Bike Resto in full effect

I picked up my 86 Vmax about 8 months ago off of Craiglist and even though it was cheap ($1700) it turned out that it was so rough I probably over paid. It was spray bombed, full of corrosion, missing parts and fasteners, had bad seals, and the list goes on. It's one redeeming quality is that the drive train seems solid. I've been buying parts on here, ebay, and some aftermarket vmax sites. Now that I have some time off of school I'm doing a complete tear down and overhaul of the bike. I stripped it down to the frame and I'm repairing some minor damage to the frame. I plan on dropping the frame at the powder coaters Monday. I want to thank all the regulars on this site that have given me advice and helped me source hard to find parts.

Lots of hard work right there.......Nice job!! :clapping:

Omg! I did same thing.... think it through. Do all the mods that you want to do on the way back together. In the end it will be ultimate!

G

Lots of work have fun. That bike was on CL for a while it started out like 2500 & kept dropping. I almost went & looked at it. I am thinking it was in Georgia if I remember right.

Good luck on you're project !

I've never seen that tail section before. Cool. I can appreciate all your effort as I am in the same boat if you look up TX Tornado's thread called Rattlecan.
Like you bought it because it ran ok but a visual disaster.
Well, if they don't look good outside, they usually look worse uncovered and I found all the same missing or mismatched hardware and "Flying fixes" as FireMedic put it.
Walk away if you get tired of it and it won't get under your skin. This Forum is the best place to find parts and help. Of course we love progress pictures.
Keep up the good fight. I love it when people ressurect the forgotten and abused.

Ya this is the one from Georgia. The guy who sold it said the only issue was the missing gas cap! What a scum bag. He looked like he hit the lottery when I handed him the cash lol.
I have most of the after market parts I need for now. I'll probably do a Hayabusa brake upgrade soon too. I think after I get the frame, swing arm, wheels, and lower fork tubes powder coated next week I will get pretty fired up about the whole project. I need to figure out what to do with the upper tubes. They are pitted pretty bad and I think they will destroy the seals if I don't re-plate them. I'm thinking anodizing would look cool. Any advice?

You could get the forks coated probably not cheap though. I am pretty sure I have a set of nice forks out here if you want to go that route. I also have the Hayabusa brake adapters & can get the new EBC rotors or you can just find some 93 & up rotors on ebay.

In the pics before disassembly it looks pretty good to me. The engine paint looks like a late model flat paint or is that just more rattle an work.

That rear brake lever was ridiculously high; it wasn't bent from a wreck was it? Or just adjusted weird?

Looks good bro. I'm undertaking a full resto myself on a 85 Vmax. I was told it only needed 2nd gear replaced. Ended up being total rebuild of motor. I now have the motor ready to be put back in. Starting on the rest of the bike. Here is a pic ....

I'm beginning to think if a PO mentions any problems at all you'll want to multiply that by 20 or so to get the actual condition! :bang head::bang head::bang head:

V4 Bandit, first post! Get some pictures up bloke! We want pictures!

AMechEng said:

Ya this is the one from Georgia. The guy who sold it said the only issue was the missing gas cap! What a scum bag. He looked like he hit the lottery when I handed him the cash lol.
I have most of the after market parts I need for now. I'll probably do a Hayabusa brake upgrade soon too. I think after I get the frame, swing arm, wheels, and lower fork tubes powder coated next week I will get pretty fired up about the whole project. I need to figure out what to do with the upper tubes. They are pitted pretty bad and I think they will destroy the seals if I don't re-plate them. I'm thinking anodizing would look cool. Any advice?

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That night, and for the next week, there was no 'crank' available, as he bought-up the GA regional supply, and proceeded to consume it!

If it has an '85 front end on it (looks like it), forget 'restoring' it and swap-on a '93+ front end w/upgraded internals & brakes, or pop for an USD fork from a sportbike. There is no % in trying to save pitted downtubes. "Forking by Frank" in TN if you must keep the front end '85 & just buy aftermarket replacements. Probably about $300/pair.

I already bought all of the seal for my forks. Is there a difference between the my 86 forks and 93+ forks? I thought they only upgraded the brakes.

AMechEng said:

I already bought all of the seal for my forks. Is there a difference between the my 86 forks and 93+ forks? I thought they only upgraded the brakes.

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A little diffrence in tube size. I would not worry about it if your going with the busa brakes there way better than the 93 and up brakes. Just get you some progressive springs and you will be good to go.

I'll probably get your forks. They look pretty good.

I went through so much getting my 89 back from the dead. Don't get disheartened when you run into troubles. There's light at the end of the tunnel....

This Thread gives a little insight into what may be involved at the start:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=15009&highlight=skullduggery&page=3

This thread was after It was pretty much completed. Lots of time and money involved but a ride convinces me that it was worth the effort.
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=22940

Good Luck and ask lots of questions like I did....

CaptainKyle said:

A little diffrence in tube size. I would not worry about it if your going with the busa brakes there way better than the 93 and up brakes. Just get you some progressive springs and you will be good to go.

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Not only the tubes diameter from 41 to 43mm but the caliper bolting spacing went from 83mm to 100mm, no crossover and leak bolt.

Hey Engineer whats wrong with your pillion struts? Looks like they were hack sawed to fit the frame to the rear instead of the opposite...

wildweasel_pt said:

Not only the tubes diameter from 41 to 43mm but the caliper bolting spacing went from 83mm to 100mm, no crossover and leak bolt.

Hey Engineer whats wrong with your pillion struts? Looks like they were hack sawed to fit the frame to the rear instead of the opposite...

Click to expand...

Yeah I knew the brakes & well the crossover tube I junk and fill in the holes when I go to progressive springs.

Having used both '85-'92 and the '93+ front end components I currently have, I much-prefer the '93+ for stock swap-on & no-headaches. I also added SS braided lines. I fitted FZR1000 4-piston calipers & HH pads, much-better performance, no adapters, 100 mm mounting bolt spacing allowed a direct-fit. I have some 6-pots from the last year FZR1000 that I haven't bothered to swap-on yet because for the use I give 'em, the 4-pots have done OK. All-Balls bearings for the steering head, too. I also like the feel of the 43 mm tubes over the 41's, but the #1 thing that made the handling is radial tires. I got a Kosman rear wheel from another member thru Kyle, used the front stock wheel, & couldn't be happier. Progressive Suspension rear shocks also helped. I bought it all used, & a rough calc. was ~$1200. That includes a correct triple tree. The Kosman was the costliest item, almost 1/2 the total. For the future: I have some Race Tech springs for the front & some RICOR's (front end valves), and I can always install the 6-pots, they bolt right-on.

I have a complete FZR1000 front end I was gonna add, but the 43 mm VMax is working well-enough, so for now it stays. I also have a ZX750 USD front end, complete, I think Bazwell has one, just sitting-around, if I get to it, but until something goes bad, I am gonna stay w/the later-model front end.