the spark isn't arcing to the engine. I saw this happen a few months ago and it cured a small idle misfire.

[simon rc51]

will do bud i can only wish to be that lucky ... i have a friend who is also on this sight visiting me today with a set of rvf coil packs ...

[Neosophist]

Have you checked the valve clerances and balanced the carbs since?

If the rear is taking longer to warm up most likely either (partially) blocked pilot circuit and / or carbs out of balance.

Perhaps also a small airleak around the carb rubbers that seals once warm?

Cammos carb guide is a good place to start to get your carbs cleaned and back to factory spec.

[simon rc51]

all i have done is short service ...and cosmetics ... oh and a new radiator ....

it has the same compression as the other cylinder or as far as i trust my compression tester ...as its not a good fit for that size thread pitch :)

i fitted a friends coil pack today no joy there ... i think i may book her in to BSD?
as i have no carburetor balancing kit AKA vacuum gauges ... and i have done valve clearances before but only on a bandit and there tappets i could measure them but don't have shims ... and tbh a rolling road is going to be the best way of setting the old girl up

i will do 1 or 2 other jobs but thats the plan .. i do oh so hope its not valves shot

[simon rc51]

hi all my 1 or 2 little jobs ...hmmmmm i removed the carbs .... and there stripped awaiting me to buy some carb cleaner ....

this was not meant to happen

i was meant to take her to bsd and let him do it ...








i also got my side panels back from the paint shop .....


the bike might run like shit ?

but it will look good ...

so if i breakdown some one will stop to look at the bike then i will ask them to get me home ? sounds like a plan ?

[simon rc51]

i stripped my carbs and found them to be missing 3 O rings that go onto the pilots ......

also a lot of dirt and varnishing ...

so then i made a call and ........

my man cave is affectionately known as the laboratory or ( the lab ) yes ppl i blagged a sonic cleaner .... get the fuck in :)






the sad bit is i must give it back when i finnish with it ... i will try and buy this as its gr8

[simon rc51]

hey all got my carbs fitted back on last night with the pilots set to 1. and a half terns out

after a full strip down and a sonic clean ..... thanks dr who ...

i also found 3 of the little O rings were missing that fit to the pilots ...

i found the choke was not operating as should be so.... i fixed that ..

i can now report that the misfire is gone ... :) over the moon , bouncing off the walls , still sporting a semi

i will need to dial the carbs in..... and i may need a bigger fuel tank as the one fitted in this pic is purely for race use ....

[simon rc51]

ok its been a wile cense my last up date the little rvf is in almost one peace ....

i checked the valve clearances ... happy to say all was well

have fitted new hell brake lines front and back

the rvf is now sporting a nice set of gold sp2 brake calipers .... and will be getting the master to go with them ASAP

i removed the swing arm and rear shock so to paint and grease ... now refitted and looks quite breathtaking :)

plastics fitted ... just a 30 60 bulb to find and 1 or 2 sexy parts from japan and then shes off for a decor kit :) ...

i think i need to upload to photo bucket then to this page as when i post a pic it is small i do not know how to fix this ? please help :)